Marijuana could be effective in treating migraine attacks, study finds

New research suggests that the medical marijuana could be more effective at reducing frequent migraine pain than existing prescription drugs.

In findings presented last week at the 3rd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology held in Amsterdam, experts from the Interuniversity Center in Italy concluded that doses of the active compounds found in marijuana known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) greatly reduced migraine pain in the study’s participants.

Researchers examined the effects of the THC-CBD combination when used by 127 participants suffering from either chronic migraine pain or cluster headaches, a series of brief but severe headaches that occur usually in or around one eye.

They found that adults suffered 50 percent less acute migraine pain when given a 200mg dose of the THC-CBD cocktail. Doses under 100mg were found to have no effect.

The cannabis-derived drug was also slightly more effective in reducing the frequency of attacks than amitriptyline, a drug commonly prescribed to treat migraine.

However, participants suffering from cluster headaches only found relief if their symptoms began…