Using Cannabis for Migraine Relief May Be Associated With Medication-Adaptation Headache

A preliminary study found that using cannabis for relief from migraine headache may be associated with medication-adaptation headache (MAH; also called medication-overuse headache). 

The records of 368 people who had chronic migraine (15 or more headache days per month) for at least 1 year showed that 41% were using cannabis and 58% had MAH. After controlling for other factors that can affect development of MAH (eg, frequency of migraine attacks, overuse of other acute treatments for migraine attacks, and length of migraine history), the study showed a sixfold higher incidence of MAH in those who used marijuana. 

People who were using opioids were also more likely to have current cannabis use. Previous research has shown that opioids and cannabis can both influence the periaqueductal gray, which has been linked to the pathogenesis of migraine. 

“Many people with chronic migraine are already self-medicating with cannabis, and there is some evidence that cannabis can help treat other types of chronic pain,” said Niushen Zhang, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine. “However, we found that people who were using cannabis had significantly increased odds of also having MAH compared with people who were not using cannabis.” 

The full study will be presented at the virtual American Academy of Neurology 73rd Annual meeting in April