Medical Marijuana Smoking Shown to Help Crohn’s Disease Patients
Regular smoking of medical marijuana has been found to improve the condition of patients suffering from severe forms of Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. According to a study conducted by Israeli scientists and published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, complete remission was achieved in half of the cases.
What Is Crohn’s Disease?
Crohn’s disease is a chronic granulomatous inflammation that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the rectum. The exact cause of the disease remains unknown, but genetic, infectious, and immunological factors are believed to play a role. Main symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, and weight loss. Standard treatments to reduce the frequency of relapses typically involve corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, antibiotics, and, in severe cases, surgical intervention.
The Study: Marijuana’s Impact on Crohn’s Disease
Researchers from the Meir Medical Center conducted a study to examine the effects of marijuana on patients with severe, treatment-resistant Crohn’s disease. The study involved 21 participants. Eleven of them smoked two cigarettes per day, each containing 11.5 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), for eight weeks. The remaining ten participants formed the control group and received a placebo.
As a result, five people in the marijuana group achieved complete remission of the disease, along with improved appetite and sleep. The rest of the group also experienced improvements, and three were able to stop using steroid medications. No side effects were observed. In the control group, only four participants showed minor improvements during the same period.
Conclusions and Future Research
The authors emphasize that these results highlight the need for further research on a larger group of participants to better understand the potential benefits of medical marijuana for Crohn’s disease patients.