By Pat Anson

Patients suffering from chronic pain and other chronic health conditions showed significant improvement in their quality of life, fatigue and sleep after taking cannabis oil over a one-year period, according to a new Australian study published in the journal PLOS One. Anxiety, depression and pain also improved during the course of the study, one of the first to demonstrate the long-term benefits of medical cannabis.

Researchers at the University of Sydney followed over 2,350 patients from across Australia who were prescribed cannabis oils containing both THC and CBD that were taken orally. Nearly two-thirds of the participants suffered from chronic musculoskeletal or neuropathic pain. Others lived with insomnia, depression, fatigue and anxiety. Participants did not get adequate relief from conventional treatments.   

Researchers found that the initial improvements in health over three months were maintained over 12 months. Because there was no control or placebo group, the improvements can’t be directly attributed to cannabis oil. But researchers noted that most of the participants stopped or reduced their use of opioid pain medication by the end of the study.

“This is promising news for patients who are not responding to conventional medicines for these conditions,” said lead author Margaret-Ann Tait, a Research Manager and PhD Student at Sydney Nursing School, University of Sydney. 

The ratio of THC and CBD in the cannabis oil varied. Patients with conditions like fatigue or insomnia did better with oils that contained more THC; while those with chronic pain did better with higher ratios of CBD.

“We observed differences in the degree of improvement in fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, and depression depending on the ratio of CBD and THC in average daily MC (medical cannabis) doses. For these outcomes, average daily doses of THC-dominant MC was associated with greater odds of improvement than CBD:THC-balanced MC.,” researchers said.

“Our findings suggest that people with chronic pain conditions experience better outcomes over time on lower doses of CBD when combined with smaller amounts of THC at a ratio of 10:1.”

Because this was an observational study, with different ratios of THC and CBD, researchers said they could not draw definitive conclusions about which ratios work best. The oils are made by Little Green Pharma , which funded the Quality of Life Evaluation Study (QUEST).

A 2023 survey of Australian patients with chronic illness found significant improvements in their physical and mental health after they started using medical cannabis. Most of the cannabis products in that study were oils containing CBD and/or THC.