Cannabis Linked to ‘Significant’ and ‘Sustainable’ Health Improvements

A study published by the AMA shows medical cannabis is associated with significant improvements in quality of life. Patients reported improvements in all eight indicators of well-being, with minimal adverse side effects. The study suggests that medical cannabis treatment may enhance health-related quality of life across various health conditions, although further high-quality studies are needed.

The use of medical cannabis is associated with “significant improvements” in quality of life for people suffering from chronic pain and insomnia – and these effects are “largely maintained over time,” according to a new study published by the American Medical Association.

Researchers conducted a retrospective case series analysis of 3,148 people from Australia who were prescribed medical cannabis to treat certain qualifying health conditions.

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Measured Indicators of Well-Being and Their Improvement

All eight indicators of well-being that were tested showed that cannabis appeared to help, and adverse side effects were “rarely severe,” according to the study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Health Policy.

Patients were asked to rate their health in eight categories, on a scale of 0 to 100, at various stages of treatment. These categories are:

• general health
• body pain
• physical functioning
• physical limitations
• mental health
• emotional limitations
• functioning in society
• vitality

After surveying patients roughly every 45 days, a total of 15 times, the study found that participants who consumed cannabis reported an average improvement of between 6.6 and 18.31 points on this 100-point scale, depending on the category.

Researchers’ Conclusions

“These findings suggest that medical cannabis treatment may be associated with improvements in health-related quality of life in patients with a variety of health conditions,” wrote researchers from Swinburne University of Technology, University of Western Australia, and Austin Hospital.

“Patients using medical cannabis reported improvements in health-related quality of life that were mostly maintained over time.”

The most common conditions for which cannabis was prescribed were chronic non-cancer-related pain (68.6 percent), cancer-related pain (6.0 percent), insomnia (4.8 percent), and anxiety (4.2 percent).

Medical Cannabis – Growing Use

“The use of cannabis as medicine is becoming more widespread,” the – says the study. “Given the variety of conditions treated with medical cannabis, as well as the wide range of products and forms available, clinical evidence, including patient-reported outcomes, can help determine safety and efficacy.”

Variety of Cannabis Therapies

The dosages, methods of ingestion, and cannabinoid profiles of the cannabis products that patients used varied widely. Nevertheless, “the estimated treatment effects were very similar.”

The researchers note that the retrospective case series analysis is limited by the lack of a control group, making it difficult to generalize the results.

“This study suggests a favorable association between medical cannabis treatment and quality of life in patients with a diverse range of health conditions,” the study concludes. “However, clinical evidence on the efficacy of cannabinoids remains limited, and further high-quality studies are required.”

Cannabis – Growing Evidence of Its Therapeutic Use

These are just the latest in a long list of studies confirming the therapeutic potential of cannabis as more and more states decide to reform their cannabis laws. Clinics in Poland are becoming more widespread, and doctors are increasingly willing to prescribe medical cannabis, seeing its potential benefits.

For example, another recent University of Colorado study found that regular cannabis use was associated with improved cognitive function and reduced pain in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Effect of Cannabis on Opioid Prescribing Reduction

Another AMA study published earlier this year found that chronic pain patients who received medical cannabis for more than a month saw significant reductions in opioid prescriptions.

The AMA also published a study last year that linked legalization at the state level to reductions in opioid prescriptions for some cancer patients. Many studies have linked cannabis legalization, and cannabis use itself to reductions in opioid prescriptions and overdose deaths.

Legalization of cannabis at the state level is also associated with noticeable reductions in prescribing the specific opioid codeine, according to another recent study that uses data from the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Conclusions and Outlook

An ever-increasing number of studies confirm the therapeutic use of cannabis, especially in terms of improving the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic pain and insomnia. Moreover, legalization has been observed to have a positive effect on reducing the prescription of certain opioids, which could be an important step in the fight against the opioid crisis.

However, as the study’s authors emphasize, further high-quality research is needed to better understand cannabis’ mechanisms of action and its efficacy in various health conditions.

The operation of clinics that specialize in prescribing medical cannabis can contribute to the collection of such data and improve patients’ quality of life. The results of these studies may also contribute to the further legalization of medical cannabis in other countries.

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(Featured image by Alesia Kozik via Pexels)

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