Medical Marijuana Has ‘Promising Results’ For Fibromyalgia Patients, New Study Shows

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.

Medical marijuana led to “pain relief, improved sleep quality, improved performance of daily life activities, and improved quality of life” for fibromyalgia patients.

Two of the three patients also no longer reported insomnia during the cannabis treatment, while the third saw their formerly severe clinical insomnia lowered to “subthreshold insomnia.”

Two patients reported what authors of the case series described as “adverse effects on anxiety levels,” which led one of the participants to discontinue use of cannabis after eight weeks.

The report notes that inhalation by vaporization, however, “is associated with a higher frequency of side effects” and that proper dosing was difficult “given the very high THC concentration” of the country’s one commercially available medical marijuana product.

Authors of the study also noted that conventional pharmacological therapies for fibromyalgia “are ineffective in many patients and involve adverse effects that can hinder their long-term use.”

The findings reinforce those of a 2018 report out of the Netherlands that found that chronic pain patients suffering from fibromyalgia stand to benefit from marijuana but that the pain relieving effects differed significantly depending on products’ concentrations of THC and CBD.

Those researchers found that a high-CBD strain was “devoid of analgesic activity in any of the spontaneous or evoked pain models,” whereas THC was more effective. And while CBD increased the concentration of THC in blood plasma, it also seemed to counter the pain relieving effects of THC.

As for other rheumatic diseases, separate research published recently on the use of medical marijuana among people conditions such as arthritis found that more than 6 in 10 patients reported substituting it for other medications, including NSAIDs, opioids, sleep aids and muscle relaxants. Most patients further said that the use of marijuana allowed them to reduce or stop using those medications entirely.

“The primary reasons for substitution were fewer adverse effects, better symptom management, and concerns about withdrawal symptoms,” says that study, published this month by the American College of Rheumatology. “Substitution was associated with THC use and significantly higher symptom improvements (including pain, sleep, anxiety, and joint stiffness) than nonsubstitution.”

“Among 763 participants, 62.5% reported substituting MC products for medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (54.7%), opioids (48.6%), sleep aids (29.6%), and muscle relaxants (25.2%),” the report says.

THC-containing products were the most commonly used products, with authors writing that it’s “plausible that some individuals may require cannabis products containing at least some THC for effective pain management, a point that should be explored in future studies.”

The latter study notes that so far, “only a handful of observational studies have investigated MC use among people with rheumatic conditions, a group that may have unique challenges owing to age, substantial use of concomitant medications, and high symptom burden.”

Nevertheless, more and more research suggests that some patients with a variety of conditions use medical marijuana as a substitute for other medications.

A recent study in the Journal of Nurse Practitioners, for example, found that medical marijuana was associated with reduced prescription drug use and improved well-being and symptom intensity among adults with anxiety, depression, insomnia and chronic pain.

“Prescription medication use decreased significantly after medical cannabis use,” that report said. “Health characteristics and symptom intensity improved significantly after medical cannabis use.”

A separate study of more than 500 military veterans published last year found that more than 90 percent who used medical marijuana said it improved their quality of life. Many also reported used cannabis as an alternative to over-the-counter and prescription medications.

Other research published this year found that older people who use medical marijuana “experience considerable improvement in health and well-being” and that access to cannabis moderately reduced opioid prescriptions—a result indicated by several other studies in recent years.

And earlier this summer, a new federally funded study found that marijuana helps people with substance misuse disorders stay off opioids or reduce their use, maintain treatment and manage withdrawal symptoms.

Anecdotally, pet owners have also been using cannabinoids for years to treat rheumatic conditions like osteoarthritis in dogs.

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