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A new study finds that women are now more open to treating gynecological conditions with cannabis.

A new study reveals that women would consider using cannabis to treat different gynecological conditions, from menopause to menstrual pains.

Published in the Journal of Women’s Health, the study shows that women have a history of using cannabis to cope with chronic pelvic pain, menstrual cramps and pain associated with gynecological cancer. “A larger proportion of women who reported ever using cannabis were willing to use cannabis to treat conditions commonly seen in gynecological practices compared to never-users (91.6% vs. 64.6%),” says Leo Han, MD, MDH, and one of the lead authors of the study.

Authors of the study theorize that this willingness to give cannabis a shot could be influenced by the relative safety associated with cannabis use and with the negative side effects that are common when using opioids for pain management. It’s important to note that conditions like endometriosis are infamously difficult to diagnose and treat, resulting in more and more women being willing to try alternate methods of treatment.

According to Journal of Women’s Health Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, the study found that “a large proportion of those women who had never used cannabis were willing to try it to treat gynecological pain. Fewer, but still a substantial percentage, would use it for procedural pain or other gynecological conditions.”

Cannabidiol (CBD) is extremely popular right now.

In fact, it is so popular that Google search data for the last few years shows that CBD is searched more often than THC.

For many decades THC was the cannabinoid that most scientists and cannabis enthusiasts focused on, however, that has clearly changed.

Products containing CBD are far more legally available in the global marketplace compared to products containing large amounts of THC.

That, combined with a growing body of peer-reviewed studies that find CBD to be an effective medicine, has resulted in exponential growth in the use of CBD worldwide.

As more research finds that CBD can be a useful medicine for dogs and cats, the compound has become one alternative medicine that’s being considered much more now than ever before.

In the U.S. and many other countries, dogs and cats alike are adored as loving family members. The ASPCA has estimated that in the U.S., 78 million dogs and 85.8 million cats are owned and treated as pets. Similarly, 44% of all American households have a dog as a pet, and 35% have a cat. Due to the abundance of pet dogs and cats, the demand for medical and veterinary services is significantly high, and it keeps growing.

For decades, pharmaceutical medications and traditional treatment methods tended to be the norm. However, in recent years, cannabidiol (CBD) has been making a large splash within the veterinary medicine industry. So, stick around to learn about the unique relationship between cannabis, but specifically CBD and modern-day veterinary medicine. 

CBD Usage and Pet Mammals—What the Research Says

As more research findings are released about CBD’s medicinal properties that can be reaped by mammals including dogs and cats, the compound has become one alternative medicine that’s being discussed and/or considered much more now than ever before.

To date, publications from Colorado State University (CSU) and Cornell University have documented the pharmacokinetics of CBD in dog subjects. The study reported that orally administered CBD (by mouth) is absorbed more effectively than transdermally administered CBD (applied on the skin’s surface). The study also found that orally administered CBD was well tolerated, which supports CBD’s solid safety profile.

There's a bill going through the House of Lords which will decide how the country will regulate its medicines after January 2021. It's called the medicines and medical devices bill. Among other things, it will decide how a post-Brexit UK will maintain a high degree of patient access to the best medicines, guarantee patient safety and high manufacturing standards, and ensure British regulators do not stifle global investments into our life sciences industry.

The main sentiment underlying that debate is that Britain must retain its international reputation within the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries.

Brexit represents a step into the unknown. A no-deal Brexit will create abrupt and fast changes to British regulation, threatening the country's attractiveness. But it might at least prompt a shake-up of the regulatory status quo.

One of the industries that stands to greatly benefit from any change to the status quo is the British medical cannabis industry. Since its legalisation in 2018, the sector's environment has stagnated. British patients have barely benefitted: patient access has been sluggish and confined to less than 20 cannabis products being prescribed on the NHS. The 1.4 million patients who currently self-medicate are stuck paying for pricey private prescriptions or accessing their medicine through the black market and risking arrest.

For such a leader in healthcare, why have so few British patients and businesses benefited from the industry getting the green light in 2018? A lack of NHS funding into research hasn't helped, and nor has a highly restrictive prescribing regime. There's been an extreme reluctance by the government to approve more domestic cannabis cultivation or allow British businesses to export.

A recent study taking place in Israel looked at how effective medical cannabis can be at treating chronic pain, with an emphasis on long-term pain management use. 

The study, originally published in The European Journal of Pain and conducted by researchers with University of Haifa, looked at patients over the course of one year and examined and measured how cannabis worked with their chronic pain conditions and how much relief they received. It checked in with users at one three, six, nine, and twelve months after the treatment started to see how patients were doing with their cannabis treatment.

“At one-year, average pain intensity declined from baseline by 20 percent. All other parameters improved by 10 to 30 percent,” the study reported. “A significant decrease of 42 percent from baseline in morphine equivalent daily dosage of opioids was also observed. Reported adverse effects were common but mostly non-serious.” Reports of adverse effects declined over the course of the study period.”

Another Study, A Consistent Finding

Of course, this is not entirely new information. It backs up what other studies have found, which is that cannabis can help with long term pain relief and reduction of opiate use, as patients rely on cannabis instead of more dangerous treatment options. However, there are some things about the study that are unique. 

“This study is novel in identifying possible predictors for treatment success, including normal to long sleep duration, lower BMI and lower depression scores,” the study explains in detail. “In contrast to current beliefs the diagnosis of neuropathic pain predicts a less favorable outcome. These findings provide physicians with new data to support decision making on recommendations for MC treatment.” 

Using cannabis-related products has become increasingly popular in North America. Scientific research has discovered a wide variety of ailments that these products could be useful for. Accordingly, the CBD market has surged. 

People are now integrating CBD products into their everyday lives. When shopping for  CBD near you, visit sites like cbdoilnearby.com to find which stores are worth visiting. For the best deals, always buy online unless it’s not an option in your town or city.

What Does CBD do?

The normalization of CBD products is still a relatively new concept. Therefore, not everyone is exposed to information regarding the benefits that this compound can have. In this article, we are going to learn how CBD products can have a positive impact on men’s health.

Cannabidiol known to most as CBD is an active compound that can be derived from cannabis and hemp. It is the second most prevalent, after THC. Many people know THC due to its psychoactive properties. Essentially, THC is what makes users feel “high.”

In the short term, marijuana hinders your learning ability, but doesn’t seem to cause long-term impairment.

Marijuana makes you dumb. At least according to the tired trope surrounding its use. Back in the day, stoners were considered slackers and anyone who smoked weed was on a one-way ticket to Loserville.

Today, many of those stigmas have fallen away. But some still linger in the popular consciousness, like the perception that every hit on a joint results in a lower IQ. But does smoking marijuana actually make you stupid?

Not really, according to a review published in the journal Neuropsychology. Canadian researchers Scot Purdon and Daniel Krzyzanowski aimed to better understand what long-term cognitive effects cannabis could have on users. They analyzed 23 previous studies to determine if marijuana abstinence had any impact on verbal learning and memory abilities.

Based on available literature, they wrote, whatever impairment marijuana use inflicted upon memory and verbal learning “appear to resolve between 7 and 28 days of sustained abstinence.” However, they added, “years of regular use were inversely related to longer periods of abstinence and verbal learning performance, undermining a confident inference that abstinence alone has direct benefits to verbal learning and memory.”

The passage of medical marijuana in Mississippi by voters Tuesday is being hailed as an historic vote.

Jay Czarkowski, a Boulder Colorado-based cannabis industry consultant who donated to the campaign to get medical marijuana approved in Mississippi, said his best advice to Mississippians is to become involve in the process of establishing the rules and regulations for a medical marijuana program.

"There isn't anything urgent; It will take time for this program," he said.

What do you need to know about medical marijuana in Mississippi? We provide answers:

Who will be able to use marijuana under the proposal?

Initiative Measure No. 65 amends the Mississippi Constitution to allow qualified patients with debilitating medical conditions — certified by licensed Mississippi physicians — to use marijuana.

A new study out last month from researchers affiliated with DePaul University and John Hopkins University helped illuminate some notable differences between men and women who are prescribed medical cannabis. 

The study, published last month in the Journal of Women’s Health, found that women “are more likely to report decreased use of prescription medications to treat symptoms, and report lower levels of support from physicians for [medical cannabis] use,” and that subsequent research on gender differences among those who use medical cannabis treatment “may benefit from more detailed data related to symptomatology, utilization, dosing, and outcomes associated with [medical cannabis], and interactions with the health care system to extend these findings.”

The researchers surveyed 361 patients who participate in Illinois’ medical cannabis program. “We summarized participants’ qualifying conditions, symptoms treated with MC, perceived physician support for MC use, use of MC and prescription medications, then analyzed differences by participant gender,” the researchers wrote, noting that they found that “that men report higher levels of support for [medical cannabis] use from both specialist and primary care physicians,” while women “were significantly more likely to increase use of cannabis after acquiring an [medical cannabis] card, and to discontinue prescription medications through [medical cannabis] use,” and that “that being a woman, using [medical cannabis] to treat multiple symptoms, and reporting higher levels of support for [medical cannabis] use from a primary care provider significantly increased the likelihood of discontinuing prescription medication through [medical cannabis] use.”

Gender and Cannabis Use

Researchers have long explored differences between gender when it comes to cannabis use. In 2016, a study from researchers at Columbia University found that “prevalence of past-year marijuana use increased for both men and women between 2002 and 2014.” In that same period, researchers found, “more men reported past-year use than women, but since 2007, the rate of increase was greater for men than for women, leading to a widening of the gender gap in marijuana use over time.” But despite such differences, the researchers said it was difficult to pinpoint a clear explanation.

“These changes parallel national trends in decreased perceived harmfulness of marijuana use, and legalization of both recreational and medical use in over half of U.S. states,” said Dr. Hannah Carliner, one of the authors of the Columbia University study.  “However, changes in attitudes and legality do not sufficiently explain why we observe a sharp increase in use in 2007, or why this increase was greater in men than in women.”

Researchers in Brazil have found that cannabis oil can be an effective treatment for patients with fibromyalgia, according to the results of a clinical trial completed recently. An abstract of the study, “Ingestion of THC-rich cannabis oil in people with fibromyalgia: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial,” was published last week in the journal Pain Medicine.

To conduct the study, researchers tested the effectiveness of a plant-derived cannabis oil on 17 women with fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic pain syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. The patients were treated over a period of eight weeks with a cannabis oil rich in THC. The initial dose was one drop per day, with subsequent dosage increases according to symptoms. The mean dose for those in the cannabis group was 3.6 drops per day, equating to a total of 4.4 milligrams of THC and 0.08 milligrams of CBD per dose.

Patients were separated into two groups, one of which received the cannabis oil, while the members of the control group received a placebo. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) was administered at pre- and post intervention moments and in five visits over eight weeks. The researchers reported that “the impact of the intervention on quality of life in the cannabis group participants was evident, resulting in reports of well-being and more energy for activities of daily living. Pain attacks were also reduced.”

First Gold-Standard Study

“To our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial to demonstrate the benefit of cannabis oil – a THC-rich whole plant extract – on symptoms and on quality of life of people with fibromyalgia,” the investigators wrote. “We conclude that phytocannabinoids can be a low-cost and well-tolerated therapy for symptom relief and quality of life improvement in these patients, and we suggest that this therapy could be included as an herbal medicine option for the treatment of this condition in the Brazilian public health system.”

Because of the impact that fibromyalgia can have on the health of patients and the need for effective and affordable medicines to treat them, the researchers recommended further research to study cannabis as a treatment for the condition.

A peer-reviewed study published in the research journal PLOS ONE demonstrates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is remarkably cost-effective when compared to currently available treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is estimated that a public healthcare payer or private insurer making MDMA-assisted psychotherapy available to 1,000 patients with PTSD would reduce general and mental health care costs by $103.2 million over 30 years. This treatment has not yet been approved by the FDA, does not work for everyone, and carries risks even in therapeutic settings.

Lead author Elliot Marseille, Dr.P.H., M.P.P., said, “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is conducted by a licensed psychologist and trained clinician over the course of twelve sessions with three sessions lasting six or more hours. The cost of that time is not inconsiderable, but in just over three years, healthcare providers will break even on the costs of mental health and general medical care. These estimates are promising yet likely too conservative: the study did not measure the value of increased productivity or lower disability payments as patients recover from PTSD and is constrained by the limited availability of data on the long-term trajectory of PTSD. Further research will be needed to determine the full financial, personal, and societal benefits of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD."

Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Head of Research Development and Regulatory Affairs for MAPS Public Benefit Corporation and co-author, developed the treatment manuals governing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. She notes, “A growing body of evidence suggests that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is often more effective than currently available treatments for PTSD, a notoriously difficult-to-treat condition. Previous research has focused on safety and efficacy and indicates statistically significant improvements over currently available treatments with a reduction in symptoms for 82% of participants. This study should compel healthcare providers to include MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a covered treatment for PTSD following FDA approval.”

Rick Doblin, Ph.D., Executive Director of MAPS and a study co-author, states, “The profound personal toll of PTSD can include a deterioration in physical health, relationships, and ability to participate in social activities along with the anxiety, insomnia, and suicidal ideation that mark the condition. By demonstrating a return of an average of 5.5 quality-adjusted life-years over 30 years, we have shown that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has the potential to reduce more than the personal burden of PTSD, contributing to improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare burdens for payers and providers.”

The cost-effectiveness of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy from the U.S. healthcare payers’ perspective was constructed with a decision-analytic Markov model to portray the costs and health benefits of treating patients with chronic, severe, or extreme, treatment-resistant PTSD. Efficacy was based on the pooled results of six randomized controlled trials with the 105 subjects who participated in Phase 2 trials and a four-year follow-up of 19 of those subjects. Other inputs were based on published literature and on assumptions when data were unavailable. Results are modeled over a 30-year analytic horizon and conducted extensive sensitivity analyses. The model calculates expected medical costs, mortality, quality-adjusted life-years, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.

The outcome of the cannabis referendum has raised concerns about the availability of medicinal options.

Just over 53 percent of people voted no to legalisation, while 46 percent voted yes.

Medicinal cannabis company Cannasouth's chief executive Mark Lucas told Francesca Rudkin a yes vote would have helped more people gain better and cheaper access to medical cannabis.

"There's no denying that some patients will access medicinal cannabis currently from the black market,  and if there was a white market, if you like, they would have been accessing very basic formulations of cannabis from that market."

The official result of the referendum, including special votes, will be announced on Friday. 

While marijuana is typically advised against before surgery, many doctors and surgeons are speaking out about its effects for after-care. 

Breast implants are still a booming business. As one of the most popular surgeries in the U.S., over 300,000 women go under the knife annually. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Americans spent more than $16.5 billion on cosmetic surgery in 2018. 

With many instances of news covering breast implant illness, where individuals who have received breast implants describe symptoms like chest pain, fatigue, hair loss, and chronic pain, more patients are asking about the risks associated with getting implants or having them removed. And, with medical marijuana and CBD available in more states each year, considerations should be made when combining marijuana and the addition of implants or their removal.

Marijuana and Implant Surgery

Whether patients are undergoing surgery for a reduction or receiving implants, many doctors spoke to us about the importance of a candid conversation about marijuana use. Dr. Nathan Castillo, who practices out of Atlanta, GA,  shared that patients should, “refrain from smoking marijuana for at least 4-6 weeks before surgery.” Studies have found a link between marijuana use before surgery and a risk of vasodilation during surgery, the latter of which occurs when blood pressure falls due to blood vessels relaxing. 

Additionally, a 2018 study published in the journal Heliyon, found that consuming marijuana before surgery could complicate outcomes during and after the procedure. The study found that marijuana’s effects were most prevalent one hour after the start of the surgery and lasted anywhere from 2-4 hours. With an increase in both airway obstruction and anesthetic doses administered, the study found patients who consumed marijuana before surgery carried more risks than patients who abstained. However, while marijuana is typically advised against before surgery, many doctors and surgeons are speaking out about its effects for after-care. 

Seniors are turning to cannabis to treat common symptoms of aging, with nearly 80% of those who reported using cannabis saying they did so for medicinal reasons, according to a study from researchers at the University of California San Diego. Results of the study, “Cannabis: An emerging treatment for common symptoms in older adults,” were published this month in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.

To conduct the research, investigators surveyed 568 seniors at a geriatric clinic. All respondents were at least 65 years old, and 73% of those surveyed were older than 75. The researchers discovered that 15% of seniors had used cannabis in the last three years, among whom half reported using cannabis regularly. Cannabis was used primarily for medical reasons by 78% of those who reported its use.

“Pain, insomnia, and anxiety were the most common reasons for cannabis use and, for the most part, patients reported that cannabis was helping to address these issues, especially with insomnia and pain,” Christopher Kaufmann, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology in the Department of Medicine at UCSD and one of the study’s authors, said in a press release.

The researchers also found that 61% of respondents who used cannabis had begun doing so at the age of 60 or older, according to Kevin Yang, a third-year medical student at UCSD and another author of the study.

“Surprisingly, we found that nearly three-fifths of cannabis users reported using cannabis for the first time as older adults,” Yang said. “These individuals were a unique group compared to those who used cannabis in the past.”

In this article Dean Billington, Chief Operating Officer at Brains Bioceutical, discusses how medical cannabis can help the UK’s chronic pain problem.

Chronic pain is one of the most troubling and expensive issues for the NHS and patients. In fact, a recent study by The British Pain Society suggests that chronic pain affects more than 40% of the UK population, meaning that more than 26 million people in the UK are living with pain that has lasted three months or longer. The BMJ has suggested that this could rise to as high as 60% among those over the age of 75.

For many patients battling this silent epidemic, it is a hopeless exercise of jumping from one prescription drug to another and at a huge cost. For example, the associated treatment for these patients is estimated to account for 4.6m GP appointments each year at a staggering cost of £69m.

Unfortunately, treatment pathways often direct patients to opioid painkillers. A recent review published by Public Health England revealed that the UK now has the fastest-growing rate of opioid use across the world, with prescriptions rising by 22% over the past decade to 40 million prescriptions a year. This is despite the fact that NHS guidelines recommend that opioids should not be taken for more than a few weeks at a time as patients can become addicted to them. In addition to this, health experts have warned that opioid painkillers are not effective for 90% of people with chronic pain.

With the NHS now looking to move away from prescribing these addictive opioids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) –  following updated draft guidance issued by NICE last month –   there is an undeniable need for alternative medicines that are effective and affordable.

It’s a great time for cannabis in the U.S., with a wide variety of quality products reaching different areas of the country. While marijuana is not legal on a federal level, U.S. states seem to be more open to the possibility of cannabis as a valid option for people struggling with different illnesses or who want to consume it recreationally.

There are thousands of medicinal cannabis products available for purchase online, but the Internet can be a hard (and questionable) place to buy stuff unless well-informed aobut what you’re looking for. Here are five of the most common products that consumers may want to learn more about.

Medical cannabis oil

This product is mostly administered through an oral syringe and made up of a dark coloured liquid containing a mixture of components within the cannabis plant. Offering cannabinoids and terpenoids, many cannabis oils are high in antioxidant features and have painkilling and anti-inflammatory properties. Cannabis oils have been reported to be helpful in treating a variety of ailments and can even be prepared at home.

CBD hemp oils are easier to acquire in most U.S. states since a medical card is not needed to purchase. / Photo: iStock / Getty Images PlusPhoto: iStock / Getty Images Plus

CBD hemp oil

This product is made from hemp plants with low THC and high CBD content. Since these hemp products contain almost no THC, they’re non-psychoactive, which means that they won’t get a user high. CBD hemp oils are easier to acquire in most U.S. states since a medical card is not needed to purchase.

Oct. 17 marked the first day of medical cannabis sales in Missouri, and the state’s two operational cannabis retailers, N’Bliss and Fresh Green, have had quite the journey to serving patients in the nascent market.

N’Bliss, a subsidiary of Nirvana Investments, opened its first two stores in Manchester and Ellisville on Oct. 17, while Fresh Green opened for business in Lee’s Summit on Oct. 19.

“It was exciting—the energy is real,” N’Bliss Managing Partner and CEO Bradford Goette tells Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary of opening weekend.

Goette says the dispensary could have opened earlier, but the N’Bliss team took their time to ensure a great experience for its first customers.

“Your first sale and transaction should be memorable, but it should be right,” he says. “You should be doing this for the patient, and we want that to go smooth. We know with all the software systems, moving parts [and] compliance, there’s a lot of room for error. We wanted to test things and make sure things were working prior to opening.”