Haifa, Israel: The use of medical cannabis is associated with a reduction in the use of ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) medications in patients diagnosed with the syndrome, according to data published in the Israeli medical journal Rambam Maimonides.
Israeli investigators surveyed 59 patients with ADHD who possessed a license from the Ministry of Health to access medical cannabis products. They reported that the use of medical cannabis, and in particular products dominant in the cannabinoid CBN (cannabinol), was associated with medication-sparing effects.
The findings suggest that some ADHD patients may consume cannabis as a “substitute treatment” for more conventional medications, authors concluded. They added, “These results, although not causal, might shed light on the potential beneficial effects of MC on ADHD symptom severity and motivate future prospective studies in order to validate our results and perhaps even consider making ADHD an approved indication for MC license in Israel in future.”
Clinical trial data published in 2017 in in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology previously reported that the administration of whole-plant cannabis extracts is associated with improvements in cognition and behavior in subjects with ADHD.
Full text of the study, “Cannabinoid and terpenoid doses are associated with adult ADHD status of medical cannabis patients,” appears in the Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal.