In a study published in February in peer review Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, researchers found that medical cannabis had “significant favorable effect on patients with fibromyalgia, with few adverse effects.”
In human trials, study authors worked with patients from two different Israeli hospitals. A group of 26 patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia who agreed to be treated with medical marijuana was documented.
Seventy three percent of the study subjects were female, with a median age of 37-years old. Subjects were asked to take medical cannabis treatment for 10-11 months for their symptoms. The average dosage varied between 26-28 grams a month. At the end of the trial, subjects were asked to fill out a questionnaire for analysis.
Study results reported that 100 percent of patients reported effective relief after using medical cannabis, and half of the group stopped using other pain medication.
“After commencing MC [medical cannabis] treatment, all the patients reported a significant improvement in every parameter on the questionnaire, and 13 patients (50%) stopped taking any other medications for fibromyalgia,” study results said.
Israel has been a global leader in medical cannabis research since the 1960s, when pioneering researcher Dr. Raphael Mechoulam first identified THC as the psychoactive property in marijuana.
Subsequently, Mechoulam and his team at Hebrew University discovered the endocannabinoid system–a system of neurological receptors natural to mammals and the largest receptor system in the human body. Understanding of this discovery has led to research on the effects of cannabinoids, which are the properties contained in cannabis that affect the receptors.
CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid gained global attention when used to treat Charlotte Figi, a young American patient afflicted with an extreme form of epilepsy and profiled on news network CNN. Her parents were able to successfully treat her extreme condition with CBD oil. Her namesake cannabis strain, Charlotte’s Web, and the news segment on Charlotte’s plight raised mainstream awareness of medical cannabis.
Federal prohibition prevents the United States from conducting more widespread academic research on cannabis, its medical properties, and uses. This, despite a growing body of evidence that indicates cannabis medicine could be used to treat a wide range of serious medical conditions, including epilepsy, chronic pain, inflammation, anxiety, PTSD, autism, and cancer, among others.
In an unrelated story, United States Secretary of Human and Health Services Alex Azar last week said, “There is no such thing as medical marijuana.”
The secretary was speaking at a press conference held at an inpatient facility for infants being treated for pre-natal drug exposure.
