Today, several Americans are suffering from acute headaches and migraines. They have found respite in medical marijuana. The new-age medical marijuana doctors have assisted several such patients in obtaining their cannabis cards.
The conventional prescription drugs for treating migraines, known as triptans, had a few adverse side effects, such as vomiting, nausea, and dizziness. That aside, the frequent use of all these drugs can lead to dependency. OTC (over-the-counter) painkillers are usually ineffective for treating migraines and might have adverse side effects.
Is it possible for medical marijuana to offer migraine sufferers a better option than prescription drugs? Can it bring down the frequency of migraines? A medical marijuana doctor can help you with this. To know more about this, you can check out medical marijuana recommendations.
Can medical marijuana treat migraines?
Today, migraine sufferers have been treating the condition using medical marijuana for several years. That aside, in recent times, cannabis researchers have started to realize that marijuana can bring down nausea, pain, and various other symptoms, like blurred vision and dizziness, that get linked with migraines.
Even though there is much anecdotal evidence about the efficiency of marijuana in bringing down nausea and headaches, the scientific evidence is also starting to surface. Dr. Ethan Russo, in 2001, examined the new-age research along with historical records, thereby mentioning marijuana use for treating migraines that dates back several years. He asserted that depending on the entire review, there is a need to study medical marijuana scientifically.
Almost a decade late, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced that they have substantial and conclusive proof that cannabis is efficient in treating acute pain.
Studies that bring hope and promise
To date, there have been many surveys and studies concerning the efficiency and security of medical marijuana for treating migraines in the last two decades. The following are a few of them:
- The University of Colorado did a study back in 2016 on the subjects who used cannabis to treat their migraine. There were more than 121 patients in the study. Out of them, close to 85% claimed that medical marijuana brought down the frequency of migraines from about 10.5 each month to almost 4.6 incidents every month.
- Back in 2019, the American Academy of Neurology conducted a published study stating that approximately 90% of the total 316 patients taking a 20:1 blend of CBD and THC had reported great relief from headaches. Additionally, over 40% reported that there was a minimization in the monthly migraines. Several people also reported that marijuana enhanced their sleep, improved their mood, and brought down anxiety.
- The Journal of Integrative Medicine published a study in July 2020, stating that close to 94% of the migraine sufferers who smoked medical marijuana witnessed relief within 2 hours.
These reports and studies stand as testimony to the fact that medical marijuana can bring positive impacts in treating migraines. However, getting in touch with a medical marijuana doctor to monitor the doses and get other queries addressed is necessary.
