“Does marijuana have medicinal value for migraine headaches and other maladies?

“There is no question that cannabis is beneficial medicinally,” Bearman says. With migraines, “some people say it makes the pain go completely away or can prevent migraines from coming on. Others say it lessens the pain and allows them to focus on other things to get their work done.”

What cannabis does to alleviate migraines is complicated and not completely understood. “But it works on serotonin and dopamine receptors, and has anti-inflammatory activity,” says Russo, who is just finishing a paper for the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics.

“Basically, it is a multi-modality agent that works on various aspects of migraine in a way that’s really unique. And it’s not just the THC — tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical — that does it. It appears now that it’s the result of the interaction of a combination of other cannabinoids and also the essential oils in the plant.”

Unlike most headache medications, cannabis is unique in that it works as both a preventive agent and an analgesic. “At any point in the migraine, they could use cannabis by smoking, vaporizer, etc., and about 80% of these people get significant or total relief,” he says. “And, if someone has a chronic migraine, daily use in whatever form will often lead to a complete remission.””

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