effectiveness in treating MS symptoms.
Side effects associated with the drugs included dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, intoxication, impaired balance, memory problems, and sleepiness. But these did not lead to a statistically significant number of people dropping out of the trials.
“There was a very slightly positive effect that was seen as a statistical positive, but whether that is something that would bear out clinically is difficult to say,” Slaven said.
The upshot of the review is that more research is needed to nail down medical marijuana’s ability to help people with multiple sclerosis, LaRocca and Slaven agreed. MS is a progressive and degenerative disease in which the immune system attacks nerves, producing a variety of neurological symptoms.
“In spite of very strong interest in cannabinoid therapy, we really have relatively little in terms of good research to guide us in terms of what does and what doesn’t work, what works for which types of individuals, and so forth,” LaRocca said.
Because of the lack of evidence, practitioners tend to recommend other established therapies for MS over marijuana-derived drugs, he added.
“There’s really relatively little data that’s strong. I think that discourages practitioners from feeling comfortable about recommending this because there just isn’t as much data out there,” LaRocca explained.
Research on medical marijuana has been hampered in the