Vaporized Cannabis Provides “Significant Improvements” For MS Patients
Cannabis consumption has evolved in recent decades. For many years, cannabis was typically eaten or it was combusted with a flame, and the resulting smoke was inhaled. These days, cannabis is vaporized by more and more medical cannabis patients for various reasons.
According to SNS Insider, the cannabis vape market “was valued at USD 5.06 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to USD 17.11 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 14.53% over the forecast period of 2024-2032.”
Researchers in Greece recently conducted a study involving vaporized medical cannabis and multiple sclerosis patients. Below is more information about the study and its results via a news release from NORML:
Athens, Greece: Vaporized cannabis containing standardized percentages of CBD and THC is associated with sustained improvements in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to longitudinal data published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.
Greek researchers assessed the efficacy of a vaporized cannabis formulation containing 13 percent CBD and 9 percent THC in a cohort of 69 MS patients. Study participants’ symptoms – including bladder dysfunction, muscle spasticity, and disability progression rate – were assessed at baseline, at three months, and six months.
“Significant improvement was observed across all outcome assessments” following patients’ adjunctive use of cannabis, researchers reported.
“This study represents an initial step toward understanding the real-world application of vaporized THC: CBD formulations in MS management,” the study’s authors concluded. “The findings … highlight the potential benefits of CBD 13 [percent] | THC 9 [percent] vaporized formulations in managing MS symptoms, particularly when integrated into the existing treatment framework of DMTs [disease modifying therapies] and other MS symptomatic therapies.”
In 2010, British health officials granted regulatory approval to an oromucosal spray (nabiximols) containing standardized percentages of CBD and THC for the treatment of MS. That product is now available by prescription in various countries – including Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, and Spain – but remains unavailable in the United States.
Full text of the study, “Evaluating vaporized cannabinoid therapy in multiple sclerosis: Findings from a prospective single-center clinical study,” appears in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. Additional information on cannabis and MS is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.