Medical cannabis treatment for lupus

What is lupus?

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune condition where your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy connective tissue. Research suggests that about 1 in 1000 people in the UK, approximately 50,000 people, live with lupus.

When people refer to "lupus," they usually mean systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common form of lupus. SLE can inflame and damage almost any organ or tissue, including the skin, joints, brain, cardiac muscle, and kidneys.  

The exact cause of lupus is unknown. So far, the available research suggests that genetics, hormonal factors, and environmental triggers could all play a role in whether or not you develop the condition.  

Although anyone can develop lupus, it’s nine times more common in women than men. It disproportionately affects women of African, Caribbean, and Asian heritage. It most commonly appears during the reproductive years (between the ages of 15 and 50).  

While there are many treatments for lupus, there is no cure. For lupus patients whose symptoms are not fully improved by conventional medication, medical cannabis is a complementary treatment option. We cover how this works, and what the evidence shows, further in this guide.  

Types of lupus

There are four main types of lupus: 

• Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) encompasses about 70% of lupus cases. A chronic condition, SLE can affect multiple organs and systems throughout the body.

• Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) primarily affects the skin. A common sub-type of CLE is discoid lupus, which causes scarring rashes typically on the face and scalp. About 5-10% of discoid lupus patients eventually develop SLE.

• Drug-induced lupus can develop as a side effect of certain medications and typically improves when the drug is stopped.

• Neonatal lupus is the most rare form of lupus. It affects newborns of mothers with lupus antibodies. It usually resolves within months.

What are the most common symptoms of lupus?

Lupus symptoms vary significantly between patients. One person with lupus may have a totally different experience to the next person with lupus. 

A national LUPUS UK survey found that most patients usually experience between six and ten different symptoms at the same time. 

The most common lupus symptoms include:

Joint pain and swelling 
Extreme fatigue
Skin rashes 
Hair loss
Sensitivity to sunlight (photosensitivity)
Anxiety, low mood, and depression 
Kidney inflammation (lupus nephritis) 
Cognitive difficulties (“brain fog”) 
Cardiac complications (heart health issues)

Lupus symptoms follow unpredictable cycles of flare-ups and remission. During a flare, the immune system makes antibodies that attack healthy tissue, causing widespread inflammation. Your symptoms may worsen, then get better, only to return with no warning.  

Below, we’ll look at some of the symptoms of lupus in greater detail. 

Lupus fatigue

Lupus fatigue affects between 50 and 90% of SLE patients, and it’s often rated as one of the most disabling lupus symptoms. 

It may affect your ability to work, maintain relationships, engage in hobbies or exercise, and even carry out simple tasks at home. 

A combination of factors can drive lupus fatigue, including active inflammation. Disrupted sleep and anaemia, two common lupus complications, can also affect your energy levels.  

Lupus rash and skin symptoms

Rashes occur in all forms of lupus, but their appearance varies depending on the type of lupus you have.

Two common types of lupus rashes include:

The butterfly rash (or malar rash). A flat or slightly raised red rash across both cheeks and the bridge of the nose.  
Discoid lupus rashes. Raised, scaly, circular patches on the face, scalp, and neck that can leave permanent scarring.  

For most people with lupus, sun exposure can cause skin reactions as well as full systemic flares of symptoms like fatigue, joint pain, and organ inflammation.  

Lupus hair loss

SLE can cause active scalp inflammation, leading to diffuse thinning across the entire head. Often, SLE hair loss improves or reverses when disease activity is better controlled.

Discoid lupus lesions on the scalp can lead to patchy hair loss with scarring. This type of lupus hair loss may be permanent. 

Lupus brain fog and cognitive symptoms

Neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) occurs when the tissue in the central and peripheral nervous systems is damaged or inflamed by lupus. It affects approximately 30 to 40% of SLE patients at some point during their disease.

The symptoms of NPSLE include:

• Brain fog
• Seizures
• Stroke
• Depression and anxiety
• Psychosis 

“Brain fog” affects up to 80% of SLE patients. It feels like an inability to think, focus, and remember clearly. People frequently report that brain fog significantly disrupts their ability to work, maintain relationships, and manage everyday tasks.  

Lupus brain fog can be worsened by chronic pain, poor sleep quality, and the psychological stress of living with a debilitating chronic illness.  

Lupus nephritis (kidney disease)

Lupus nephritis affects approximately a third of adults with SLE. If untreated, lupus nephritis can progress to chronic kidney disease or kidney failure.

Because lupus nephritis is so common (and so dangerous), it's recommended that SLE patients have regular monitoring through urine protein tests and blood creatinine, even if they don't have any noticeable kidney symptoms. 

Lupus nephritis is usually treated with corticosteroids and immunosuppressants.  

Lupus and the heart

Because it may cause heart inflammation, lupus significantly increases your risk of certain cardiovascular diseases, including:

• Pericarditis, the most common
• Myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle
• Accelerated atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque in the arteries 

People with lupus are 5 to 10 times more likely to develop coronary artery disease than the general population. 

Long-term corticosteroid use can also take a toll on your cardiovascular risk. It can raise your blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol, all of which can damage your heart health. 

While medical treatment can help keep your heart healthy, your lifestyle also matters. Exercise, a healthy diet, and avoiding smoking can actively protect your heart.  

How is lupus diagnosed?

There is no single test for diagnosing lupus.  

Instead, a doctor will use the ACR/EULAR classification criteria to diagnose lupus. This requires a combination of clinical symptoms, blood tests, and imaging. You'll need to get a certain score across multiple criteria in order to receive a formal SLE diagnosis.

Diagnostic tests for lupus include:

• ANA (antinuclear antibody) test. This is positive in over 95% of lupus patients, although it's also possible to get a positive ANA test if you don't have lupus.  

• Anti-dsDNA antibodies. These are highly specific to SLE.  

• Complement levels (C3/C4). Usually, your complement levels drop during active disease as the immune system consumes complement proteins.  

• Full blood count and urinalysis. These tests check for anaemia, low white cell count, and signs of kidney damage.  

For many, getting a lupus diagnosis is a frustrating, long,  and costly experience. The average person with lupus has to wait more than six years to get a diagnosis in the UK.

If you’re struggling to find answers, you’re not alone. This delay doesn't mean your symptoms are less serious. 

What causes lupus?

Experts haven't yet figured out a single cause of lupus, but a few different factors may be at play: 

• Genetics. Research shows that having a close blood relative with lupus increases your risk of developing lupus.  Also, certain gene variants are associated with a greater lupus susceptibility. 

• Hormones. Oestrogen may promote immune dysregulation. This could explain why women are 9 times more likely to develop lupus than men, and why the condition most commonly develops during the reproductive years. 

• Environmental factors. UV sunlight, Epstein-Barr virus infections, certain medications, emotional and physical stress, and smoking may trigger the onset of lupus, or trigger flares of existing symptoms.   

Future research on lupus will hopefully fill in more of the picture, and with it, better ways to treat and manage the condition.

How is lupus currently treated?

Your treatment will depend on the severity of your lupus and which organs are affected.

Common lupus treatments include:

• Antimalarials. Hydroxychloroquine is a common lupus medication, prescribed to reduce inflammation, control the immune system, and improve long term outcomes.  

• NSAIDs. NSAIDs like naproxen and ibuprofen are used for mild joint pain and fever, typically during less severe flares. 

• Corticosteroids. Corticosteroids (like prednisone) calm acute flares quickly. Unfortunately, long-term use carries serious health risks including osteoporosis, weight gain, diabetes, cataracts, and increased risk of infection. 

• Other immunosuppressants, including azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, and methotrexate. These are used in moderate-to-severe cases to control the immune system. They’re effective, but since they suppress your immune system, they could increase your risk of infections. 

• Biologic therapies, like belimumab and anifrolumab. The newest addition to the lupus treatment toolkit, biologics may be worth exploring if you haven’t had enough symptom relief from other treatments.  

As lupus patients are at risk for developing mood disorders like depression, talk therapy may be a helpful component of their overall treatment plan. In some cases, antidepressant medication might help. 

6. When conventional treatments are not enough

While these treatment options can make a difference, it might not help you feel 100%. Even when your lab results indicate that you’re “fine,” you might still experience fatigue, pain, brain fog, and sleep issues.   

Many people consider discontinuing lupus medications because of the side effects. Immunosuppressants, for example, increase your risk of infections and illnesses. Some drugs may also cause nausea, vomiting, and brain fog. 

It can be difficult to decide whether to stay on a medication that's helping your lupus but hurting you in other ways. 

When conventional treatments aren't enough, complementary treatments may move the needle. 

For some people, medical cannabis could be a complementary treatment worth trying.  

7. Medical cannabis for lupus

Medical cannabis is a complementary treatment that may help with some of the core symptoms of lupus, including chronic pain, inflammation, sleep disruption, and fatigue.  

The reason this works comes down to your body's endocannabinoid system (ECS), a network that controls immune response, pain signalling, and inflammation. 

Most people haven't heard of the ECS, but it's one of the body's most important regulatory networks. It helps keep your immune and nervous systems in a state of homeostasis, or balance. 

The ECS has two main receptor types: 

• CB1 receptors are found mostly in the central nervous system and involved in pain, mood, and sleep

• CB2 receptors sit predominantly on immune cells, playing a direct role in modulating inflammatory and immune responses.

This is directly relevant to what goes wrong in lupus.  

Research has found that people with lupus may have a dysregulated ECS. A 2018 study in The International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology was the first research to show ECS dysregulation in SLE patients.  

Another study in The Journal of Immunology identified that reduced endocannabinoid signalling appears to cause the overactivation of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, which play a major role in  the development of lupus symptoms. 

What this means is that external cannabinoids, like those found in cannabis, could potentially correct that issue on a molecular level. 

The two main cannabinoids in cannabis are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

We’ll dive deeper into the lupus-specific research on both CBD and THC below. 

CBD and lupus

You may have heard of people using CBD gummies or CBD oil for lupus. But what does the research say?

Firstly, early studies show CBD acts on CB2 receptors in immune cells and reduces inflammation. Unlike conventional immunosuppressants, CBD appears to help regulate the immune response without compromising your entire immune system and leaving you more vulnerable to infection. 

Research also suggests that CBD reduces chronic pain, addresses sleep-related issues, and may help with cognitive symptoms. 

This table shows a quick summary of the research on CBD and lupus:

THC and autoimmune disease

There are a number of reasons why THC can help with the symptoms of autoimmune disease.  

In particular, it may help with the following symptoms: 

• Pain. THC’s pain-relieving properties are well-known: great news for the 95% of people with lupus who have joint pain. THC attaches to CB1 receptors in the brain and peripheral nerves, which then reduces pain signalling.  

• Immune response. THC also binds to CB2 receptors on immune cells. It appears to help calm overactive immune responses.  

• Nausea and vomiting. THC is a known anti-emetic, which means it can curb nausea and vomiting: two common side effects of certain lupus medications. 

• Sleep. THC may possibly help many people fall asleep faster and stay in deeper sleep stages for longer.  

All in all, THC has the potential to address some of the most difficult symptoms of autoimmune diseases like lupus.  

CBD vs THC for lupus

Both THC and CBD has the potential to help with lupus symptoms:

• THC primarily activates CB1 receptors, potentially providing pain relief and sleep support. 

• CBD mostly affects CB2 receptors and non-receptor pathways (like TRPV1 and 5-HT1A) to target inflammation, anxiety, and immune function. 

Both cannabinoids working together may bring more relief than either one alone. If you qualify for a medical cannabis prescription through Releaf, a specialist will prescribe the optimal THC:CBD ratio for you. 

To learn more about these cannabinoids, read our guides to conditions that can be treated with medical cannabis. We’ll dive deeper into the lupus-specific research on both CBD and THC below.  

What does the research say about cannabis and lupus?

At the moment, there are no large-scale randomised controlled trials of medical cannabis specifically for lupus. 

But there are preclinical studies, surveys, and studies on other autoimmune conditions that may help us understand how cannabis can help people with lupus.

What we do know is more promising than you might expect. And the research body is growing.

Here's a quick overview of the key pieces of research published in recent years:

Read more about the UK medical cannabis patient survey 2025.

It’s clear that more research is needed, but so far, it's promising. The Lupus Foundation of America has issued a formal statement supporting further research into cannabis for alleviating lupus symptoms. Hopefully, future research will help us understand more about the potential of cannabis as a lupus treatment. 

Living with lupus

What’s it like to live with lupus? The answer differs from person to person. No two lupus patients have the exact same symptoms, symptom severity, or triggers. 

However, it can be a particularly debilitating and unpredictable condition. Lupus symptoms can worsen, then get better, then re-occur without warning.  

This unpredictability means it’s often hard to plan your day-to-day life. In practical terms, this can take a major toll on your social life, work performance, financial security, and mental health.

But there is hope. With the right kinds of treatments, you may begin to feel better, reduce the severity of your flares, and function better.  

Managing lupus

Managing lupus is more than taking medication. Many lifestyle changes can help you manage your lupus symptoms and avoid flares:

• Prioritise anti-inflammatory foods, like those in a Mediterranean-style diet 

• Reduce sun exposure and use high-SPF sunscreen  

• Manage stress with healthy coping mechanisms

• Take care of your mental health 

• Join a lupus-specific support group

• Engage in gentle exercise, taking care not to overexert yourself 

Learn more about managing lupus symptoms from LUPUS UK. 

What triggers a lupus flare?

You may find it helpful to learn about your triggers as well as the warning signs of an approaching flare. While you can’t always avoid these triggers, knowing what to watch for can help you respond faster.

The most common lupus triggers include: 

• Sunlight exposure

• Emotional stress

• Viral infections such as colds and flu

• Certain medications

• Menstruation

• Pregnancy or menopause

• Physical overexertion

It’s a good idea to keep a symptom and trigger diary. Use it to track patterns across weeks and months and share them with your rheumatologist to identify personal triggers.

The signs of an oncoming flare may include increased fatigue, pain, a low-grade fever, or skin rashes.  

Your rheumatologist might ask you to contact them as soon as you notice these signs, so they can adjust your medication. They may also help you devise a “flare management plan” to use when you feel an oncoming flare

Medical cannabis can’t prevent flares. But during one, it may help take the edge off your symptoms.   

Can lupus be cured?

Currently, no. There is no known cure for lupus.

But it’s possible to go into remission, which means you have no active symptoms and low disease activity markers. Some people with lupus maintain remission for years.

The goal of treatment is not to cure lupus altogether. Instead, the focus is to prevent organ damage, control symptoms, and help you live as fully as possible.

With appropriate, sustained treatment, you might be able to control your symptoms and maintain a high quality of life, even if you don’t officially maintain remission.

How can I get medical cannabis for lupus in the UK?

Specialist doctors at licensed private clinics like Releaf can prescribe medical cannabis directly..

To be eligible, you need to meet three criteria:

1. You have a confirmed lupus diagnosis from a qualified healthcare professional

2. You've tried at least two conventional treatments, but they haven’t controlled your symptoms entirely

3. A specialist agrees that medical cannabis is an appropriate complementary treatment for you

You don’t need a GP referral in order to get medical cannabis in the UK

How the Releaf process works

As the most trusted UK medical cannabis clinic, Releaf provides regulated medical cannabis prescriptions to those who qualify, including to people with lupus. 

The Releaf process is straightforward:  

1. Start with a free, 20-second eligibility check

2. Book a £99 video consultation with one of our 50+ specialist doctors

3. Receive a personalised prescription, if appropriate 

4. Once prescribed, your medication is delivered to your doorstep within 2 to 5 working days

5. Receive ongoing care and follow-up support from our team

The £99 consultation fee is fully refundable if you are found to be ineligible for a prescription. However, 99% of our consultations result in a prescription. You can learn more about how Releaf pricing works on our pricing page. 

To learn how cannabis treatment looks in practice, take a look at real Releaf patient journeys. And if you have any questions, please contact our team.  

Ready to find out if you're eligible? Try Releaf's medical cannabis eligibility checker. It's free, takes less than 20 seconds, and gives you a clearer idea of your potential eligibility.

FAQs about lupus and medical cannabis

Is it legal to use medical cannabis for lupus in the UK? 

Yes, and it has been since 2018. It can only be prescribed by a specialist doctor at a private clinic like Releaf, and only if you qualify for it. Head to our medical cannabis eligibility checker to check in less than 20 seconds.

Can cannabis help with lupus?

Possibly. The available research is encouraging, but not definitive. 

Some promising research suggests medical cannabis may help manage lupus symptoms like chronic pain, inflammation, and sleep problems, particularly when used alongside conventional lupus medications. Lupus-specific clinical trials are limited, but the available research is encouraging. 

Can cannabis cure lupus?

At the moment, there is no known cure for lupus. While medical cannabis may help with lupus symptoms, it isn’t a cure.

Medical cannabis is also not intended as an alternative to conventional lupus treatment. If prescribed as a complementary treatment, medical cannabis will be used alongside your existing care plan and is not a replacement for your current treatment plan.  

What does a lupus consultation cost at Releaf?

£99 for the initial consultation, fully refundable if you're found to be ineligible. However, 99% of consultations result in a prescription. You can learn more about how Releaf pricing works on our pricing page.

How quickly can I get a medical cannabis prescription?

We've designed our eligibility checker to take less than 20 seconds. If you're deemed suitable, you'll be able to book a consultation with one of our specialists within days. A medical prescription will then be sent out as early as the same day as your consultation, if your specialist deems it appropriate.