Can cannabis relieve headaches?

Did you know that 23 million Americans have severe migraine headaches and 25% have four or more episodes per month?

In fact, this epidemic costs businesses between $ 1.2 billion and $ 17.2 billion annually in lost productivity and sick leave.

But can cannabis provide relief?

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels

Although the United States classifies medical cannabis as a Category 1 drug (meaning that it has high potential for abuse and has no accepted medical use, and there is no safety for use under medical supervision), there have been numerous case studies of medical cannabis use for headache. And it would be a natural derivative of these studies to at least consider CBD oil, another closely related cannabinoid.

For example, Headache Magazine featured a woman with a rare type of headache in the 2004 Journal For Headache Medicine. She had a history of pseudotumor cerebri, a very uncomfortable splitting headache that is sometimes associated with obesity and high pressure in the spinal fluid.

RELATED: Another Study Finds Marijuana An Effective Treatment For Migraines

This woman’s headache went away within five minutes of smoking cannabis. Though anecdotal, case studies like this suggest that further assessment should be considered for headache sufferers.

Cannabinoids overall are likely to be helpful for headache sufferers, as they can invade the part of the brain involved in the pathophysiology of migraines, and provide potential relief for migraineurs with endocannabinoid deficiency (naturally occurring pain modulators) or receptor activation disorder. (If you have headaches or migraines, you may want to read this sentence a few more times because it offers HOPE.)

RELATED: Can Marijuana Help Treat Headaches or Migraines?

While the mechanism of action of the endocannabinoid system is also linked to the serotonin of the central nervous system, it can be similar to that of drugs already used for migraine sufferers, such as triptans such as Sumatriptan, Imitrex, Maxalt, and Amerge, which work by inactivating serotonin.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels

Cannabis has been shown to be most effective in treating patients with:

• migraine
• Anxiety (before the onset of migraines)
• Migraines concurrent with fibromyalgia
• Endocannabinoid deficiency in pain disorders
• Variation with the CNR1 gene
• Female migraineurs due to the accelerated breakdown of endocannabinoids

WHY ARE WE INTERESTED? Look, current migraine medications fall far short of the mark, be it due to side effects, failed response to triptans, or simple drug intolerance.

In these situations, it makes perfect sense to consider alternative treatment with medical cannabis or even CBD.

When medications have failed, a patient’s medical team may want to consider cannabis or CBD.

These could very well represent a logical alternative therapy for relief.

This article originally appeared on CBD & Cannabis Info. and has been reposted with permission.