Australian researchers have published the first robust clinical study proving that medicinal cannabis effectively treats the debilitating effects of Tourette syndrome.

The findings—which show a statistically and clinically significant reduction in motor and vocal tics in just six weeks—are published in the journal NEJM Evidence.

The clinical trial was led by neuropsychiatrist Dr. Philip Mosley, a Research Fellow at the Wesley Research Institute and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

The University of Sydney’s Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, with Wesley Research Institute, assisted with study design and execution, and analyzed blood levels of cannabinoids among participants. The analysis found a significant association between levels of cannabis in the bloodstream and the response to active treatment.

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