New Study Shows Women May Not Receive The Same Analgesic Effects From Cannabis As Men

New Study Shows Women May Not Receive the Same Analgesic Effects from Cannabis as Men

A new study performed by the Columbia University Medical Center shows that cannabis may be more effective at relieving pain for males than females. Most cannabis-based studies so far have been performed on animals rather than humans thus the information that we have can only be taken with a grain of salt until more studies are done including human-based trials.
The recent study performed by researchers at the Columbia University Medical Canter was conducted on 42 human subjects who classified as regular consumers of cannabis. The study was focused on observing the difference in potential pain-relieving effects of cannabis on male vs female patients. 21 men and 21 women participated in the study. The placebo-based trial required the participants to smoke marijuana (some smoked marijuana with THC while others were given a placebo form without THC) and then they immediately participated in a pain response test. The study showed that the pain felt by males was significantly lower than the pain felt by females despite the fact that women have a much higher overall tolerance to pain.
According to the researchers who performed the study, “These results indicate that in cannabis smokers, men exhibit greater cannabis induced analgesia relative to women.” They also feel that this study warrants the need for more in-depth research regarding gender-specific benefits that cannabis may offer. Luckily a recent decision by the federal government is going to allow for more research to be performed. Hopefully, over the course of the next few months and years, we will start to see a seen an influx in the amount of human based cannabis trials being performed.
While the study performed by researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center may have been human based it can also only be taken with a grain of salt as there are several different factors that could have influenced the results on this very small group of participants. Some of the factors that play a big part in the results of a study such as this include the participant’s tolerance to cannabis, the potency of the cannabis being utilized, the balance of cannabinoids within the cannabis being consumed and even factors such as the consumption method itself can all have effects on the outcome. What we can take from the results of this study is there is definitely a significant need for further research to be performed to allow us to truly understand the best ways to utilize cannabis for the medical benefits that it provides.
image: BigStock