People suffering from chronic depression have experienced notable improvements following treatment with medical cannabis, a new clinical study has found.
Carried out by medical cannabis therapy network Algea Care in collaboration with LVR University Hospital in Essen, Germany, the trial involved 59 patients taking medical cannabis over 18 weeks in conjunction with video consultations with doctors.
The patients, who had all previously found traditional prescription medications ineffective, mostly demonstrated significant improvements in depression severity without severe side effects.
Results, which were published in the prestigious AGNP journal, showed the average depression rating given by the patients on a scale from 0 to 10 decreased from 6.9 before the start of the trial down to 3.8 by the end.
Almost a quarter of the patients reported a halving of their depression severity after just six weeks.
Just over a third of patients reported mild side effects, including dry eyes, dry mouth and increased appetite, no serious adverse effects were recorded, affirming the safety of medical cannabis treatment.
The study's lead author, Dr Julian Wichmann, founder and chief executive of Algea Care, hailed the results as "extremely promising and encouraging, as they expand the evidence for the continued use of medical cannabis in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses”.
Algea, which is owned by the Bloomwell Group, said the study lays the foundation for future research projects on the effects of cannabis therapy in the treatment of mental health conditions and illnesses.
The study coincides with the Germany's planned decriminalisation of cannabis, which was approved by the government last summer but awaits final approval in parliament, while progress on use of medical cannabis in the UK has been steady but slow.