In a new, placebo-controlled study that examined the effectiveness of marijuana vapor to relieve migraine pain, people taking THC (or a mixture of THC and CB) were significantly more likely than those who received placebos to experience relief from their symptoms after two hours.
Results of the study, presented at the American Headache Society’s annual meeting in Minneapolis last month, found that more than two in three migraine-sufferers reported pain relief after using a THC product (68.9 percent of participants) or combination THC–CBD product (67.2 percent)—a significant difference from the placebo group, of whom 46.6 percent reported pain relief after two hours.
Just over half of participants (52.6%) reported relief from headaches. This difference was not statistically significant, according to the study.
People were also significantly more likely to report freedom from pain after two hours if they’d received the THC–CBD intervention, with 34.5 percent of that group reporting pain freedom, compared to 15.5 percent in the placebo group.
In contrast, 22.8 and 27.9 % of participants taking CBD or THC on their own reported being pain free after just two hours.
The acute migraine treatment using 6% THC+11% CB was superior to the placebo 2 hours after vaporization, with continued benefits 24 hours and 48 months later.
The combined THC–CBD group also showed more sustained pain relief after 24 and 48 hours.
Medscape Medical News reported that this was the first placebo controlled study to be conducted in the field.
“It’s the first real—to me—compelling evidence for the anti-migraine effects of cannabis in humans,” the researcher added.
In addition to pain, participants were also asked about how the marijuana—all of which was provided through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Drug Supply Program—affected the most bothersome symptoms of their migraines, for example discomfort caused by lights or sounds.
Schuster stated that “we found that there are effects on photophobia and the phonophobia” and that this is an important finding.”
For example, among the combined THC–CBD group, which overall appeared to show the broadest significant benefits, 56.9 percent reported improvement in photophobia (light sensitivity) and 74.1 percent had improvement in phonophobia (sound sensitivity)—compared to 37.9 percent and 51.7 percent, respectively, in the placebo group.
Comparatively, the cannabinoids group did not differ significantly from placebo in terms of nausea and vomiting.
The vaporized cannabis flower with 6% THC and 11% CBD was better than placebo in terms of pain relief, freedom from pain, and [most bothersome symptom] “Freedom at two hours, as well as sustained MBS and pain freedom for 24 and 48 hours.”
The study has not reported any serious side effects, but there were some cognition impairments among the subsets that received THC alone (26,2 percent) or combined with CBD (12,1 percent). Some patients, who were not receiving a psychoactive drug treatment, also complained of cognitive impairment. These included 7.0% in the CBD-group and 5.2% in the control group.
Schuster said that the combined use of THC with CBD may offer migraine sufferers a more effective alternative for treating pain.
Trials on the effects of marijuana and chronic pain have increased in the past few years. But, marijuana-related migraines trials are rarer. Schedule I drugs have shown promising results in reducing pain associated with headaches.
According to a study conducted earlier this year on the subject, people who use so-called “classic psychoedelics” such as LSD and psilocybin are less likely than others to complain of frequent headaches.
Researchers gathered information from 11 419 records that were collected between 1999 and 2000, as part of The British Child Development Study of 1958. This study follows the births of an entire cohort in March 1958.
They looked at the answers to three specific questions: They asked: “Have You Ever Tried LSD? Also known as Acid or Trips?” And “Have You Ever Tried Magic Mushrooms?”
According to the team’s research, “lifetime usage of classic psychedelics is associated with a 25% reduction in bad headaches.”
The U.S. Government Accountability Office published a report this year on the use of psychedelics in treating headache disorders.
GAO stated that psychedelics appeared to be promising for certain cancer and headache pain patients. This is because they reduce inflammation by altering the perception of pain through interaction with brain serotonin-receptors.
Rep. Kathleen Paquette from the Republican New Hampshire House shared her experience of cluster headaches and requested that colleagues approve a law to eliminate criminal penalties for psilocybin.
Paquette stated that Psilocybin “is believed to help me and other people by possibly interrupting or preventing headache cycle,” Paquette. Paquette said that psilocybin is “believed to help people like me by potentially interrupting and preventing headache cycles.”
“Very occasional use of small, non-hallucinogenic, microdoses—and at times, even a single dose—has been known to increase remission periods or even stop a cycle completely in its tracks,” she added. Even a small dose can provide relief for someone who hasn’t felt it in years, or decades. The drug can give someone the ability to return to their family and restore their dignity. It also has the potential to help someone save their life by making it available.
Last year the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, also published an informational web page about psilocybin, acknowledging the substance as a possible treatment for alcohol use disorder, anxiety and depression and also highlighted psilocybin research being funded by the federal government into the drug’s effects on pain, migraines, psychiatric disorders and various other conditions.
Side Pocket Images. Photo by Chris Wallis.