A pair of researchers from the Hannover Medical School in Germany assessed the impact of daily cannabinoid treatment in two TS patients with treatment-resistant vocal blocking tics. One patient underwent therapy utilizing THC-dominant whole-plant cannabis. The other utilized dronabinol (oral THC).

In both cases, authors reported that treatment resulted in “significant improvement not only of simple and complex motor and vocal tics, but also in the overall symptomology including comorbid conditions and most importantly significantly improved patients’ quality of life including their social contacts and performance at school without side effects.”

They concluded, “[C]annabis-based medicine appears to be effective in treatment-resistant TS patients with vocal blocking tics.”

Prior studies and case reports have similarly demonstrated that the administration of either inhaled cannabis or oral synthetic THC is associated with substantial improvements in TS-related symptoms.

For more information, contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, “Speechlessness in Gille de la Tourette Syndrome: Cannabis-based medicines improve severe vocal blocking tics in two patients,” appears in The International Journal of Molecular Sciences.