Patient question · asked by Anonymous reader · September 17, 2026
Does cannabis help with tics in tourette syndrome?
Is there any evidence for cannabis helping tics in Tourette syndrome? My son has tried a lot of medications without much luck.
Patient question: Is there any evidence for cannabis helping tics in Tourette syndrome? My son has tried a lot of medications without much luck? There is, from a small but carefully designed trial. Twenty-two people with severe Tourette syndrome took both an oral THC/CBD oil and a placebo for six weeks each, and tic severity.
The short answer
Dr. Caplan & CED Research Response
There is, from a small but carefully designed trial. Twenty-two people with severe Tourette syndrome took both an oral THC/CBD oil and a placebo for six weeks each, and tic severity fell further on the active oil. The most common side effect was cognitive: slowed thinking, memory lapses and poor concentration. And, of course beyond the literature, there are tons of clinicians who see patients that have found cannabis immensely effective for tics.
A closer lookWhy the answer is what it is
The design is a strength here. It was a crossover trial, so each participant served as their own comparison, with a four-week washout between the two six-week periods. Tic severity on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale fell 8.9 points on active treatment versus 2.5 on placebo, and the statistical model found a significant treatment effect (P = 0.008).
Secondary measures hinted at benefit for impairment, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms as well.
The cognitive side effects deserve real weight rather than a footnote. Eight of 22 participants reported slowed mentation, memory lapses or poor concentration during active treatment. For a young person in school, that trade-off may matter as much as the tic reduction does. This is a decision to work through with your son's neurologist, and 22 participants is a small base to generalise from.
The evidence
The study behind this answer
Verified on PubMed Randomized controlled trial
Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol in Tourette Syndrome
PubMed 38320199
Read the abstract as published
BACKGROUND: Tourette syndrome is characterized by chronic motor and vocal tics. There is preliminary evidence of benefit from cannabis products containing Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and that coadministration of cannabidiol (CBD) improves the side-effect profile and safety. METHODS: In this double-blind, crossover trial, participants with severe Tourette syndrome were randomly assigned to a 6-week treatment period with escalating doses of an oral oil containing 5 mg/ml of THC and 5 mg/ml of CBD, followed by a 6-week course of placebo, or vice versa, separated by a 4-week washout period. The primary outcome was the total tic score on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS; range, 0 to 50 [higher scores indicate greater severity of symptoms]). Secondary outcomes included video-based assessment of tics, global impairment, anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Outcomes were correlated with plasma levels of cannabinoid metabolites. A computerized cognitive battery was administered at the beginning and the end of each treatment period. RESULTS: Overall, 22 participants (eight female participants) were enrolled. Reduction in total tic score (at week 6 relative to baseline) as measured by the YGTSS was 8.9 (±7.6) in the active group and 2.5 (±8.5) in the placebo group. In a linear mixed-effects model, there was a significant interaction of treatment (active/placebo) and visit number on tic score (coefficient = −2.28; 95% confidence interval, −3.96 to −0.60; P=0.008), indicating a greater decrease (improvement) in tics under active treatment. There was a correlation between plasma 11-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol levels and the primary outcome, which was attenuated after exclusion of an outlier. The most common adverse effect in the placebo period was headache (n=7); in the active treatment period, it was cognitive difficulties, including slowed mentation, memory lapses, and poor concentration (n=8). CONCLUSIONS: In severe Tourette syndrome, treatment with THC and CBD reduced tics and may reduce impairment due to tics, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder; although in some participants this was associated with slowed mentation, memory lapses, and poor concentration. (Funded by the Wesley Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, and the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, a philanthropically-funded research organization at the University of Sydney, Australia; Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12618000545268.)
Abstract text as indexed by PubMed for this identifier.
In practice
What this study does and does not change
A meaningful signal in a condition with few good options, from a small trial. The cognitive side effects matter, because they land on the same attention and memory that tics already tax.
A physician's read of the cited study, as it appears on that study's page.
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Reviewed by Dr. Caplan on September 17, 2026.
This answer is general education. It is not medical advice and does not create a doctor-patient relationship. For care specific to you, book a consultation. In an emergency, call 911.