According to a new study, cannabis may be better at treating those lousy debilitating migraines than traditional medicine.
It was researchers from the Interuniversity Center n Florence, Italy that discovered that pills that contained THC and CBD, were able to reduce migraines by a whopping 43.5%. They also found that the administration of the drug also helped muscle pain and stomach-aches.
In the study, 79 people who suffered from migraines and cluster headaches were used. The ones with migraine headaches were given 200mg of THC-CBD when they had acute pain, while those with cluster headaches were given a daily 200mg dose of THC-CBD in combination with a 25mg dose of amitriptyline.
The THC-CBD drug was proven to be more effective in cutting cluster headaches. Cannabis treatments cut cluster headaches by 40.4 percent, while amitriptyline reduce them by 40.1 percent. For migraine acute pain, the drug cut the severity of pain by 43.5%.
Dr. Maria Nicolodi, the lead researcher on the study, commented, “We were able to demonstrate that cannabinoids are an alternative to established treatments in migraine prevention.”
“That said, they are only suited for use in the acute treatment of cluster headaches in patients with a history of migraine from childhood on.”
Ian Hamilton of the University of York, told MailOnline, “This research suggests that compounds found in cannabis are as effective as amitriptyline, a traditional prescription medication used to treat acute painful headaches… This provides promise for people who experience adverse effects from prescription medication. The analgesic properties of cannabis have been known for some time so this research adds to existing evidence of the potential that cannabis compounds have in the treatment and management of common health problems.”
