Medical cannabis as an Alternative to Expensive Drugs

“Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic disorder that is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, joint stiffness, and fatigue.” (Gostine et al., 2018) Numerous amounts of people around the world are suffering from this disorder. About 5% of the adult population has been diagnosed with FM, no real cure has been made, and no new medication has come out in the past 5-10 years. Katz D. et al. 2017 refer to FM as a ” trademark of pressure points, a chronic pain syndrome.” The disorder develops at an older age and has no real cause. Doctors have prescribed medicines such as Lyrica, Cymbalta, Savella, and many others that seem to be somewhat effective in most patients. The problem with medications like these stems from them being manufactured and can be extremely pricey for those without health insurance or even those with just low-quality insurance. Most of the FDA-approved medication for FM can be within the $300 to $500 range in pricing.

Researchers have started to look into alternatives to these problems. One of the major alternatives is medical cannabis/ marijuana. Medical cannabis can have the same effects as the leading prescription drugs for a lower price, and it is naturally grown straight from the earth. I believe that medical cannabis can be used as an effective treatment for FM and needs to start being recognized as such. The term medical marijuana refers to using the whole, unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat symptoms of illness and other conditions. “Marijuana may ease certain types of chronic pain, including pain resulting from nerve damage and inflammation.” -Alan Carter, PharmD.

To examine why medical cannabis can be an effective treatment for FM, you must first understand the symptoms of FM and which symptoms medical cannabis can treat. Research by Gostine et al. 2018 supports that FM’sFM’s five main symptoms are chronic pain syndrome, muscle spasms, anxiety/ depression, mood swings, and lack of sleep. There are a host of other symptoms that affect people with FM, but these main five are the ones that patients seem to need the most treatment for because it can be extremely overwhelming. Patients suffering from FM can experience those symptoms at any time of day or night and can also experience them all at once. As you can imagine, this can take a great toll on the body and mind of the patient over time. This is where medical cannabis steps in; “Marijuana is an excellent way to assist those with nerve disorders. Decreases anxiety, depression, stress, and insomnia,” according to Grob & Gerald N. 2011.

Marijuana contains THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, which is a chemical that alters your brain just like a painkiller or opioid would. This causes an ease in chronic pain and muscle spasm in FM patients by calming the nerves. There are several different strains of cannabis, but the two main options are Indica and Sativa. Both strains can be used to treat symptoms of FM, but both have many different uses. The Indica strain is mainly used for its ability to calm you. Indica can reduce headaches and joint pain while leaving you with a sense of relaxation and improving your sleep. The Indica strain is a more relaxing effect with the tendency to make you want to hang out on the couch.

On the other hand, the strain Sativa is mainly used to improve your energy and mood throughout the day, aiding in depression and anxiety. Mixing these two strains together, you have a treatment that helps in aiding all five major symptoms of FM. There are two well-known studies that prove medical cannabis can be an exceptional way to treat FM. Of course, there are several other studies that prove the benefits of medical cannabis with FM, but I believe these two do the best job of thoroughly examining and explaining how patients can benefit from medical cannabis. The first study was done by Jimena and her research crew back in 2011. During the experiment, they used the form of medical cannabis that is inhaled/ smoked, edibles, and both methods at once. Jimena et al. 2011 compared the results of 28 FM patients that just taken their prescribed medication to 28 FM patients that just taken the medical cannabis Indica strain.

During the result, Jimena found no change in symptoms with the 28 patients that took just the medication that their doctor prescribed. The patients still experienced chronic joint pain that they refer to as “restless leg syndrome” and still experienced mood swings and fatigue. However, the result of the 28 patients that were smoking medical cannabis was unbelievable. The results proved that chronic pain and muscle spasms reduced significantly while the mood swing and some fatigue were still there. From my research on medical cannabis, I believe this is from the lack of the Sativa strain in the medical cannabis that was provided. Furthermore, these results were extremely pleasant to the patients. After only 2 hours of use throughout a two-day period, the patients received an extreme reduction in pain and stiffness and an increase in relaxation because of the lack of pain.

“The present results together with previous evidence seem to confirm the beneficial effects of cannabinoids on FM symptoms.” (Jimena et al., 2011) Also, during this study, the patients had no harsh adverse reactions, only the infamous dry mouth that comes with smoking cannabis. In the Habib and Avisar 2018 study, they conducted an experiment with 383 patients that suffer from FM that consume about 31 to 16 grams of cannabis a mouth and surveyed them. They also narrowed down another group of 300 plus people with FM that do not consume any medical cannabis at all and surveyed them as well to compare the two. In the surveys of the 300 plus that did not consume cannabis, only the medication prescribed by their doctors still experienced, if not one but all, of the main five symptoms of FM. Of most patients, 96% described the symptoms as flares up that happen ten to twelve times a week, and 60% of those people admitted to having their medication dosage updated at least two since being diagnosed with FM.

On the other hand, in the group of people that do consume medical cannabis, 94% of them confirmed pain improvement and better quality of sleep. Also, within these 383 people, 72% of them report having a part-time or full-time job and can function normally at them without the dreaded flare-ups. There was also a mention of a Facebook experiment of 2,705 FM patients, and 80% of them admitted to consuming medical cannabis to help with pain management because their prescribed medication does not get the job down. Habib and Avisar 2018 report that “Only around 12% of cannabis consumers (CC) reported adverse effects, and approximately 92% denied feeling addicted to cannabis.” The adverse effects included dry mouth and occasional dizziness. Their study was packed full of research and experiments that prove medical cannabis is a reliable way to treat FM.

“The results of our study should encourage both the Rheumatology Association in our country and the MCA to reconsider their stand on cannabis and include fibromyalgia among the indications for MC under certain restrictions.” (Habib & Avisar, 2018) Of course, there are researchers that disagree with the advantages of medical cannabis use to treat not only FM but every other disorder. I came across a study written by Walitt B. et al. 2016. Walitt and his crew performed an experiment using Nabilone, a type of cannabis, with 72 patients. They found that Nabilone actually did more harm than good. Half of the patients in the study dropped out due to the harsh adverse effect of this cannabis. The other half of the group confirmed no change in the main five symptoms of FM and only a sense of relaxation. Walitt only used Nabilone because it was the one type of cannabis that would give them these results. “We found no relevant study with herbal cannabis, plant-based cannabinoids, or synthetic cannabinoids other than nabilone in fibromyalgia.” (Walitt B. et al., 2016)

To understand why this experiment failed miserably, we must understand the strain of cannabis they used. Nabilone is not a medical cannabis strain used to treat chronic pain. Nabilone is a man-made form of cannabis, Marijuana. It is used to treat nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy. Nabilone is for use only when other medications have been unable to control nausea and vomiting. The study failed because Nabilone is not the type of cannabis that helps with symptoms of FM. Nabilone is only used in cancer patients.

Fibromyalgia is NOT cancer, but I believe we all know that. In order for medical cannabis to work properly as a treatment for FM, you have to be knowledgeable about the type of cannabis strains and their different uses. You can not expect to pick up any type of cannabis and think it is going to help with your specific problems, prescription medication doesn’t work like that, and neither does cannabis. In conclusion, medical Marijuana can be helpful to FM patients if the patients are treated with the right strain for their symptoms. “Fibromyalgia has become a worrying health condition in our modern society, and its treatment implies time-consuming and high economic burdens.” (Segura- Jimenez et al. 2014).

The majority of patients on the Indica and Sativa strains of Marijuana see a great change in their symptoms of musculoskeletal pain, joint stiffness, and fatigue. The facts and studies that have been tested and proven speak for themselves. Medical cannabis helps with a ton of different disabilities, and FM should be listed as one of them legally. The controversies that come with Marijuana should not stop people with FM from seeking the help they need, and medical cannabis just might be the solution. Doctors should not be afraid of at least mentioning medical cannabis to their patients and letting the patient choose whether or not they would like to partake in it.

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