Is Weed Good for Migraines? Pain, Nausea and What Research Suggests

Weed may help with migraines: research suggests cannabinoids can dampen the pain signals involved in migraine attacks and ease the nausea that often comes with them, and many patients report fewer and less intense episodes. Migraine is a painful, debilitating condition that affects around 15% of people worldwide, and while nobody fully understands why or how it starts, it's known to be tied to serotonin signaling. Since no pill works for everyone, cannabis, which also acts on the serotonin system, has drawn attention for its potential to reduce symptoms.

Plenty of people search for ways to get migraine relief, and cannabis has always been part of that conversation. Research even indicates that about a third of current medical cannabis users say they use cannabis to manage both headaches and migraine pain.

Weed and migraines: the potential benefits

Pain relief: dampening nerve pain and sensory response

The most immediate and obvious benefit of cannabis for headaches and migraines is its potential to reduce pain, which can be intense enough to knock people flat. According to a number of studies, the body's own cannabinoids, like anandamide, are thought to help reduce migraine pain by regulating how pain signals enter the brain through CB1 receptors.

More research on weed and headache relief

A paper published in 2013 in The Journal of Neuroscience showed that people with chronic migraine may experience pain because of sensitized trigeminovascular nociceptive pathways (pain-sensitive nerve pathways of the trigeminal system inside the skull). Cannabinoids are also known to inhibit pain responses in these trigeminovascular nerves, which points to one way cannabis might reduce migraine pain.

Researchers also found that endocannabinoids act on CB1 receptors in neurons around the brainstem to block pain signals traveling from the brainstem to other parts of the brain.

Does weed relieve headaches by narrowing blood vessels?

Migraine pain was long thought to come, in part, from a complex process of blood vessels in the skull widening and narrowing.

When blood flowing through a wider part of a vessel hits a narrow section, the pressure of blood trying to squeeze through could produce the intense pain that defines a migraine. The theory held that when serotonin is released, the larger veins and arteries constrict while the smaller peripheral vessels dilate.

That's why vasoconstrictors (drugs that narrow blood vessels) started being used to treat and prevent migraines, on the idea that a headache can be avoided, or made less intense, by countering the dilation. Some proponents argue that cannabis has a vasoconstrictive effect that would explain its pain relief here, but the evidence on cannabis and blood vessels is mixed, so take this one with a grain of salt.

Can cannabis stop a migraine before it starts?

As we've seen, cannabis may ease the pain and symptoms of a full-blown migraine. But some researchers think it could also help head off an attack before it hits.

Right before a migraine attack, serotonin release ramps up. Patients may also notice several warning signs that an episode is about to start. Still, it's imbalances in serotonin levels that are most closely linked to migraine onset.

A number of studies point to a relationship between the endocannabinoid system and serotonin signaling, and suggest that activating CB1 receptors can lower serotonin levels. Since serotonin release spikes right before a migraine, using cannabinoids at that moment might curb the abnormal surge and interrupt the processes that set off the attack.

Cannabis for migraine nausea

Nausea is a common side effect of migraines. It's thought to be linked to the low serotonin levels seen before and after a migraine attack. Multiple studies have shown that cannabis can be an effective anti-nausea remedy in several serious illnesses, and that it can ease the nausea caused by chemotherapy.

There aren't specific studies yet on cannabis for nausea from migraine attacks, but there are plenty of anecdotal reports from patients who self-medicate with cannabis and feel relief. There are also other conditions where excess serotonin can cause nausea that cannabis may help control.

Cannabis oil for migraines

Cannabis oil may have a positive effect on how severe and frequent migraine attacks are. That's what one study found when patients described their experience using cannabis oil as a migraine treatment. According to the researchers, from a pharmacological point of view, medical cannabis oil could serve as a possible alternative for migraines.

One caveat with cannabis oil is side effects: the main ones reported with medical cannabis oil were nausea and drowsiness. Even so, more patients reported less nausea than more. According to the researchers, that can be considered a therapeutic effect rather than a side effect.