Chicago, IL: Patients enrolled in a state-sponsored medical cannabis access program report improvements in their health-related quality of life, according to data published in the journal Behavioral Medicine.
A team of investigators from DePaul University in Chicago and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore surveyed 367 patients enrolled in Illinois’ medical cannabis registry.
Respondents reported that cannabis was most efficacious in relieving symptoms related to pain, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Overall, patients suffering from multiple symptoms were most likely to self-report gaining relief from marijuana.
Authors concluded: “In terms of therapeutic value, our findings suggest that the wider the range of symptoms [that] a patient reports, the more likely that it is that they will perceive benefit from MC (medical cannabis). … Our results suggest that comorbid pain, anxiety, and depression may be particularly amenable to treatment with MC.”
Full text of the study, “Perceived efficacy of medical cannabis in the treatment of co-occurring health-related quality of life symptoms,” appears in Behavioral Medicine.