Medical cannabis has been a topic of increasing interest in recent years, especially regarding its potential therapeutic benefits for various health conditions. A recent study published in the open-access journal PLOS One sheds light on the long-term effects of medicinal cannabis on patients in Australia.
The study, conducted by Margaret-Ann Tait and colleagues from The University of Sydney, followed patients prescribed medicinal cannabis over a one-year period. The results showed that patients experienced improvements in overall health-related quality of life (HRQL), fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Additionally, conditions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and pain also showed improvement over time.
In Australia, legislation changes in 2016 allowed patients who were not responding to conventional treatments to access medicinal cannabis with a prescription from clinicians. Since then, over one million new patients in Australia have received medicinal cannabis prescriptions for a variety of health conditions.
The study, known as the QUEST initiative, recruited adult patients with chronic health conditions who were newly prescribed medicinal cannabis oil between November 2020 and December 2021. Follow-up data collected at 12 months revealed that the improvements seen at three months were maintained long-term for most participants.
Participants with clinician-diagnosed conditions completed questionnaires covering specific symptoms related to their condition, as well as overall HRQL, which includes physical, emotional, social, and cognitive functioning, as well as bodily discomfort.
The researchers found that patients reported sustained improvements in overall HRQL, fatigue, pain, and sleep over the 12-month period. Patients with anxiety, depression, insomnia, or chronic pain diagnoses also showed improvements in their condition-specific symptoms.
While the study did not have a control group, the results suggest that prescribing medicinal cannabis to patients with chronic health conditions may lead to improvements in pain, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, and depression, as well as overall HRQL. The authors emphasize that these improvements were noticeable relatively quickly and were maintained long-term.
Overall, the study adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of medicinal cannabis for certain health conditions. The findings provide valuable insights for both clinical practice and policy-making decisions. The authors conclude that these results are promising for patients who have not responded well to conventional treatments.
For more information, the full study titled “Improvements in health-related quality of life are maintained long-term in patients prescribed medicinal cannabis in Australia: The QUEST Initiative 12-month follow-up observational study” can be found in PLOS One.
