A new study has found that marijuana significantly reduces the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients.
The study, titled Relief in Gastrointestinal Symptoms with Medical Marijuana Over 1 Year, was published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, and it was published online by the US National Library of Medicine. Researchers say this “is the first study to examine MMJ’s [medical marijuana’s] longitudinal effects on GI symptoms in patients with refractory GI and non-GI MMJ-certified conditions.”
Participants in the study completed surveys at four intervals: at the start of the study, after 30 days, at six months, and at 12 months. They rated the severity of their GI symptoms on a scale from 1 (mild) to 3 (severe).
“In each survey, participants reported a significant decrease in GI symptom severity when using MMJ versus when not using MMJ”, states the study. “Overall, participants reported significant, enduring moderate GI symptom relief when using MMJ. Importantly, there were no differences in GI symptom relief based on age, sex, the number of medical conditions, and the number of patient medications.”
The three most common certified conditions for MMJ use were chronic pain (30.9%), anxiety (45.5%), and PTSD (10.9%). The combined representation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome as self-reported reasons for using MMJ was 14.4% at baseline.
The study found that some participants experience mild side effects. The most commonly reported side effects included increased appetite (12-21.4%), fatigue (6-16.7%), anxiety (4-11.9%), cough (4-11.9%), headache (6-7.9%), and dry mouth (4-7.1%).
The study concludes:
In patients with chronic GI symptoms, MMJ may provide persistent symptom severity improvement. Limited product availability and mild to moderate side effects are factors to consider before trialing MMJ.
For the full text of the study, click here.
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