Cannabis and irritable bowel syndrome, cannabis can help.

April 18, 2021 by Jack Hoops 508

<code><strong> Cannabis and irritable bowel syndromen </strong></code> IBS (irritable bowel syndrome affects a large number of people worldwide. Many people are trying to cope with the serious form of IBS (Crohn’s disease). IBS can trigger a number of signs such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain. We are going to learn from this article if cannabis can resolve the problem of IBS.

An overview of the research:

In recent years, experiments have done on the effects of cannabis on IBS and Crohn’s disease. The researches have proved that cannabis is helpful in this regard.

Studies on cannabis and IBS:

Cannabis and irritable bowel syndrome: A study wrote in the Journal of Molecule Medicine back in 2005, which indicated that the endocannabinoid system, which is naturally a part of the human body, can prove to be helpful for gut tissue. The researchers stated, “The endocannabinoid system may serve as a potentially promising therapeutic target against different GI disorders, including frankly inflammatory bowel diseases…”

But the question is, can cannabis really help to relieve the signs of IBS? A review of the clinical study wrote in the Journal of Gastroenterology in 2020, which says the answer to this question might be affirmative. Researchers found that IBS-related symptoms, including abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and poor appetite, all improved with cannabinoids. Apart from CBD and THC, a number of other cannabinoids are there in the plant that works in tandem to ease IBS signs.

In a 2017 report titled “The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids,” a committee of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine found some grey area about cannabis and IBS, specifically dronabinol a synthetic marijuana-derived drug used to treat nausea and vomiting. The scholars wrote, “There is insufficient evidence to support or refute the conclusion that dronabinol is an effective treatment for the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.”

The researchers wrote, “There is substantial evidence that cannabis is an effective treatment for chronic pain in adults.”

Stories of medical cannabis patients:

A study of IBS patients conducting in 2019, the findings of that study wrote in the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 127 patients of IBS participated in that study. The study concluded that 30grams of cannabis was enough for the majority of IBS patients monthly.

Another 2019 observational study, published in the Baltimore-based journal Medicine, considered outcomes for hospitalized patients suffering from ulcerative colitis. The researchers found that consuming cannabis associates with shorter hospital stays as well as a lower prevalence of bowel obstructions.

What the experts say about cannabis and IBS:

Dr Adie Rae, a neuroscientist, says, “Some clinical studies show strong promise for cannabis treating IBS, but a complicating process. Cannabis and its constituents appear to improve the quality of life for these patients, although the severity of their disease may not measurably improve. IBS patients who use cannabis may be able to reduce their other medications and go back to work. They might have fewer complications and shorter hospital stays. However, in randomized clinical trials, the disease itself doesn’t appear to improve much. Lots more research is needed.”

Rae further said, “IBS can be excruciatingly painful. Cannabis, and especially THC, are safe and effective treatments for chronic pain in adults.”

Rae continued, “Because cannabis can produce euphoria and relieve pain, it’s not surprising that IBS patients report a higher quality of life when they use cannabis. However, the role of the endocannabinoid system in gut health is indisputable, and the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects produced by cannabinoids are undeniable; there has got to be something happening at the cellular level.”

According to Rae, these answers only create more questions which scientists are still attempting to resolve. She stressed, “The question is, what kinds of cannabis, for which kinds of patients. There are countless varieties of whole-plant cannabis in the world, with varying levels of THC, CBD, and other bioactive molecules. There are also several ways to consume cannabinoid medicines, and it is unclear which administration methods are most effective. It will take decades of research to figure out which molecules, in what ratio, on what treatment regimen, are good for treating chronic diseases, including IBS.”