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Medical cannabis provides beneficial long and short term effects on headaches and migraines , according to a recent literature review .
Researchers from Larkin Community Hospital in Miami reviewed 34 studies into the use of medical cannabis for managing the conditions .
The studies also looked at participants ’ preferred forms of cannabis delivery as well as the medicines they substituted with cannabis .
The researchers summarised the research topics under three key questions :
‘ Is medical cannabis effective on headaches and migraines ?’ ‘ What forms of medical cannabis do people prefer ?’ and ‘ What is an ideal dose for the “ preferred form ?”’
Cannabis was found to have had positive results in all 34 of the studies . It was effective in decreasing participants ’ daily pain medication , as well as pain intensity and dependence .
Some patients also experienced ‘ prolonged and persistent ’ improvement to their health and physical and mental wellbeing after long term use of medical cannabis .
Overall , patients reported more positive than negative experiences with the medication .
Smoking and vaping were the most popular ways to consume cannabis among the participants . However , female respondents were more likely to opt for tinctures , edibles and topical products as first-line treatments for migraine .
Medical cannabis is not available on the NHS for chronic pain despite the weight of anecdotal evidence supporting its use .
Nabilone can be licensed to treat severe sickness from chemotherapy if all conventional treatments have proven unsuccessful or are deemed inappropriate . However , it is not indicated for any kind of pain .
Both the National Institute for Health and Health Care Excellence ( NICE ) and the British Pain Society ( BPS ) have refused to back the use of medical cannabis in treating chronic pain .
More than eight million people in the UK suffer from distressing levels of chronic pain , according to the BPS .
The organisation previously said that it was not ready to recommend medical cannabis for chronic pain .
However , a spokesperson said that the organisation would consider a ‘ multidisciplinary approach ’ to treatment in the future , if more clinical evidence backing the medication came to light .
The researchers wrote :
“ Chronic pain and mental health are the two reasons where medical cannabis is used often .
It is found that some medical providers are hesitant to recommend medical cannabis due to a lack of current evidence , medical professional training and a lack of uniform medical cannabis use guidelines .
The therapeutic benefits of cannabis should be studied widely with intensive research trials supervised and controlled by authorities for safety and quality effectiveness .”
The organisation said :
“ On 11th November 2019 NICE published its guidance … which assessed the evidence for cannabis-based medicinal products as a treatment for chronic pain and concluded that the current evidence for such treatment did not meet their standards for efficacy , safety and cost-effectiveness .
“ We accept the continued current lack of evidence supporting the use of medicinal cannabis for managing chronic pain despite the fact that cannabis-based medicines have been available in other countries for a number of years .”
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