While people continue to turn to medical marijuana to treat chronic pain and other health problems, new research has investigated the effectiveness of cannabis when it comes to reducing pain.

Some who use the drug claim it does wonders for their pain management, while health experts have long debated whether cannabis can be used as an analgesic. Now, new research has found medical marijuana can increase the pain threshold for those who use it, although it’s not yet known whether tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – a substance found in cannabis that creates hallucinogenic effects – can actually reduce pain.

Findings published in the JAMA Psychiatry Journal state that the active ingredient in cannabis produces only small increases in pain thresholds, but may not actually reduce the intensity of pain already being experienced. Researchers from Syracuse University in the United States also argued that THC offered no reduction in ongoing intensity of pain. It followed previous studies that haven’t been able to fully understand the analgesic properties of cannabinoids, making it difficult for researchers to form conclusive results.

The new study analysed data of 442 adults from 18 placebo-controlled studies and found that rather than impacting the body and reducing the pain, the analgesic properties of the drug likely affect the mind. That lead researchers to conclude that cannabinoid drugs can prevent the onset of pain through small pain thresholds, rather than the intensity of pain.