Cannabis aids a plethora of medical conditions, including Menopausal syndrome, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Studies have shown that up to 85% of women suffer from at least one of the symptoms these disorders may bring.
In the 1800s, cannabis was a common medicine use to alleviate menstrual cramps, general pain and anxiety.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a group of symptoms associated with a woman’s menstrual cycle. The wide range of symptoms include severe pain from uterine cramps, anxiety, headaches, depression, irritability, and more that can get in the way of daily activities. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe, sometimes disabling extension of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Treatments for PMS and PMDD typically include pain killers, muscle relaxants and anti-depressants. Pain killers can become addictive and do long-term damage to the liver and kidneys. Muscle relaxants have similar drawbacks. Anti-depressants (such as Prozac and Zoloft) take several days to start working, so relief is not in arm’s reach. Even with the other pill options, pain killers and muscle relaxants take 40-60 minutes to kick in. Cannabis helps these symptoms immediately, much sooner than pain killers and muscle relaxants will begin to take effect. Additionally, cannabis is not physically addictive or as harmful to the human body.
The menopause is the term for the stage of life wherein a human female ceases to menstruate, and permanently loses the ability to have children. Strictly, menopause refers to the point at which a woman has not experienced a menstrual period for twelve months; the years of biological disturbances either side of this point are known as the ‘perimenopause’.
Cannabinoids and Menopausal syndrome
Cannabinoids provide an excellent way to manage menopause symptoms.
Osteoporosis(a medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue)
The CB2-receptors of the osteoclasts are fundamentally involved with the development of osteoporosis,it is also known that CB1-receptors have a role to play in the development of osteoporosis: a 2005 study on mice with inactivated CB1-receptors exhibited increased bone mass and were protected from ovariectomy-induced bone loss. Several studies have also shown that antagonists of the CB2-receptors decrease bone loss; thus, inactivation of the CB-receptors appears to be key to reducing the excessive rate of bone resorption that causes osteoporosis.
Weight gain
The CB-receptor blockers are key to managing this symptom.
However,prevalence of obesity in cannabis users is much lower than in the general population, a fact potentially attributable to a synergistic effect of THC combined with CBD; thus, non-synthetic medical cannabis may prove equally if not more effective than any synthetic cannabinoid, and presents far fewer potential side-effects.
Insulin resistance
There have been several studies into the relationship between the endocannabinoid system, insulin resistance, and the development of diabetes. It appears that blockers of the CB-receptors are key to managing insulin resistance, as CB2-knockout mice exhibit reduced insulin resistance, and CB1-receptor blockers have been repeatedly shown to mediate diet-induced insulin resistance.
Insomnia
There are several studies attesting to the ability of various cannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids to speed onset of sleep, improve restfulness of sleep and reduce likelihood of awaking mid-sleep.
Pain
Countless studies into the ability of cannabis and cannabinoids to manage pain have been published over the decades.
Anxiety
The precise role of the endocannabinoid system in mediating anxiety remains somewhat controversial, and appears to be dose-dependent. Low doses of CB-receptor agonists appear to induce a anxiolytic effect, while high doses exert the opposite effect. Furthermore, CB1-receptor inactivation or deletion appears to induce anxiogenic effects.
Loss of libido
The CB1-receptor inverse agonist AM251 has been shown to increase sexual motivation, proceptivity and receptivity in female rats, suggesting a possible role for CB1-receptor blockers in the treatment of loss of libido in human females.
Cannabis was used very liberally by the medical community 100+ years ago for women’s health issues. Prohibition changed that. Below are the few scans of medical journals and texts from a century ago that describe the benefits of cannabis medicine for women. Why is medicine that has so much evidence historically and in modern times being denied to most women today?
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