Two new studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of a non-opioid painkiller that works even better than opioids against lower back pain. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, lower back pain is “the leading cause of disability” in the United States. Treating back pain without opioids would supercharge efforts to curtail opioid use disorder (OUD) and opioid-related overdose deaths.

What is this miracle drug that patients report works better than opioids at relieving chronic back pain? THC.

That’s right, the active ingredient in marijuana, when extracted and reformulated, provides effective non-opioid pain relief. The two studies appeared almost simultaneously at the end of September. 

The first study, in the journal Nature Medicine, involved a team of researchers from Germany and Austria. Between 2021 and 2023, they treated 820 patients at 66 outpatient sites suffering from chronic lower back pain who were randomly assigned to a placebo or VER-01, the THC-based painkiller. The last followup was conducted in March 2024. Researchers found that:

VER-01 provides meaningful pain reduction compared to the placebo, accompanied by distinct improvements in physical function and sleep quality…

The improved sleep and functionality enhanced participants’ beliefs in the efficacy of the treatment, according to researchers. Pain was reduced by as much as 50% with the THC compound. On a numeric rating scale for pain from 1 to 10, VER-1 patients experienced a 2+ point decline. The mean score was 6.1 at the start of the trial, with nearly a quarter of patients suffering from severe back pain of 7.0 or greater.

The good news just kept coming in. The longer the treatment, the better the results, with patients experiencing a 3+ point decline in pain during phase B of the trial. The researchers state that:

[…] [P]rolonged treatment with VER-01 was associated with further reductions in pain intensity, as well as continued improvements in physical function, sleep quality and health-related quality of life. Notably, the treatment effect was even more pronounced in participants with a neuropathic pain component and those with severe pain at baseline.

The THC drug is also well-tolerated, with most symptoms lasting only a few days. It is especially well-tolerated over the long term, with barely more discomfort than caused by a placebo and significantly less discomfort than opioid painkillers. The researchers point out that “NSAIDs are unsuitable for long-term use […] while opioids are associated with a high risk of addiction.”

The drug VER-01 is “a standardized full-spectrum extract derived from the patented Cannabis sativa L. strain DKJ127.” The extract is 5% THC. It is mixed with sesame oil plus “a complex, well-characterized mixture of terpenes, flavonoids, carotenes, phytosterols and other bioactive compounds.” It is administered orally, as a liquid, with a dosing syringe.

The second trial involved the same group of researchers testing VER-01 directly against opioids in a randomized controlled trial. The results were published in the journal Pain and Therapy last September.

The trial involved 384 individuals suffering from chronic lower back pain. Split randomly between an opioid group and a THC group, patients titrated for three weeks, were treated at full dose for 24 weeks, then had a two-week “wash out.”

Mean pain reduction for the THC group was 2.5 points, and for the opioid group was 2.16 points. Sleep improved by 2.52 points with VER-01 and 2.07 points with opioids. Those results were even stronger the more severe the pain.

Furthermore, as far as tolerability goes, here’s how the researchers measured that: “Subjects receiving VER-01 were fourfold less likely to develop constipation than those receiving opioids and threefold less likely to use laxatives.” 

Sumathi Reddy, consumer health columnist for The Wall Street Journal, reports that the new drug should be available in Europe next year but will require an additional trial before getting FDA approval in the United States. However, physicians in states where medical marijuana is legal are able to prescribe THC for chronic lower back pain, and many of them do, according to Reddy.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published January 6, 2026.

Sources:

“A Surprising Treatment for Chronic Lower Back Pain: Cannabis,” The Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2025.

“Full-spectrum extract from Cannabis sativa DKJ127 for chronic low back pain: a phase 3 randomized placebo-controlled trial,” Nature Medicine, September 29, 2025.

“VER-01 Shows Enhanced Gastrointestinal Tolerability, Superior Pain Relief, and Improved Sleep Quality Compared to Opioids in Treating Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Phase 3 Clinical Trial,” Pain and Therapy, September 30, 2025.

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