Warsaw, Poland: The use of herbal cannabis is associated with marked improvements in a patient with treatment-resistant stuttering, according to a case report published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
A team of investigators affiliated with the Medical University of Warsaw (Poland) and with Hannover Medical School (Germany) presented the case of a 20-year-old male patient with refractory stuttering. Following the daily administration of vaporized plant cannabis, the patient exhibited sustained improvements in speech fluency and also reported benefits to his overall quality of life. The patient did not report any adverse side effects from cannabis over the one-year observational period.
Authors reported: “[T]his is the first case report of a patient suffering from impairing and treatment-resistant stuttering, who markedly improved after treatment with medicinal cannabis. Based on patient’s self-report and reports of family and friends, as well as several established assessments, use of cannabis resulted not only in an improvement of stuttering but also remission of (social) anxiety, and reduced depression and stress, as well as improved sleep, attention, concentration, self-confidence, social life, and overall quality of life without any side effect. Importantly, treatment effects did not decrease over time.”
They concluded, “Medicinal cannabis could be effective in treatment of refractory stuttering, but these preliminary data have to be confirmed in controlled studies.”
While this is the first case report specific to the efficacy of cannabis in the case of a patient with a stuttering disorder, several prior studies have documented the ability of THC to improve symptoms in patients with Tourette Syndrome.