A study involving 1,940 medical marijuana patients found that seizure frequency improved in 67.6% of participants over the study period.
The study, published online August 18 in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior, examined medical marijuana dispensing records and patient reports collected from July 2015 through December 2023. Participants were certified to use medical marijuana for seizures.
Researchers collected information about seizure frequency, marijuana products and doses, other medications, adverse events, perceived benefits and affordability.
Of the 1,940 participants, 1,284 had seizures as their only qualifying condition. Among those patients, 79.5% received a single marijuana formulation and 87.7% used one method of administration at their most recent recorded visit.
Most participants received products containing both CBD and THC. Researchers found that 86.8% were dispensed products containing both cannabinoids, while 87% received products with a high CBD-to-THC daily dose ratio.
The median daily CBD dose was 2.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, approximately 75% lower than the recommended maintenance dose of an FDA-approved purified CBD medication. Doses varied considerably between patients, and pediatric participants received significantly higher daily CBD doses than other age groups.
In addition to finding that seizure frequency improved in 67.6% of patients, researchers reported that participants generally considered medical marijuana beneficial. However, they did not generally consider it affordable.
Most patients were not relying on marijuana alone. Among participants who reported using other medications at their most recent visit, 76.2% were taking at least one antiseizure medication in addition to medical marijuana. Researchers also found that patients ages 60 and older reported adverse events more frequently than other age groups.
Because the study relied on dispensing records and patient-reported outcomes rather than a randomized, placebo-controlled design, it cannot establish that medical marijuana caused the reported improvement in seizures. The frequent use of conventional antiseizure medications also makes it difficult to determine how much of the improvement was attributable specifically to marijuana.
Nevertheless, the researchers concluded that patients generally perceived medical marijuana as beneficial and often selected products containing THC, despite most formulations having substantially more CBD than THC.
