Marijuana is useful in treating pain and other symptoms related to fibromyalgia, a new study shows—with authors reporting pain relief, improved sleep and better quality of life in patients who vaporized THC-rich cannabis.
Researchers behind the new case series concluded that “cannabinoids treatment showed promising results in the management of chronic pain and other FM [fibromyalgia]-associated symptoms, improving the quality of life of these patients,” though they acknowledged the need for further study given the limited nature of their initial observations.
The research, published in the Journal of Alternative Complementary and Integrative Medicine, looks at the impact of cannabis treatment on three patients in Portugal who used an 18-percent THC cannabis flower product. The product, from the Canadian producer Tilray, is “the only commercially available medical cannabis product in Portugal,” the study notes.
In addition to reductions in pain and improvements in sleep quality—seen in all three subjects—two of the patients also reported decreases in other medication they were seeing, suggesting a substitution effect.
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