London, United Kingdom: Patients prescribed medical cannabis products overwhelmingly report improvements in their health-related quality of life, according to survey data compiled by the British medical cannabis provider Releaf.
Researchers surveyed 1,669 adults medically authorized to consume cannabis. (British health care providers may prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients who are unresponsive to conventional medications.) Most respondents suffered from either chronic pain or mental health issues. Respondents primarily consumed herbal cannabis, with about one-third of patients consuming CBD-dominant formulations.
Prior to consuming cannabis, 68 percent of respondents reported that their quality of life was “significantly impaired.” Following cannabis therapy, 88 percent reported “improved or significantly improved” quality of life.
“This comprehensive survey of 1,669 active medical cannabis patients represents the largest study of prescribed medical cannabis users in the UK to date,” the study’s authors concluded. “The findings reveal a patient population experiencing transformative benefits from their treatment.”
Observational studies assessing the use of cannabis products among those enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry have reported them to be beneficial for patients diagnosed with treatment-resistant epilepsy, cancer-related pain, anxiety, fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, hypermobility disorders, depression, migraine, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, substance use disorders, insomnia, and inflammatory arthritis, among other conditions.
Full survey results are available from Releaf.