Science Cannabis

Medical Uses of Marijuana—Fact or Fantasy 153ported beneficial effects after taking cannabis, and it is possible that cannabis-basedmedicines might help this group whose pain is particularlyhard to treat with conventional medicines. Despite the earlier popularityof cannabis in the treatment of migraine, there have been no controlledtrials in this condition. There are, however, anecdotal reports:Carol Miller, who suffers from migraine, describes her experiences asfollows:". . . it wasn't until college that I was given the diagnosis ofmigraine and received medication. The college infirmary prescribed[coated aspirin], which helped somewhat with the headachebut not with visual effects or the nausea. It also gave metremendous heart-burn.One time the pain was so severe they gave me an injection of [asynthetic opioid], which pretty completely wiped out the painbut left me very light-headed.. . . Several years later the migraine returned, and my husbandsaid he had read that marihuana was good for headaches. I wasamazed. Two hits and a short rest completely warded off thenausea and headache. As soon as I noticed flickering visuals thatforewarned me of an approaching migraine, I could take a littlecannabis and a short nap and the migraine would not develop atall. I was usually ready to go back to work in half an hour. It gaveme a feeling of tremendous power to be finally in such control ofmy migraine.In the eighteen years since I began using cannabis to relievemigraines, I have been caught away from home several timeswithout my herb. Once I tried taking Tylenol and found ithelped a little with the pain but not at all with the nausea, or thevisual effects."(Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993)Although there are no reports of controlled trials with nabilone inthe treatment of pain, Dr. W. Notcutt, who runs a Pain Relief Service inYarmouth, England has used the drug in some 60 of his patients (Houseof Lords Science & Technology Committee Report, 1998). The patients