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One of the world's largest longitudinal clinical studies investigating the effects of medicinal cannabis on patient quality of life and chronic conditions has delivered positive results across several metrics including fatigue and depression.
Led by the University of Sydney and supported by Health Insurance Fund of Australia (HIF) and Little Green Pharma (ASX: LGP), the Quality of Life Evaluation Study (QUEST Initiative) recently had a 12-month follow-up observation study published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One.
Analysis of the 2,353 QUEST Initiative patients showed clinically meaningful improvements across all patients for health-related quality of life (HRQL), fatigue, and sleep, as well as clinically meaningful reductions in anxiety, pain, depression and sleep disorders in patients diagnosed with these conditions.
All participants in the study, which took place between November 2020 and December 2021, used oral medicinal cannabis according to the protocol and had previously experienced unsuccessful results with other standard pharmaceutical treatments.
Perth-based Little Green Pharma exclusively provided Australian-made medicinal cannabis oils to participants at a discounted cost, containing different ratios of active ingredients, with many patients using CBD-only formulations which allowed them to drive during the study.
Participants were recruited across six states by 120 independent doctors, and were aged between 18 and 97 years with an average age of 51, and skewed female at 63 per cent.
"Little Green Pharma is proud to continue leading medicinal cannabis research and supporting this significant study on the effects of medicinal cannabis on patient quality of life," says the company's managing director Paul Long.
"The study's findings are particularly important for Australian doctors, as they demonstrate the effectiveness of Australian-grown medicinal cannabis in treating Australian patients.
"By using local products and involving local participants, we are delivering highly relevant data that can confidently guide doctors in their prescribing decisions, ultimately enhancing patient care across Australia."
HIF chief data and proposition officer, Nikesh Hirani, says investment in ongoing research about the potential health benefits of medicinal cannabis is important for the insurer's members, medical practitioners, and the broader community.
"HIF was the first major Australian health fund to publicly declare support for access to medicinal cannabis treatments via our partnership with Little Green Pharma," Hirani says.
"Four years on, it’s encouraging to see scientific evidence from QUEST highlight the positive impact of medicinal cannabis on a number of debilitating health conditions."
He says a particular area of interest for HIF was the effect of medicinal cannabis on sleep disturbance and sleep disorders, as the insurer sees sleep as "one of the key pillars of health, alongside diet and exercise".
"QUEST Researchers found clinical improvements in cohorts suffering with sleep issues when using medicinal cannabis, and importantly, these improvements were maintained over a 12-month period," he says.
"Improving quality of life for our members through choice and access to health treatment options continues to be our core purpose as a member-based health fund."
Hirani adds that HIF member data shows a 38 per cent year-on-year increase in its members claiming medicinal cannabis treatments from their eligible Extras policies.
"The fact our members continue to claim these services indicates they are likely seeing potential benefits from medicinal cannabis as a treatment option," he says.
The next phase of the QUEST Initiative is the QUEST Global Study and was launched in August 2023 under the leadership of Curtin University, with continued sponsorship from LGP and HIF.
QUEST Global, which is currently recruiting patients, will assess whether medicinal cannabis reduces the health economic impact of chronic disease by reducing both the number of medications a patient requires and their need for healthcare services.
Curtin University assistant professor Richard Norman, a health economics advisor for the QUEST Initiative, says the results so far are significant as they indicate "medicinal cannabis can play a role in longer-term health outcomes for a range of chronic conditions, rather than being seen as a band-aid solution".
"These 12-month real-world results are incredibly promising and indicate that medicinal cannabis can be an effective part of a GP’s toolkit when seeking to treat patients with chronic conditions which are stubbornly resistant to conventional treatment options," Norman says.
"Importantly, the results appear to be robust across different health conditions ranging from pain to anxiety to sleep issues. If medicinal cannabis can be shown to help these groups, then there is likely to be knock-on effects in other areas of the person’s life."
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