Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Cannabinoids have been shown in animal models to measurably lessen MS symptoms and may also halt the progression of the disease. A recent British survey of MS patients found that 43 percent of respondents used cannabis therapeutically. Among them, nearly three quarters said that cannabis mitigated their spasms, and more than half said it alleviated their pain. A survey published in August 2003 in the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences reported that 96 percent of Canadian MS patients believe that cannabis is therapeutically useful for treating the disease. Of those who admitted using cannabis medicinally, MS exacerbations appear to be caused by abnormal immune activity that causes inflammation and the destruction of myelin (the protective covering of nerve fibers) in the brain or spinal cord. MS most frequently presents at onset as a relapsing and remitting disorder, where symptoms come and go. Current treatment of MS is primarily symptomatic, focusing on such problems as spasticity, pain, fatigue, bladder problems, and depression. Anecdotal reports and a small controlled study have reported that cannabis improved spasticity and, to some extent, improved tremor in MS patients.
Many studies of the pharmacology of cannabis have identified effects on motor systems of the central nervous system that have the potential of affecting tremor and spasticity. A recent carefully controlled study of the efficacy of THC in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, the animal model of MS, demonstrated significant amelioration of these two MS symptoms. Moreover, cannabis has demonstrated effects on immune function that also have the potential of reducing the autoimmune attack that is thought to be the underlying pathogenic process in MS.
Many MS patients report that cannabis has a startling and profound effect on muscle spasms, tremors, balance, bladder control, speech, and eyesight. Many wheelchair-bound patients report that they can walk unaided when they have smoked cannabis.
Downland ASA's booklet on Medical Marijuana and Multiple Sclerosis
and check out the National MS Society's article Considering Cannabis
Published Research
Patterns of cannabis use among patients with multiple sclerosis.
Clark AJ, et al. (2004) Neurology 62: 2098-2100.
Safety, tolerability, and efficacy of orally administered cannabinoids in MS.
Russo E, et al. (2003) Neurology 60: 729-730.