Medical Marijuana Patients Report Sustained Relief From GI Symptoms Over One Year
Patients with chronic gastrointestinal symptoms who used medical marijuana reported significant decreases in symptom severity at every time point over 12 months.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
At each survey (baseline, 30 days, 6 months, 12 months), participants reported significantly lower GI symptom severity when using medical marijuana versus when not using it (p < 0.05 at every time point).
Key Numbers
Significant symptom severity decrease at all four time points (p < 0.05). Most common side effects: increased appetite (12-21.4%), fatigue (6-16.7%), anxiety (4-11.9%), cough (4-11.9%), headache (6-7.9%), dry mouth (4-7.1%).
How They Did This
Longitudinal observational study following medical marijuana patients who completed surveys at baseline, 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months. GI symptom severity was self-rated on a 1 (mild) to 3 (severe) scale. Side effects were also tracked.
Why This Research Matters
Chronic GI conditions like IBS and Crohn's disease are notoriously difficult to manage. This 12-month follow-up provides some of the first evidence that medical marijuana's benefits for GI symptoms persist over time rather than diminishing with continued use.
The Bigger Picture
The endocannabinoid system is densely distributed throughout the gut and plays a role in motility, inflammation, and pain signaling. These patient-reported improvements align with preclinical evidence that cannabinoids modulate gastrointestinal function through multiple pathways.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Self-reported outcomes without a placebo control group make it impossible to separate the pharmacological effects of marijuana from placebo effects or natural symptom fluctuation. No standardized GI diagnosis was required for enrollment. The simple 3-point severity scale limits granularity.
Questions This Raises
- ?Which specific GI conditions respond best to medical marijuana?
- ?Do different cannabis formulations (high-THC vs high-CBD vs balanced) produce different GI outcomes?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Significant GI symptom improvement at all 4 time points over 12 months (p < 0.05)
- Evidence Grade:
- Preliminary: longitudinal self-reported data over 12 months shows consistency, but lacks placebo control, objective measures, and specific diagnoses.
- Study Age:
- 2024 study.
- Original Title:
- Relief in Gastrointestinal Symptoms with Medical Marijuana Over 1 Year.
- Published In:
- Medical cannabis and cannabinoids, 7(1), 80-85 (2024)
- Authors:
- Wallingford, Matthew P, Kelly, Erin L(4), Herens, Allison(3), Hanna, Daniel, Hajjar, Emily, Worster, Brooke
- Database ID:
- RTHC-05793
Evidence Hierarchy
Watches what happens naturally without intervening.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Did the relief wear off over time?
No. Participants reported significant symptom improvement at every time point measured -- 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months -- suggesting the benefits persisted rather than diminishing.
What were the most common side effects?
Increased appetite (up to 21%), fatigue (up to 17%), anxiety (up to 12%), and cough (up to 12%) were the most frequently reported side effects over the study period.
Read More on RethinkTHC
- cannabis-cardiovascular-heart-risk-stroke
- cannabis-heart-cardiovascular-risk
- coughing-up-stuff-after-quitting-weed
- lung-recovery-after-quitting-smoking-weed
- lung-recovery-quitting-weed
- quitting-weed-female-hormones
- quitting-weed-weight-gain-loss-diet-appetite
- sex-after-quitting-weed
- weed-DUI-driving-impaired-cannabis-laws
- weed-acne-skin
- weed-fertility-sperm
- weed-gut-digestion-problems
- weed-heart-health
- weed-testosterone-levels
- cannabis-and-ibs-gut-health-inflammation
- cannabis-and-crohns-disease-gastroenterology
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-05793APA
Wallingford, Matthew P; Kelly, Erin L; Herens, Allison; Hanna, Daniel; Hajjar, Emily; Worster, Brooke. (2024). Relief in Gastrointestinal Symptoms with Medical Marijuana Over 1 Year.. Medical cannabis and cannabinoids, 7(1), 80-85. https://doi.org/10.1159/000538694
MLA
Wallingford, Matthew P, et al. "Relief in Gastrointestinal Symptoms with Medical Marijuana Over 1 Year.." Medical cannabis and cannabinoids, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1159/000538694
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Relief in Gastrointestinal Symptoms with Medical Marijuana O..." RTHC-05793. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/wallingford-2024-relief-in-gastrointestinal-symptoms
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.