Montreal, Canada: The use of cannabis for medical purposes is commonly reported among Canadian patients with fibromyalgia (FM), according to survey data published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology.
A team of researchers affiliated with McGill University in Montreal surveyed a cohort of 1,000 rheumatology patients. Among the 117 patients with FM, 24 percent reported a history of cannabis use. (By contrast, only 11 percent of non-FM patients reported having used cannabis.) Of those FM patients with past cannabis experience, 61 percent classified themselves as current marijuana consumers, with many reporting experiencing “substantial” symptom relief from the substance.
The findings are consistent with those of other studies reporting that FM patients frequently use both whole-plant cannabis and CBD products to manage their disease symptoms.
Some dozen human studies, including this one and this one, indicate that cannabinoids provide relief to patients with fibromyalgia. Most recently, data published in February reported that the long-term use of various types of cannabis preparations was associated with significant improvements in pain and other symptoms in patients with refractory fibromyalgia.
Full text of the study, “Use of medical cannabis by patients with fibromyalgia in Canada after cannabis legalization: A cross-sectional study,” appears in Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. Additional information on cannabis and fibromyalgia is available from NORML.