A new Australian study tracking over 2,300 medical cannabis patients for a year has found that the benefits of prescribed cannabis oil may be more enduring than previously thought. According to the research, published in PLOS One, patients experienced significant and lasting improvements in health-related quality of life, including relief from anxiety, depression, insomnia, and chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Researchers followed up with patients who had already participated in an earlier study, using questionnaires to assess their progress. The initial health boost seen after three months of treatment persisted throughout the twelve-month period, with improvements deemed clinically meaningful by the study’s authors. However, the study relied on self-reported data and lacked a control group, so while results are promising, causation cannot be firmly established.

For more on this story, see the original article on MSN.