Cannabis Had a Long History as a Headache Treatment Before Prohibition, With No Controlled Studies Since
Cannabis was widely used as a headache treatment before prohibition, and patients continue to use it for migraine and cluster headaches, but no blinded controlled studies have been conducted due to its legal status.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
The review traced the historical use of cannabis for headache treatment, noting that it was a standard medicine for migraine before the 1937 prohibition. Cannabis was used both as an abortive (stopping a headache in progress) and prophylactic (preventing headaches) treatment.
Despite prohibition, patients continue to use cannabis for headache, supported by the growing number of medical marijuana states. Cluster headache patients in particular have increasingly used both cannabis and hallucinogens (psilocybin, LSD) outside of medical recommendation, with considerable anecdotal success for aborting cluster periods and maintaining remission. However, no blinded studies on headache have been conducted for either drug class.
Key Numbers
Schedule 1 classification since 1970. No blinded controlled studies on headache for either cannabinoids or hallucinogens. Cannabis was a standard migraine treatment before 1937.
How They Did This
Narrative review of historical and contemporary use of cannabinoids and hallucinogens for headache disorders. Covered pre-prohibition medical literature, patient survey data, and mechanistic rationale.
Why This Research Matters
Migraine and cluster headache are severely debilitating conditions with limited treatment options. The historical prominence of cannabis as a headache treatment, combined with ongoing patient use and anecdotal success, makes the absence of controlled research a significant gap.
The Bigger Picture
This review illustrates how drug scheduling can halt medical research for decades. A treatment that was widely used by physicians before prohibition has gone unstudied for nearly a century because researchers cannot legally access the substance for clinical trials.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Narrative review without systematic methodology. Historical evidence is based on pre-modern medical standards. Anecdotal reports of efficacy cannot replace controlled trials. Patient self-medication introduces selection bias and placebo effects.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would cannabis be effective for migraine or cluster headache in controlled trials?
- ?Is the current scheduling of cannabis justified given its historical medical use?
- ?Could cannabinoid-based medications be developed specifically for headache disorders?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Cannabis was a standard headache treatment before prohibition, with zero controlled studies since
- Evidence Grade:
- Narrative review of historical and anecdotal evidence; preliminary due to absence of controlled trials.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2013. Some observational and survey studies of cannabis for headache have appeared since, but controlled trials remain scarce.
- Original Title:
- Cannabinoids and hallucinogens for headache.
- Published In:
- Headache, 53(3), 447-58 (2013)
- Authors:
- McGeeney, Brian E
- Database ID:
- RTHC-00703
Evidence Hierarchy
Summarizes existing research on a topic.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Was cannabis actually used to treat headaches historically?
Yes. Before the 1937 prohibition, cannabis was a widely used and accepted treatment for migraine in Western medicine. Physicians prescribed it both to stop headaches in progress and to prevent them. Most practitioners today are unaware of this history because prohibition interrupted the medical tradition.
Why have no controlled studies been done?
Cannabis has been classified as Schedule 1 since 1970, meaning it is considered to have no accepted medical use and high abuse potential. This classification makes it extremely difficult for researchers to obtain cannabis for clinical trials. The result is decades of missed research opportunities, even though patients continue to self-treat with cannabis for headaches.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-00703APA
McGeeney, Brian E. (2013). Cannabinoids and hallucinogens for headache.. Headache, 53(3), 447-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.12025
MLA
McGeeney, Brian E. "Cannabinoids and hallucinogens for headache.." Headache, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.12025
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Cannabinoids and hallucinogens for headache." RTHC-00703. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/mcgeeney-2013-cannabinoids-and-hallucinogens-for
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.