Oral Cannabinoids for Muscle Stiffness in Multiple Sclerosis

Cannabis has been advocated for treatment of pain, spasticity, and spasms by patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Pharmacologic therapies are available for these troubling symptoms, but relief remains unsatisfactory for many. To assess the effects of cannabis on muscle stiffness caused by MS, investigators randomized 279 patients with MS and at least 3 months of muscle stiffness to receive oral δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or placebo for 12 weeks. The dosage was titrated during the initial 2 weeks, from 2.5-mg capsules twice daily to a maximum of 25 mg per day or until intolerable adverse effects occurred. The primary outcome was participant response, on an 11-point scale, to the question, “Compared with before the study started, my mus…