Marijuana-based drug reduces fibromyalgia pain

Canadian researchers conducted a study on Nabilone, a pain drug based on the active ingredient in marijuana, to determine if its use can help ease fibromyalgia pain.

According to an article that appears in this month's issue of The Journal of Pain, researchers divided the patients into two groups. One group of patients took nabilone daily for a month, and the other group took a placebo for the same duration of time. After a month of nabilone treatment, patients reported that their fibromyalgia pain was less intense and that they felt improvement in their quality of life. These changes were not reported by patients in the placebo group.

It's important to note, however, that nabilone treatment did not have any affect on patients' number of tender points, nor did it cure fibromyalgia pain -- when patients stopped taking nabilone, their fibromyalgia pain returned to its former intensity. And, reported side-effects included drowsiness, dry mouth, vertigo and movement problems. No word on whether or not patients also experienced "the munchies" ;)