Migraines – Studies show medical marijuana can help

In the US In a large US survey, 17.1% of women and 5.6% of men reported experiencing migraine symptoms, most common in people ages 20 to 50 and about three times more common in women than men. In Canada, an estimated 8.3% of Canadians have been diagnosed with migraines by healthcare professionals. They have a similar female/male ratio, and migraine prevalence was highest in people between the ages of 30 and 40: 17.0% in women and 6.5% in men. These debilitating incidents are soul-wrecking and costly. Now there’s a new study that might help.

Hope was discovered in a 2022 study published in the National Library of Medicine.

Photo by Claudia Barbosa via Pexels

Given the undesirable side effects of current migraine medications, medical marijuana has been embraced as an alternative therapy for migraines.

Medical marijuana significantly reduced nausea and vomiting associated with migraine attacks after 6 months of use. In addition, medical marijuana reduced the number of migraine days after 30 days and the frequency of migraine headaches per month. Medical marijuana was 51% more effective at reducing migraines than non-cannabis products. Compared to amitriptyline, medical marijuana prevented migraine headaches and reduced migraine frequency in some (11.6%) users. While medical marijuana use for migraines has been associated with the occurrence of medication-overuse headaches, side effects were mostly mild, occurring in 43.75% of patients using oral cannabinoid preparations.

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The research follows another study which looked at the long-term use of cannabis in people suffering from migraines. Released in 2020 the journal Brain Sciencesthe study found that frequent cannabis use reduced migraine frequency.

“These results show that MC results in a long-term reduction in migraine frequency in 60% of treated patients and is associated with less disability and less anti-migraine medication use.”

Cannabis and CBD have seen growing interest in migraine treatments in recent years, with organizations looking to alternative medicine to offer a needed solution for those looking to stay away from opioids. Additionally the American Headache Society and the American Migraine Foundation have both expressed the need for more research on cannabis and CBD for migraine relief.