Last updated on June 28, 2026 · Originally published June 16, 2026
A multi-compound cannabis medicine has beaten opioids on pain relief, sleep quality, and side effects in a pair of large randomized controlled trials – and it could reach European patients later this year.
The drug is VER-01, developed by German company Vertanical. It’s a full-spectrum, multi-compound cannabis formulation designed specifically for chronic low back pain (CLBP), a condition affecting an estimated half a billion people worldwide and costing global healthcare systems hundreds of billions annually.
The two RCTs, which together enrolled more than 1,300 patients, found that VER-01 provided superior pain relief compared to opioids – in one trial described as roughly twice as effective, while also improving sleep. Critically, patients using VER-01 did not experience opioid-induced constipation, one of the most persistent and debilitating side effects of standard opioid therapy.
One of the trial conclusions stated that the findings “highlight its potential as a promising new pharmacological option within a multimodal treatment approach that could fundamentally shift the paradigm in the treatment of chronic pain.”
What makes VER-01 significant beyond the trial numbers is its positioning. Cannabis medicines have historically faced resistance from conventional medical establishment partly because the evidence base was thin or the delivery format was unconventional. A drug that has passed the full RCT process – the same standard required for any pharmaceutical approval – removes that objection in a way that general medical cannabis advocacy hasn’t managed to.
VER-01 is targeting a market currently valued at around $3 billion annually in chronic pain alone. If regulatory approval follows the trial results, it would represent the first cannabis-derived drug to compete directly with opioids at scale.
Source: Business of Cannabis, December 2025 / Vertanical clinical trial data.
