Thursday, 29th April 2021
People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often ask about complementary medicine and alternative therapies that might work for different symptoms. Although we’ve heard from some people in the community that cannabis (which includes marijuana) can help treat Parkinson’s symptoms, there is limited well-controlled research to support its impact.
To understand the experience of cannabis for people with Parkinson’s, The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) launched a privacy-protected survey through its online Fox Insight study in January 2020. The survey asked about types of cannabis used and methods of use, as well as how cannabis affected PD symptoms. Over four months, nearly 1,900 people with Parkinson’s participated.
Study leader Maureen Leehey, MD, of the University of Colorado Denver, recently presented study results at the 2021 American Academy of Neurology Virtual Annual Meeting. These include:
Researchers will publish the full results later this year.
To discuss these survey results and next best steps, in June 2020, MJFF convened a meeting with field leaders and PD organizations, including the Parkinson’s Foundation and Parkinson’s UK. Through this workshop, attendees identified four elements of field-wide strategy for building understanding and studying cannabis use and Parkinson’s:
This is a tricky area for many people and their doctors — there are a lot of products out there, but it’s unclear if and how they may help in Parkinson’s. (Learn more about this topic in our Ask the MD blog.) Studies like this, where you contribute your voice, actively inform Parkinson’s care and research. This information may lead you and your doctor toward better care discussions and guide researchers in designing well-crafted studies on cannabis and Parkinson’s.