Medical Marijuana for Lupus

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cannabis is not a proven lupus treatment, and the sections below separate what is known from what is claimed. A long history of use is not evidence that it works for lupus, and modern trials support only a few medical uses. With many states legalizing cannabis for medical purposes, doctors and scientists are looking to see if it can be used as a holistic treatment for different conditions.

Some state programs, such as Georgia’s, list lupus as a qualifying condition, but the NIH reviews cited here report no trial showing that cannabis treats lupus itself.

What is Lupus?

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body, such as skin, joints, and organs. Lupus symptoms may come and go, with periods of illness called flares and periods of wellness called remission. There is currently no known cure.

People with lupus have an immune system that cannot recognize the difference between the body’s natural cells and harmful invading cells. Because of this, the immune system creates antibodies to attack and destroy the body’s healthy cells.

CDC estimates that about 204,000 people in the United States have systemic lupus, and about 9 in 10 of them are women.

Symptoms of Lupus

Lupus can affect many of the body’s systems and organs, creating quite a few symptoms. Symptoms can change over the course of the disease, as well as being inconsistent in duration.

The most common symptoms of lupus include:

Extreme fatigue
Headaches
Painful or swollen joints
Pain in chest when breathing deeply
Butterfly-shaped rash across cheeks and nose
Fever
Anemia
Swelling in feet, legs, hands, or around eyes
Sun or light-sensitivity
Hair loss
Abnormal blood clotting
Fingers turning white or blue when cold
Mouth or nose ulcers

Treatment of Lupus

There is no cure for lupus, but with treatment many people can manage the disease, according to NIH. The most common treatments include:

NSAIDs for pain relief and fever
Corticosteroids to reduce pain and inflammation
Immunosuppressants to calm a dysfunctional immune system
Antimalarial drugs to treat fatigue, joint pain, skin rashes and lung inflammation, according to NIH.

Long-term use of some of these medicines can cause serious side effects, so review them with your doctor.

Can Cannabis Help With Lupus Symptoms?

The endocannabinoid system has receptors located throughout our bodies, including the systems that regulate immunity. Finding out exactly how cannabinoids interact with the immune system still requires research, but there is no clinical evidence yet that cannabis helps lupus symptoms specifically.

Immune effects: In mouse studies, THC suppressed parts of the immune system, which is why researchers ask whether it could calm an overactive one; this has not been tested in people with lupus.
Inflammation: Lab and animal studies suggest cannabinoids can dampen inflammation, but this has not been shown in lupus patients.
Pain relief: Reviews of chronic pain trials find a small benefit, if any, and none of those trials studied lupus. Pain and inflammation are among the most common lupus symptoms, which is why the question keeps coming up.

Administering Cannabis for Lupus

There are many methods of ingesting cannabis and each has its own benefits and detriments. For example, smoked cannabis acts quickly, but its smoke carries carcinogens and irritants that can harm lung tissue. Vaporization avoids smoke and acts faster than edibles, but vaping THC-containing products has been linked to severe lung injury, and its effects wear off sooner. Edibles take time to kick in and their effects last longer, which makes the dose harder to judge.

If you have lupus and take other medicines, the way you take cannabis matters.

Vaporization: Acts within minutes, but no method avoids drug interactions, so check with your doctor if you take other medicines.
Cannabis oil: Taken by mouth in measured doses; it should never replace the medicines that keep lupus under control.
Edibles: Edibles start slowly and last longer, so some patients take them at night, though this has not been studied in lupus.
Topicals: Creams and ointments with THC or CBD are applied to sore joints, but there is little clinical research showing they ease joint pain or inflammation.

Strains Lupus Patients Mention

No strain has been tested for lupus, and strain names often do not match a product’s chemistry, so the reports below are anecdotes. The strain that works best for one patient may not provide the same benefits or success to another. Some patients respond better to CBD oil or a strain with a high-CBD to THC ratio, while others prefer equal amounts of THC to CBD. Other patients respond better to a high-THC strain of cannabis. Strains patients mention include:

Cannatonic: This strain has a high CBD to THC ratio, sometimes providing as much as 17% CBD compared to 6% THC. Patients report using it for pain, stress and inflammation.
Harlequin: Another high CBD strain, Harlequin has a 5:2 CBD to THC ratio. Patients report using Harlequin for pain and inflammation.
Sour Tsunami: Another high CBD strain; patients report using it for fatigue, pain and inflammation.
Girl Scout Cookies (a.k.a. GSC): It is usually sold as a high-THC strain, though labels vary. Patients report using GSC for stress, pain and sleep.
The White: Often sold as a high-THC strain, with THC that varies by batch; patients report using it for sleep, pain and inflammation.
Death Star: Usually sold as a high-THC strain, though the figure varies by grower and batch, so read the lab label. Patients report using it for pain, sleep and stress.

The Takeaway

Cannabis is not a proven treatment for lupus symptoms, and personal reports of relief are not trial evidence. Keep in mind however that because lupus can damage organs and body tissues, it should never be self-diagnosed or self-treated. Always talk with your doctor before beginning a cannabis regimen, especially if you are taking other medications.

Any medical use of cannabis should be guided and supervised by a qualified medical professional. Florida’s list of qualifying conditions does not name lupus, so a qualified physician may certify it only if it is of the same kind or class as, or comparable to, one of the listed conditions other than a terminal condition or chronic nonmalignant pain; that decision is at the physician’s discretion, and certification is never promised. Our Sarasota office can review whether that applies to you. Ask your rheumatologist first if you take other medicines, since FDA warns that cannabis products can change how some drugs work.