Multiple sclerosis is a common autoimmune disease that typically leaves patients disabled.
Neurological in nature, multiple sclerosis is described as a condition wherein the immune system attacks the myelin of nerve fibers of the central nervous system on accident. The damage this causes severely disrupts brain-body communication, leading to an array of crippling neurological symptoms which vary in severity as well as progression.
The exact cause of multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune diseases, isn’t known for sure. However, doctors and scientists agree that it occurs as a result of environmental, genetic, and immune-related factors. It’s also extremely difficult to treat because the disease in itself is so complex; the symptoms vary dramatically from one person to another, and relapses, if any, are unpredictable. This makes standard treatments so difficult. We also know there is no known cure, but medical breakthroughs have advanced and there are now several excellent treatments that are focused on managing symptoms.
Other reasons why multiple sclerosis is so difficult to treat includes challenging diagnostic options, and a high cost of treatment.
Yet, cannabis has continued to rise in popularity as a promising alternative, or even complementary treatment, for many multiple sclerosis symptoms. It has been studied and proven time and again to help manage several of the most challenging characteristics that can leave a patient disabled, greatly reducing their quality of life.
Vaped High CBD Weed Is Best For MS Patients?
One of the most recent studies out of Greece involved researchers looking into a vaporized weed formula with 13% CBD and 9% THC, and its effects on 69 patients with multiple sclerosis. The participants had varying symptoms, including muscle spasticity, bladder dysfunction, and disability progressions, all of which were analyzed at baseline levels to be evaluated again at three then six months. According to the researchers, “Significant improvement was observed across all outcome assessments,” after the patients were given vaporized weed.
“This study represents an initial step toward understanding the real-world application of vaporized THC:CBD formulations in MS management,” concluded the authors. They also said that the results “… highlight the potential benefits of CBD 13 [percent] | THC 9 [percent] vaporized formulations in managing MS symptoms, particularly when integrated into the existing treatment framework of DMTs [disease modifying therapies] and other symptomatic therapies,” they wrote.
Weed Improves Quality of Life for MS Patients
For multiple sclerosis patients whose symptoms keep recurring, they all suffer from losing a great deal of their quality of life. That’s because multiple sclerosis greatly affects so many aspects of one’s life, from psychological to physical, and ultimately social lives and work are also impacted.
Losing one’s independence and surrendering to the disability of the disease can be extremely frustrating and depressing. That is, until one finds treatment that effectively manages symptoms and reduces its severity.
According to a study, whose findings were published in 2024, MS patients reported significant improvements in quality of life after using medical marijuana. For the study, a team of British researchers gave either cannabis oil extracts or flower(cannabis-based medicinal products or CBMPs) to 141 multiple sclerosis patients who were enrolled within the United Kingdom Medical Cannabis Registry. The investigators then measured changes in outcomes a month, three months, then 6 months after cannabis administration.
For the patients, they experienced improvements in mental and physical health after marijuana therapy. “This case demonstrates a potential association between the initiation of CBMPs and improved patient reported outcomes in sleep, anxiety and general HRQoL [health-related quality of life] measures, over six months,” said the authors. “Additional measures for HRQoL, including various physical and mental health subdomains, also exhibit improvements up to six months when compared to baseline,” they said.
In another study, researchers from the Yale University-Griffin Prevention Center found that most patients of multiple sclerosis who consume medical marijuana reported improvements among their symptoms. In addition, consuming marijuana also enabled them to reduce their need for prescription drugs. The study, whose findings were published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, involved analyzing 115 patients with MS and their cannabis consumption habits.
The researchers found that cannabis was most effective in reducing pain, muscle cramps, insomnia, spasms, and improving moods, according to feedback from the participants. A significant percentage of the participants even said that marijuana was more effective for managing their symptoms. Furthermore, the patients said that using marijuana helped reduce their need for prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines, opioids, and pain killers, to name a few – a finding which is consistent in other studies.
“MCU [medical cannabis use] among PWMS [patients with MS] can lead to the reduction or discontinuation of several categories of prescription medications for symptoms of MS. Persons reporting the most benefit from MCU tended to have milder form of MS with less disability,” the study’s authors concluded. “This study confirms the benefit of cannabis in several common MS symptoms, extending these findings to show that benefit can be related to baseline severity of some symptoms,” they said.
CONCLUSION
Recent studies on the benefits of cannabis for multiple sclerosis only further highlight the therapeutic potential of marijuana for treating a great deal of the symptoms that cause disabilities among patients with MS. We now having a growing number of studies that solidify the medical benefits of marijuana for MS patients; it has been shown to help reduce the severity of symptoms, improve quality of life, and reduce dependency on pharmaceutical drugs to help get them better.
Cannabis has also been shown to be mostly well-tolerated, making it an excellent complement to existing therapies for MS patients.
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