Multiple Sclerosis May Be Eased By Marijuana Compound, Research Shows

Multiple sclerosis has long been thought to be eased by marijuana, and a new study has fleshed out the long-held notion that cannabis provides relief for MS.

Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating, inflammatory condition that causes a varying degree of pain, suffering, and loss of faculties for those afflicted. Sufferers like Montel Williams have sung the praises of marijuana as a viable therapy for multiple sclerosis for years, and, last year, after traveling to Israel to investigate their more liberal approach to marijuana for sufferers of diseases like MS, Williams said:

“We need to get out of the dark ages and into the new ages … Not every patient can use cannabis, but for those who can – why deny it?”

While marijuana treatment for diseases like multiple sclerosis was once a fringe position, evidence is piling up to support the demonized weed as a real, palliative measure for chronic illness sufferers.

A new study examines the use of marijuana extracts for multiple sclerosis treatment, supplying 122 MS sufferers in the UK with a marijuana extract pill and 135 sufferers with a placebo.

Magazine The Atlantic looked at the findings and explains:

“Just under 30 percent of subjects treated with cannabis extract experienced relief from muscle stiffness, making their success rate almost double that of the placebo group. Pain, spasms, and sleep quality were also improved in the treatment group to about the same extent.”

The mag continues:

“At the end of the twelve weeks only one in four patients were taking the maximum daily dose of 25 mg of cannabis. None of the side effects experienced by those in the treatment group were particularly severe.”

“Most occurred during the first two weeks of the trial (when they were allowed to increase their dosage) and were therefore probably attributable to the rapid dose escalation.”

Researchers examining marijuana extract pills for multiple sclerosis looked at sleep quality and pain relief as the major gains hoped for in patients. The study was published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.