New Haven, CT: Migraine patients report mitigating their symptoms with cannabis and many also acknowledge using marijuana in lieu of other prescription medications, according to data published in the journal Neurology Clinical Practice.
Investigators affiliated with Yale University’s School of Medicine surveyed responses from 1,373 patients from a tertiary headache center. Just under one-third of respondents acknowledged being current consumers of cannabis.
Among these consumers, most said that marijuana either improved migraine symptoms or limited their frequency. Many respondents (63 percent) also said that their use of cannabis allowed them to either reduce or eliminate their need for other prescription medications.
“This is the largest study to date to document cannabis product usage patterns and perceived benefits for migraine management in a clinical headache patient sample,” the study’s authors concluded. “A majority of patients surveyed reported using cannabis products for migraine management and cited perceived improvements in migraine characteristics, clinical features, and associated risk factors.”
Several studies have previously documented the effectiveness of cannabis for migraine treatment. A 2002 literature review of nine studies involving 5,600 subjects concluded: “Medical marijuana has a significant clinical response by reducing the length and frequency of migraines. … Due to its effectiveness and convenience, medical marijuana therapy may be helpful for patients suffering from migraines.”
Full text of the study, “Characterizing cannabis use and perceived benefit in a tertiary headache center patient sample,” appears in Neurology Clinical Practice. Additional information on the use of cannabis for migraines is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.