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Berlin, Germany: Chronically ill patients who use authorized medical cannabis products report improvements in their quality of life, according to data published in the German medical journal Schmerz.

German investigators assessed patient-reported outcomes in a nationwide cohort of 1,582 patients authorized to use cannabis by their physicians. (Plant cannabis and cannabinoid treatments, such as dronabinol, were legalized by prescription use in Germany in 2017; however, cannabis products are typically only authorized when patients are unresponsive to traditional therapies.) Patients suffered from chronic pain, depression, sleep disturbances, and other symptoms.

Eighty-four percent of those surveyed reported quality of life improvements following their use of cannabis.

“Cannabis therapy [may] improve the quality of life of chronically ill patients, regardless of the underlying disease,” the study’s authors concluded.

The findings are consistent with those of observational studies from Australia and the United Kingdom concluding that cannabis use improves chronically ill patients’ health-related quality of life.

Full text of the study, “Patient-reported outcomes in chronic diseases under treatment with cannabis medicines: Analysis of the results of the Copeia survey,” appears in Schmerz.

Study: Most Migraine Sufferers Have Reduced Or Eliminated Their Use Of Prescription Drugs With Cannabis

New Haven, CT: Migraine patients report mitigating their symptoms with cannabis and many also acknowledge using marijuana in lieu of other prescription medications, according to data published in the journal Neurology Clinical Practice.

Investigators affiliated with Yale University’s School of Medicine surveyed responses from 1,373 patients from a tertiary headache center. Just under one-third of respondents acknowledged being current consumers of cannabis.

Among these consumers, most said that marijuana either improved migraine symptoms or limited their frequency. Many respondents (63 percent) also said that their use of cannabis allowed them to either reduce or eliminate their need for other prescription medications.

“This is the largest study to date to document cannabis product usage patterns and perceived benefits for migraine management in a clinical headache patient sample,” the study’s authors concluded. “A majority of patients surveyed reported using cannabis products for migraine management and cited perceived improvements in migraine characteristics, clinical features, and associated risk factors.”

Several studies have previously documented the effectiveness of cannabis for migraine treatment. A 2002 literature review of nine studies involving 5,600 subjects concluded: “Medical marijuana has a significant clinical response by reducing the length and frequency of migraines. … Due to its effectiveness and convenience, medical marijuana therapy may be helpful for patients suffering from migraines.”

Full text of the study, “Characterizing cannabis use and perceived benefit in a tertiary headache center patient sample,” appears in Neurology Clinical Practice.

Study: Patients With Post-traumatic Stress And Depression Report Improvements Following Cannabis Therapy

London, United Kingdom: Patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and comorbid depression respond favorably to the use of medical cannabis preparations, according to data published in the journal BMJ Psych Open.

British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) in a cohort of patients suffering simultaneously from post-traumatic stress and depression. (Since 2018, British specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Self-reported symptoms were assessed three months after subjects initiated their cannabis use.

Investigators reported, “Treatment with prescribed cannabis was associated with substantial reductions in the severity of PTSD symptomatology, with these improvements being more marked in individuals with depression.”

They concluded: “Treatment with CBMPs is associated with significant improvements in well-being and quality of life in PTSD after three months. … These results parallel previous findings for quality of life across a broad range of conditions and for PTSD specifically and highlight the potential benefits of CBMPs for symptom reduction and improvements in well-being across a wide range of chronic conditions.”

Prior assessments of patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and depression have similarly concluded that cannabis therapy can improve subjects’ health-related quality of life. By contrast, a 2021 clinical trial concluded that the inhalation of marijuana flower provided limited benefits compared to placebo in treating symptoms of PTSD.

Full text of the study, “Medicinal cannabis for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression: Real-world evidence,” appears in BMJ Psych Open.

Analysis: Marijuana Sales Not Associated With Increased Use Among Adolescents

Reno, NV: The initiation of state-licensed marijuana sales is not independently associated with an increase in cannabis use among young people, according to data published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

Researchers compared trends in marijuana use among middle school students in Nevada and New Mexico. During the study period, Nevada permitted retail sales of marijuana products while New Mexico did not.

They reported “no immediate change in lifetime or past 30-day marijuana use among middle school-aged adolescents in Nevada compared to New Mexico.” Rather, marijuana use trends in both states followed similar trajectories.

Consistent with other studies, investigators concluded, “Adult-use sales were not associated with an increase in lifetime or P30D [past 30-day] marijuana use.”

Although the study’s authors did identify upticks in marijuana use among certain demographics (e.g., students of color) during the study period (2017-2019), numerous other studies assessing nationwide trends over the better part of the past decade have consistently reported that cannabis use among teens has steadily declined.

Full text of the study, “Increasing lifetime and past 30-day marijuana use among middle school students regardless of recreational marijuana sales,” appears in Addictive Behaviors.