Marijuana Benefits

Migraines & Medical Marijuana

Migraine is a neurological disease that is characterized by recurrent, moderate to severe headaches. A Migraine headache typically affects one half of the head and is accompanied by a terrible feeling of intense pulsing. Attacks may last from a few hours to several days. Physical activity generally makes Migraine attacks worse. For many, Medical Marijuana is the medicine of choice to alleviate Migraine headaches.

Migraine Symptoms

nausea
vomiting
hypersensitivity to light, sound, smell
head PAIN
visual disturbance, flashes of light

“Every single ounce of pain focused on the left part of the head. Feels like whole body except left part of head is in a Fu**!k!! numb state.”

-- Shrestha Sapan, Indie Musician

Pharmaceutical Pain Killers - Triptans vs Medical Cannabis

Pharmaceutical Medication is available, such as Triptans to treat serious Migraines. However, side effects can be so unpleasant .that many patients would rather suffer than be medicated.

Triptans Side Effects

changes in mental status
nervous instability
neuromuscular abnormalities
gastrointestinal symptoms
cardiovascular complications

Recreational Marijuana Study Leads to Discovery that Marijuana Stops Migraine Headaches

In 1987, it was discovered that some recreational users who quit smoking Marijuana developed severe headaches. Scientists speculated that Marijuana withdrawal was not the cause of the headaches, rather, it masked a preexisting condition. Later, researchers would find that Triptans and Medical Marijuana worked in a similar way, and with similar efficacy. However, Marijuana's side effects as compared to Triptans, were fewer and less dangerous, by a very wide margin.

"Migraine: very many victims have for years kept their sufferings in abeyance by taking hemp at the moment of threatening, or onset of the attack."

-- J. Russell Reynolds MD, after some thirty years clinical experience with MMJ

Researchers found that components of Medical Cannabis, Cannabinoids, work in a very similar way to chemicals (endocannabinoids) that exist naturally in the human brain. An imbalance in brain chemistry is at the heart of many neurological disorders, including Migraines. Further research indicated that many Cannabinoids in Medical Marijuana modulate brain receptors that control pain and inflammation. Hence, basic efficacy of Medical Cannabis is established.

Migraine Facts and Figures

Osler's medical text (1942), Marijuana THE choice of treatments for Migraine headache
12% of the US population suffers from migraine
18% of American women and 6% of men affected
Migraines tend to run in families
most attacks occur once or twice a month
4% of sufferers have attacks 15 days per month or more
90% of sufferers cannot work or function normally
attacks usually last 4 to 72 hours