Migraines and cannabis

There are an estimated one million migraine sufferers in Switzerland. It’s almost shocking how little we know about migraine in view of this large number of people affected. What’s more, many of these people have great difficulty finding an effective therapy or treatment method. At the same time, there are more and more blog posts, testimonials and even simple advertising texts advocating cannabis as a treatment method. This raises the question: can cannabis really help against migraines? And if so: how?

Study situation on cannabis against migraine

Meanwhile, there are some studies that have investigated whether cannabis works against migraines. However, as with almost all cannabis issues, there are still quite few that have also often studied small groups. This leads to the fact that there are some well-founded theses, but absolute knowledge is hardly to be found. In addition, there are countless possibilities as to how much and how strong cannabis is taken and in what form. But let’s take a look at what study results are out there:

Many studies and all of them basically point to one thing: the positive effect of cannabis. For example, a 2016 study of 121 patients from Colorado found a positive effect on migraines in 85% of participants. On average, the number of monthly migraine phases fell from 10.4 to 4.6.

Source medical cannabis for migraine: Effects of Medical Marijuana on Migraine Headache Frequency in an Adult Population – PubMed

Another study by Israeli scientists from 2020 with 145 participants points in a very similar direction: 61% of patients were able to reduce their monthly migraine attacks by 50% or more. A US study from 2019 came to a similar conclusion: 88% of the 316 patients reported a noticeable improvement. In this study, the average reduction in monthly migraine days was 42.1%.

The more recent study from 2023 now provides further interesting findings: What the study shows is that cannabis can not only reduce the frequency of migraine attacks, but can also reduce the intensity of the pain. It is particularly noteworthy that patients who regularly used cannabis products were less dependent on traditional painkillers. In addition, products made from hemp for inhalation had a faster and more effective effect than orally ingested preparations. (see blog: pulmonary, oral, doesn’t matter?) Source Cannabis and THC: Cannabis for headaches and migraines – Grünhorn Academy

Which helps better: THC or CBD?

The above-mentioned US study from 2019 revealed another important finding: The effect of THC-dominant cannabis was significantly more successful in reducing migraine attacks.

Thus, it could appear that cannabis containing THC is more suitable for the treatment of migraines than balanced or THC-free products. The lack of reliable results on this question or premonition is even greater than on the general effectiveness of cannabis against migraines.

However, there is already evidence that CBD products could help prevent migraines. A recent study from 2023 found that CBD-containing products were able to reduce the frequency of seizures in some patients when taken regularly. This could indicate that a combination of THC and CBD is a promising option in migraine therapy.

Source Study: Vaporization for Migraine: Vaporized Cannabis versus Placebo for Acute Migraine: A Randomized Controlled Trial – PubMed

Source Study CBD and migraine: Preclinical effects of cannabidiol in an experimental model of migraine – PubMed

Conclusion

The existing study results are hopeful. It seems that the cannabis plant can help a large number of migraine sufferers. However, many unanswered questions remain. How effective is cannabis really? Which intake forms bring the best results? For whom is it the right therapy method – and for whom not? The question of whether CBD products can also make a contribution or whether those affected have to fight for access to medicinal cannabis products in order to receive treatment seems particularly relevant.

1. Headache knowledge – Migraine: headache.ch ↩︎
2. Cannabis and Migraine: It’s Complicated: Mechtler et al. ↩︎