Women use cannabis to treat gynecological diseases

Women don’t have it easy. Every woman experiences monthly cramps at a certain age, but up to 20 percent of women experience painful cramps. This is medically known as dysmenorrhea and it makes it difficult to carry out daily activities. Add in menopause, urinary tract infections, and other issues, and it’s a menu of suffering and trying to live at the same time. A study shows that women would use cannabis to treat gynecological conditions, from menopause to menstrual cramps.

The study, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, shows that women have historically used cannabis to treat chronic pelvic pain, menstrual cramps and pain associated with gynecologic cancer. “A greater proportion of women who reported having ever used cannabis were willing to use cannabis to treat conditions commonly encountered in gynecological practices compared to women who had never used it (91.6% vs 64.6%),” says Leo Han, MD, MDH and one of the lead authors of the study.

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The study authors posit that this willingness to try cannabis may be influenced by the relative safety of cannabis use and by the negative side effects commonly associated with the use of opioids for pain management. It’s important to note that conditions like endometriosis are extremely difficult to diagnose and treat, leading to more and more women willing to try alternative treatments.

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

RELATED: Menopausal Women Are Now Turning to Cannabis for Treatment

While medical acceptance of cannabis is still new, the use of cannabis to treat menopausal and menstrual symptoms has become increasingly common over the years. According to data presented to the North American Menopause Society in September, one in three menopausal women uses cannabis to treat their symptoms.

Cannabis products used to treat menstrual cramps and increase sexual arousal have quickly become a profitable market, including bath products, cannabis tampons, lubricants and more.