Old Westbury, NY: Patients with IBD (inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease) typically respond favorably to cannabis therapy, according to a review of studies published in the journal Cureus.
Investigators affiliated with the New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine and other universities reviewed results from 29 selected studies published between 2012 and 2022. Most studies reported “reduced clinical complications” following cannabis treatment.
“Following treatment with cannabis cigarettes, … there tends to be a better patient perception of their general health, proving statistically significant and reflecting the promising effects of using cannabinoids in addressing IBD,” the study’s authors wrote. “Simultaneous improvements … suggest that the use of cannabinoids yields notable improvements in IBD patients’ social functioning, as well as improvements in the parameters of depression, body pain, and the ability to work.”
They concluded: “[C]annabis … yields promising outcomes. … It is recommended that in the future, more and more in vivo and in vitro studies are conducted … to foster a better understanding of the extent to which cannabinoids could play a protective role in IBD patients.”
Survey data published earlier this month reported that nearly one in four patients with IBD acknowledge using medical cannabis and over 85 percent of consumers say that it improves their symptoms.
Full text of the study, “The use of cannabinoids in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): A review of the literature,” appears in Cureus. Additional information on the use of cannabis for IBD is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
Source: NORML – make a donation