If a migraine has ever struck you down, then you know just how bad they can be, disrupting daily life on a massive scale. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, roughly 12 percent of people suffer migraines, explaining growing queues at dispensaries in Santa Monica, despite their elusive causes. Without a known cause, treating migraines is a challenge. Fortunately, hope lives. Its name is Marijuana.
People have been treating headaches with cannabis for centuries. In fact, head pain is one of its oldest known uses, with records of this dating back to the seventh century. Even in the nineteenth century, before prohibition, doctors were still prescribing cannabis for chronic and severe headaches. Does it work for migraines, though? What does the science say? Emerging evidence is very promising.
Understanding Migraines
Migraines are worse than even a very bad headache. Notably so. The issue is neurological, the result of a complex, mysterious condition that shares a few similarities with seizures. According to the World Health Organization, at least half of the population suffers the occasional headache. However, experts suggest that migraines are much like an electrical storm occurring deep within the brain.
Research points to it being overstimulation of brain cells followed by a depression in electrical activity that triggers migraines. In short, brain cells get overexcited, resulting in an electrical wave that subsequently slows them down. This cause remains a theory, but other potential triggers could be hormone changes and blood vessel constriction around the brain.
While a tension headache feels like a tight band around the head, migraines are completely different. They often attack one side of the head more than the other and can make normal activities difficult, such as sitting, standing, or otherwise moving. A headache might cause sudden searing pain, but evidence suggests that migraines might actually start a few days before you even feel any pain.
According to the Migraine Research Foundation, around 25 percent of sufferers experience an “aura” just before a migraine starts. This aura causes numbness throughout the body, impairs speech, and even alters vision. There is often nausea, vomiting, and neck stiffness to contend with too, as well as sensitivity to smells, sound, and light.
How Marijuana Can Help Migraines
Cannabis helps migraines in several ways. Many theories on its exact workings exist. For one, according to a study in Liebert Publishers, migraines are one of various pathologies linked to a condition called CECD, or clinical endocannabinoid deficiency. CECD causes endocannabinoid levels to get very low, which might contribute to a myriad of different, conditions, migraine just one among them.
Think of endocannabinoids as human cannabis. They are similar to phytocannabinoids, or those from cannabis plants, except your body, produces them naturally instead of relying on getting them from an external plant source. Some studies are now focusing on understanding migraines better through the endocannabinoid system.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, spinal taps performed on migraine sufferers show extremely low levels of a particularly important endocannabinoid called anandamide, or AEA. Termed “the bliss molecule,” anandamide is the human version of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. Crucially, AEA plays a significant role in managing cognition, mood, memory, pain, nausea, learning, sleep, and more.
More research is underway to determine the exact role of CECD in causing migraines, but enough studies suggest that using marijuana might well be an especially beneficial treatment for the condition. A study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine examined 121 participants with long migraine histories. It found those using medical weed with notably fewer monthly migraines, down 10.4 to 4.6.
Since migraines can persist for two days, even three, this is remarkably promising for sufferers. Additionally, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, preliminary studies show THC especially helpful in reducing one of the main triggers of migraine symptoms: Electrical depression. Aside from the studies into treating migraines specifically, cannabis can help migraines by treating its symptoms too:
Fights Inflammation
There is a clear link with migraines and excessive inflammation occurring in the brain. Triptans, the most common drugs for migraines, specifically block chemicals that cause inflammation in the brain. However, cannabis does this too, albeit in a different way. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, scientists are studying both THC and cannabidiol or CBD, as novel anti-inflammatory drugs.
Relieves Pain
Chronic pain is one of the most common reasons people go to a Santa Monica marijuana dispensary. Famed for its analgesic properties, a survey in the U.S. National Library of Medicine tested 271 chronic pain sufferers, including migraine victims, which were using medical marijuana. It found 63 percent choosing marijuana over prescription painkillers and their notoriously awful side effects.
Reduces Nausea
Emesis, the medical term for vomiting, is a common symptom of migraines. In fact, nausea and migraines go together. According to the American Cancer Society, marijuana is a powerful antiemetic, strong enough to relieve emesis in cancer patients. It effectively fights both nausea and vomiting in a range of medical conditions, including migraines.
Enhances Mood
Migraines do not put people in a good mood. Quite the opposite. In fact, migraines are a common cause of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Migraines cause serotonin levels to drop, but according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, cannabis activates serotonin transmitters, increasing levels. This is thanks to its potent antidepressant properties.
Improves Sleep
Migraines are so painful they make sleep impossible. What is more, lack of sleep is a major trigger of migraines. Getting little to no sleep at night only increases the likelihood of another one coming, as well as causes fatigue, irritability, and other health issues. According to Wiley Online Library, cannabis is a famous sleeping aid, with studies showing people falling asleep quicker and staying asleep longer.
Visit a Santa Monica Marijuana Dispensary
The only way to know if cannabis will work for your migraines is to try it firsthand. You can visit any of the dispensaries in Santa Monica to get some help and advice. Some cannabis strains might cause headaches in some people, in which case, another strain should work better. If you are taking prescription drugs for an existing condition, then discuss cannabis therapy with your doctor first.
