Marijuana and Fibromyalgia: What the Research Shows

Marijuana has not been shown to relieve fibromyalgia pain. A 2016 Cochrane review found only two small trials, 72 people in all, both testing nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, and found no convincing, unbiased, high quality evidence that nabilone is of value in treating people with fibromyalgia. We also still don’t know what causes fibromyalgia.

But we do know that it’s a chronic pain disorder that affects about 2% of the general population, according to the same review. The main symptoms, MedlinePlus says, are long-lasting pain and stiffness all over the body, fatigue and trouble sleeping. Other symptoms and linked conditions include:

• Problems with thinking and memory
• Numbness or tingling in the arms and legs
• Muscle stiffness
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Headaches
• Sensitivity to light, noise, odors and temperature
• Anxiety
• Depression

That list explains why fibromyalgia can be so hard to live with. Often, the pain is so overwhelming that it impacts a person’s emotional and mental well-being as well as their physical health. It can feel as if the disease is taking over your life, and many patients spend a long time looking for a treatment that eases the pain.

Start with what the FDA has approved.

Which Drugs Are FDA-Approved for Fibromyalgia?

• Pregabalin (Lyrica)
• Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
• Milnacipran (Savella)

These three drugs are FDA-approved for fibromyalgia, but MedlinePlus notes that the exact cause of fibromyalgia is unknown and that treatment aims at its symptoms, so results differ from person to person.

Another problem is that all three drugs can cause side effects, such as nausea and drowsiness, according to MedlinePlus (pregabalin, duloxetine, milnacipran), so ask your doctor what to expect.

Pain relievers are on MedlinePlus’s list of fibromyalgia medicines, and some providers prescribe opioids for chronic pain. Opioids can cause drowsiness, nausea and constipation, and they carry a risk of opioid use disorder, also called opioid addiction.

What Research Says About Marijuana and Fibromyalgia

For patients looking beyond standard drugs, the evidence for cannabis is thin, as the 2016 Cochrane review of cannabinoids described at the top of this post shows.

Accounts of people moving to another state to use medical marijuana for fibromyalgia are personal stories, not trial results. For standard treatment, see MedlinePlus’s fibromyalgia page.

Cannabinoids (marijuana’s active compounds) act on cannabinoid receptors in the human body. These receptors are part of the body’s endocannabinoid system, and NCI notes that the body’s own cannabinoids appear to have a role in functions such as:

• Motor control
• Mood
• Memory
• Appetite
• Pain

Researchers think cannabinoids may ease some pain by acting on CB1 and CB2 receptors in pain pathways, though trials in fibromyalgia are few.

How Trials Rated Marijuana and FDA-Approved Fibromyalgia Drugs

Cochrane reviews, which pool randomized controlled trials, give a firmer answer than patient polls about which fibromyalgia treatments work. Here is what they found.

What Trials Found for Cymbalta

• A 2018 Cochrane review pooled 18 trials with 7,903 people, mostly of duloxetine (Cymbalta) and milnacipran (Savella)
• 31 percent of people on either drug reported pain relief of 50 percent or more, compared with 21 percent on placebo
• The reviewers rated this evidence low to very low quality

What Trials Found for Lyrica

• In a 2016 Cochrane review of pregabalin (Lyrica), about 14 percent of people on placebo had pain relief of 50 percent or more, against 22 to 24 percent on 300 to 600 mg a day
• The reviewers rated this evidence high quality
• They concluded that the benefit, with tolerable side effects, reaches a small share of people, about 10 percent more than placebo

What Trials Found for Savella

• In the 2018 review, 52 percent of people on milnacipran or duloxetine felt much or very much improved, compared with 29 percent on placebo
• Neither drug differed from placebo in reducing sleep problems
• More people stopped either drug because of side effects than stopped placebo

What Trials Found for Medical Marijuana

• The 2016 Cochrane review of cannabinoids found 72 people in all across its two nabilone trials, and no trial of herbal cannabis
• One trial found more pain relief than placebo and the other better sleep than amitriptyline, both on very low quality evidence
• 4 of 52 people on nabilone dropped out because of side effects, against 1 of 20 on placebo and none of 32 on amitriptyline

In these reviews, roughly one more person in ten got pain relief of 50 percent or more on the FDA-approved drugs than on placebo, a gain the 2018 reviewers judged not clinically relevant for duloxetine and milnacipran, while the cannabinoid evidence was too thin to judge. Polls of self-selected patients cannot show which treatment works better; the 2016 Cochrane review found no trial comparing cannabis with these drugs.

Some patients who worry about the side effects and drug interactions of prescription drugs ask about medical marijuana instead. Their accounts are personal, not trial results, and any change to your medicines should be planned with the doctor who prescribes them.

Two points to raise with your doctor:

• Some patients say their symptoms change from day to day and describe using vaporized cannabis, edibles or CBD products at different times of day; how and when to use any product is a decision for your physician.
• Patients often judge a treatment by whether it lets them keep doing the things that matter to them, so tell your doctor which activities you most want to protect.

What About You?

Are you thinking about medical marijuana for fibromyalgia? Comments are closed on this post, so send your questions through our contact page instead.

Fibromyalgia is not on Florida’s list of qualifying conditions. If you live in Florida, a qualified physician would have to find, after examining you, that your condition meets the comparable-condition test in s. 381.986(2)(k); that decision is at the physician’s discretion, and certification is never promised. You can schedule an appointment to ask.

Last updated October 16, 2026 by the Dr. Green Relief Editorial Team.

Sources

• Walitt B, et al. Cannabinoids for fibromyalgia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 (PubMed)
• MedlinePlus. Fibromyalgia
• MedlinePlus. Pregabalin
• MedlinePlus. Duloxetine
• MedlinePlus. Milnacipran
• MedlinePlus. Opioids and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)
• National Cancer Institute. Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ), Health Professional Version
• Florida Statutes, s. 381.986 (2026), Medical use of marijuana (Florida Senate)
• Welsch P, et al. Serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) for fibromyalgia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 (PubMed)
• Derry S, et al. Pregabalin for pain in fibromyalgia in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 (PubMed)