Headaches can be treated with medicinal cannabis
A study reported that cannabis can reduce migraine and other headaches pain levels by up to 50%.
Curation by Sechat, with information from O Maranhense
Cephalalgia is the medical term used to describe the various types of headaches, which affect more than 30 million Brazilians. A more recent study, published in November 2019 in the Journal of Pain, reported that cannabis can reduce the level of migraine and other headaches pain by 50%, an alternative with fewer side effects than traditional treatments and that can be used for an extended period.
Among the various ways to combat headaches, medicinal cannabis has shown efficacy in assisting treatment. According to an article from the Headache and Drug Abuse Research Center of Reggio Emilia (Italy), patients aged between 35 and 65 years, who were overusing medications and suffering from chronic headaches for at least 3 years, underwent treatment with nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid. The preliminary trial, published in 2012, showed primary results of reducing the frequency, duration, and intensity of headaches and the daily amount of analgesic consumption.
"For over a century, in 1915, the renowned Canadian physician Sir William Osler recommended the use of cannabis as the most effective medication for migraines. Currently, it is known that the receptors of the endocannabinoid system, where the active substances of cannabis act in our body, are distributed throughout the body. In 2015, researchers Greco and Tassorelli concluded that headaches, especially migraines, are related to the endocannabinoid system. Deficiency in this system is one of the possible causes of migraines, and by regulating this alteration, cannabis can be a good therapeutic option in headaches, as well as in other pathologies," explains Dr. Maria Teresa Jacob, a specialist in chronic pain and treatment with medicinal cannabis.
About Dr. Maria Teresa Jacob
Graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Jundiaí in 1982, with medical residency in Anesthesiology at the Penido Burnier Institute and Campinas Medical Center. Holds a Specialist Title in Anesthesiology, Specialist Title in Acupuncture, and Specialist Title in Pain. Specialization in Pain at the Clinique de la Toussaint in Strasbourg, France in 1992, Medicinal Cannabis and Health at the University of Colorado, Medicinal Cannabis, currently in progress in Uruguay, with a world-renowned medical reference in the field. Member of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), the Brazilian Society for the Study of Pain (SBED), the International Musculoskeletal Pain Society (IMS), the European Pain Society (EFIC), the Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC), and the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM). Works in the treatment of Chronic Pain since 1992 and for several years in Cannabinoid Medicine in various pathologies at her private clinic located in Campinas.