Cannabis and Migraine Research

[Sequoiacrone]

Review Article
Cannabis for migraine treatment: the once and future prescription?
An historical and scientific review
Ethan Russo*
Department of Neurology, Western Montana Clinic, 515 West Front Street, Missoula, MT 58907-7609, USA
Accepted 26 January 1998
Abstract
Cannabis, or marijuana, has been used for centuries for both symptomatic and prophylactic treatment of migraine. It was highly esteemed
as a headache remedy by the most prominent physicians of the age between 1874 and 1942, remaining part of the Western pharmacopoeia
for this indication even into the mid-twentieth century. Current ethnobotanical and anecdotal references continue to refer to its efficacy for
this malady, while biochemical studies of THC and anandamide have provided a scientific basis for such treatment. The author believes that
controlled clinical trials of Cannabis in acute migraine treatment are warranted. Ó 1998 International Association for the Study of Pain.
Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
Keywords: Migraine; Headache; Cannabis; Marijuana; Dronabinol; Ethnobotany
1. Introduction
One of the basic tenets of medical history is that remedies
fall in and out of favor. Once supplanted, most pharmaceuticals
fail to re-attain a position of prominence. Very few are
popular for many decades.
Not many physicians today are aware of the prominence
that Cannabis drugs once held in medical practice. Problems
with quality control and an association with perceived
dangerous effects sounded the death knell for
Cannabis as a recognized Western therapy. Other medicines
that are far more potentially damaging than Cannabis
remain in our pharmocopeias because of recognized medical
indications: opiates for pain control, amphetamines for
narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc.
Thalidomide, which was banned due to its role in birth
defects, may be effecting a therapeutic revival. Even the
lowly leech is once again the object of serious medical
investigation.
This study will examine the history of Cannabis use for
one indication, that of headache treatment, its scientific
rationale, and possible future as an alternative therapeutic
agent.
2. Historical and ethnobotanical usage of Cannabis in
migraine treatment
Headaches have likely afflicted man throughout history.

(see link for more)


http://www.druglibrary.org/crl/pain/Russo%2098%20Migraine_%20Pain.pdf

[Sequoiacrone]

Cluster Headaches Treatable with Cannabis and THC

A case study of cluster headaches, an excruciatingly painful and difficult to treat condition, has shown that cannabis and THC can be an extraordinarily effective treatment.

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine studied a 19-year-old university student with a predictable pattern of attacks marked by 2 week stretches of one headache attack of three to four hours every other day. Many medications had failed to prevent or treat his condition, but the patient discovered that the use of cannabis at the onset of his headaches consistently brought complete relieve within 5 minutes. During the hospital study, whole-plant cannabis was replaced by synthetic THC, which can be legally prescribed by doctors. It also provided dramatic relief.

Researchers speculated that the "beneficial effect may be related to the high concentration of cannabinoid receptors in the hypothalamus, which has been implicated as a site of dysfunction in neuroimaging studies of patients with cluster headache."

for more information see here:

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=5730#21