Science & Health
Medical Marijuana Improves Pain, Sleep And Anxiety In Women With Endometriosis While Also Reducing Opioid Use, Study Shows
Medical marijuana helps women with endometriosis achieve long-term improvements in their symptoms while also reducing the use of opioids, according to a new study.
Using cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) “was associated with sustained improvements in pain, health-related quality of life, sleep, and anxiety at 24 months,” the research found. Cannabis was also “well tolerated” by most patients, demonstrating a “favourable” adverse event profile.
Additionally, the study showed a reduction in prescribed opioids at 18 and 24 months—”including a clinically significant reduction in 26.1% of participants at 24 months,” the researchers wrote.
The study involved 101 biological women diagnosed with endometriosis, a chronic condition that involves tissue similar to the lining of the womb growing outside of it. The disease can cause pain and scarring, and sometimes leads to difficultly getting pregnant.
“Across 24 months, improvements were observed in measures of pain severity, its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), sleep, and anxiety.”
All participants had been signed up with the UK Medical Cannabis Registry for at least two years prior to joining the study. Data was collected at the launch of the research and again 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months later using a series of patient self-report surveys.
“Mean prescribed [oral morphine equivalent] decreased from 19.9 ± 17.2 mg/day at baseline to 14.8 ± 15.9 mg/day at 24 months.”
The study—conducted by researchers affiliated with Imperial College London, Curaleaf Clinic in London, George’s Hospital NHS Trust, North Bristol NHS Trust, Cardiff and Vale University, Kings College London and South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust—was published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Cannabis product formats used by women who participated included dried flower, vape cartridges, topical ointments, sublingual oils and oral pastilles.
“In conclusion, this prospective registry study demonstrated improvements in pain, health-related quality of life, sleep quality, and anxiety following CBMP initiation in patients with endometriosis, with benefits sustained to 24 months and a favourable adverse event profile,” the researchers wrote.
They caveated that the study is limited by its observational nature and lack of a control group, noting that it does not demonstrate causality between cannabis use and improved symptoms. They also said it is likely that selection bias occurred “due to non-randomised recruitment through a private self-paying clinic.”
A previous study published in 2024 found that women rated cannabis as “the most effective self-management strategy to reduce symptom intensity” of endometriosis.
“Cannabis use resulted in a significant improvement in symptoms, going beyond just pain management, and a majority of users were able to reduce their pain medication intake,” that research concluded.
Meanwhile, the governor of Illinois recently signed a bill adding endometriosis as a medical marijuana qualifying condition.
