Study: 82% of Migraine Patients Say Cannabis Provides Relief

About eight in 10, or 82 percent, of migraine patients say cannabis has provided them pain relief, according to a study conducted by Migraine Buddy and Healint outlined by Pain News Network. The study gathered data from nearly 10,000 migraine patients from the U.S. and Canada who used the Migraine Buddy app. 

The researchers also found that nearly a third of migraine patients have tried medical cannabis or other cannabinoids to relieve migraine-related pain and symptoms.

Healint CEO and co-founder Francois Cadiou said that “cannabis is becoming a prominent treatment option for chronic pain patients, especially for migraineurs.”

“With more and more states across the United States legalizing medical marijuana, migraine patients are becoming acquainted with cannabis as a natural remedy that can help alleviate migraines and even prevent them. Research about the benefits of cannabis use among migraine patients is slowly emerging, but more must be done to properly inform individuals about the use and dosage of medical marijuana to treat migraines.” — Cadiou in a statement via Pain News Network

A study published in 2017 found patients experienced a 40.4 percent reduction in migraines or cluster headaches when using a cannabis oral solution. A study published last year in the Journal of Pain found patients who had used inhaled cannabis self-reported headache and migraine severity reduction by 49.6 percent and 47.3 percent, respectively.

However, neither of these nor the Migraine Buddy/Healint study used a placebo and relied on self-reported data.

A survey by cannabis company Verilife published last month found 13 percent of millennials (22 to 38-years-old) and 8 percent of baby boomers (56 to 76-years-old) said they used cannabis medically to treat migraines.

According to the American Migraine Foundation, about a billion people worldwide suffer from severe headaches or migraines, which affect three times more women than men.