Medical cannabis linked to long-term cognitive improvement

Patients showed significant improvements in cognitive performance, after treatment with cannabis products, according to new findings.

A new study has revealed that the use of cannabis products, particularly those that are CBD-dominant, is associated with prolonged improvements in cognitive performance.

A group of investigators from Havard University in the US, assessed executive function in medical cannabis patients prior to using cannabis and then again at three, six and twelve month intervals.

Researchers reported that patients showed improved cognitive performance within three months of treatment and these improvements continued throughout the 12-month trial period.

Improvements in function corresponded with improvements in patients’ sleep, mood, and anxiety.

Changes in mood and anxiety were mostly evident following the use of CBD-dominant products.

Patients registered in the study had very little or no prior contact with cannabis.

Authors concluded: “In a 12-month longitudinal, observational study, patients using MC [medical cannabis] for various medical conditions exhibited improved executive function and stable verbal learning and memory within the context of improvements on measures of mood, anxiety, and sleep relative to baseline. [I]improvement of clinical state over time was significantly associated with increased CBD exposure.

“Future investigations examining the impact of individual cannabinoids and age of onset of use are warranted to clarify the implications of medical cannabis use. Ultimately, for medical cannabis patients, it is imperative to understand the relationship between these variables in order to maximise the therapeutic potential of cannabis while minimising potential risk and harms.”

The study appears in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.