Marijuana Brings Fibromyalgia Relief

With all both sides of the medical marijuana debate saying so much, but have so little proof, it is hard to find some cold, hard facts. Just recently released, is a study from Investigators at the Institut de Recerca Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain, in which they found that that cannabis use in some of the patients was beneficial.

In this study, fifty-six total fibromyalgia patients were split into two separate study groups; one group using marijuana and the other group being non-users. It should be noted that only eight of the fibromyalgia patients had used marijuana recreationally before this study was conducted. Interestingly, of the two types of methods patients used to self administer (smoking and eating), 46% administered orally. This is surprising, considering the most used form of marijuana in the United States is through smoking. All other demographics were similar in both groups.

The fibromyalgia patients in this study used marijuana for many different reasons; ranging from pain and sleep disturbances to tiredness and digestive disturbances. The most noticeable improvements came in aiding pain, sleep disturbances, stiffness, and mood disorders. Not surprisingly, tiredness did not get relieved nearly as much.

Using the 100-mm visual analogue scales (VAS), a scale used to measure pain, among other qualities to life, the researchers were able to get some interesting, though not surprising, results. Pain and stiffness showed a great decrease after only two hours of marijuana use. Relaxation and well-being all increased after the same amount of marijuana use. Somnolence, or the strong desire to sleep, also rose slightly, having the smallest change of all the qualities. The cannabis users also had a higher overall mental health summary than the non-cannabis users.

Fibromyalgia is reported to affect over twenty million Americans. This is an extremely painful disease, that I have been told by many sufferers, makes it very difficult to sleep at night, let alone get around anywhere else. Many of these same patients have confided marijuana use to help ease their pain and help them sleep at night. If this disease was included under the medical marijuana laws in the United States, it could help millions ease their pain and suffering.

Resources
Institut de Recerca Hospital del Mar, Cannabis Use in Patients with Fibromyalgia: Effect on Symptoms Relief and Health-Related Quality of Life , PloS 1

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