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Study: Medical Marijuana Works Better for Women Than Men
Dr. Rebecca Craft has good news for female medical marijuana patients: the plant’s effectiveness in treating pain is notably higher in women. Craft, a Psychology professor and researcher at Washington State University, says that the existence of estrogen explains this difference estrogen.
Of course, it’s not all good news. Higher estrogen levels also leave women more sensitive to some of the negative side effects. Craft highlights much more potent marijuana as a catalyst for the study.
“Marijuana is very different than it was 40 years ago,” she said. “It’s much higher in THC and lower in cannabidiol (CBD), so a little bit goes a very long way.” [WSU News]
Craft’s study reveals that female rats are at least 30% more likely to benefit from the pain-relieving qualities of THC. Unfortunately, the study also showed that unpleasant effects of marijuana are more common for women.
“We’re more likely to see negative side effects today like anxiety, confusion, panic attacks, hallucinations or extreme paranoia,” she said. “And women are at higher risk.”
The school’s news report goes on to state that clinical drug trials are commonly performed on men because of their steady hormone levels. Craft, however, has been conducting tests on drug sensitivities in females for years. She manipulates hormone levels to track the changes in sensitivity and has determined that estrogen is the cause.
“What we’re finding with THC is that you get a very clear spike in drug sensitivity right when the females are ovulating – right when their estrogen levels have peaked and are coming down,”
The study also noets that females develop tolerance to THC more quickly than males. Craft’s team studied the added pain-relief and its lessening over a 10 day period on a steady dosage. Even while reducing the female dosage by factoring in the sensitivity, females continued to develop tolerance faster than males.
Source: http://truthisscary.com/2014/09/study-medical-marijuana-works-better-for-women-than-men/
