SNL star Pete Davidson has been candid about his use of medical marijuana to alleviate Crohn’s disease and improve his quality of life. In fact, he’s said that cannabis has helped him in a way that other treatments could not.
In addition to this anecdotal evidence, researchers also believe that cannabis has a positive impact on Crohn’s disease. But why?
Continue reading to learn about the connection between cannabis and Crohn’s disease, and if medical marijuana reduces gut inflammation associated with this condition.
What is Crohn’s Disease?
A chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract, Chron’s can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition.
Can Cannabis Improve Crohn’s Disease?
For some time, it was believed that medical marijuana was effective in treating Crohn’s due to its ability to act on gut inflammation.
However, researchers recently discovered that, while cannabis can alleviate symptoms of the condition, it does not have an anti-inflammatory effect.
Recent Study on Cannabis and Crohn’s
This revelation comes out of an Israel-based randomized study on the effects of cannabis use on gut inflammation and Crohn’s symptoms.
Their investigation included 46 participants with moderately-severe Crohn’s disease. Over the course of 8 weeks, individuals received a placebo or treatment with cannabis containing 15% cannabidiol and 4% tetrahydrocannabinol.
Baseline of symptom severity was obtained pre-treatment and reassessed during and after the study. Gut inflammation was also analyzed using endoscopy and blood and stool samples.
Does Cannabis Have an Effect on Crohn’s Disease Symptoms and Gut Inflammation?
Researchers noted a significant reduction in symptoms and improvement in quality of life for participants that were treated with cannabis, compared to those that received the placebo.
In fact, 65% in the treatment group experienced clinical remission.
However, they did not achieve statistical significance between treatment and control groups for endoscopic scores or inflammatory markers in stool and blood samples.
Consequently, this study on cannabis and Crohn’s demonstrated temporary symptom relief, without any effects on gut inflammation.
To learn more about cannabis and Crohn’s disease, please contact Dispensary Works today.
