History demonstrates that people have been using cannabis for millennia. Long before there were scientific studies looking into its medical efficacy, the plant was lauded as one that could help people feel better. So it should be no surprise when modern studies reveal people using cannabis despite no clinical evidence suggesting they should.
A recent case in point is a study that shows women are using cannabis to help manage their menopause symptoms. Among them are women who either cannot take advantage of hormone treatment or choose not to use it for a variety of reasons.
Recruiting Subjects for the Study
In order to conduct their study, researchers recruited 250 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. They did so by advertising research related to women’s health and cannabis. Their goal was to assess how many of the participants used cannabis along with the degree to which they used it and how they used it.
The recruiting methodology undoubtedly skewed the results to some degree. By targeting people already interested in cannabis, the researchers probably recruited more pro-cannabis participants than those who would be anti-cannabis. Nonetheless, the results of their study are worthy of serious consideration.
Among the 250 participants:
- 86% use cannabis to ease menopause symptoms
- 84.3% of the cannabis users smoke plant material
- 78.3% consume cannabis via edibles.
The most common complaints for which women chose to use cannabis were sleeping problems and anxiety. That makes good sense given what we already know about cannabis’ ability to address both issues.
An Alternative to Hormones
Study results in no way suggest that more than 80% of all perimenopausal and postmenopausal women rely on cannabis as a symptom treatment. Again, the study was likely skewed toward women who are already sympathetic to cannabis as a medicine. Still, it cannot be argued that there are plenty of them who use medical cannabis as an alternative to hormones.
Could this have an impact on states that allow medical cannabis use but not recreational use? Possibly. Consider Utah. Anyone wishing to purchase cannabis products at Provo’s Deseret Wellness can do so with a valid state medical cannabis card.
The most common reason for applying for a medical cannabis card is chronic pain. So a perimenopausal or postmenopausal patient could see a medical provider about chronic pain related to menopause. Quite frankly, complaining of any type of chronic pain would do. A patient could get her card and then use cannabis as a hormone therapy alternative.
It Deserves Further Study
All the questions over obtaining medical cannabis aside, the possibility of the plant’s cannabinoids being effective at relieving menopause symptoms deserves further study. A lot of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women already use cannabis because they believe it works. Now it is time for science to take the question seriously.
The thing is that hormone therapy, while it works for many women, is not the proverbial silver bullet. Hormone therapy has its own risks. In some cases, women do not want to take those risks. They would rather look at an alternative therapy.
This is not to say that medical cannabis is risk-free. It’s not. It is no different than hormone therapy in the sense that it has its pros and cons. But we need to know whether it actually works to alleviate menopause symptoms. And if it does, medical cannabis needs to be added to the list of treatment options women can consider along with their doctors.
Meanwhile, it would seem that there is no shortage of women who have chosen cannabis over hormones to treat menopause symptoms. That is no surprise to cannabis proponents.
