Pain: Cannabis works better for men

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Not only does cannabis get you high, it's also a potent pain reliever. However, it apparently works much better on men - at least in this respect.

The USA is a country full of contradictions - also when it comes to smoking. While smoking tobacco cigarettes is practically outlawed everywhere, smoking weed is increasingly legalized. This is already the case in four states, and in 25 cannabis is permitted as a medicine for therapeutic purposes.

Smoking weed against the pain

And so it is not only Americans who hope for the psychogenic effect that are increasingly turning to the joint, but also pain patients. The effect is apparently not the same for everyone: "Experiments with animals have provided evidence that the pain-relieving effect of cannabis is gender-dependent - but this has not been investigated in humans before," says Ziva Cooper of Columbia University.

Together with her colleagues, the neurobiologist had 42 healthy men and women line up to smoke weed. The participants either received a joint with the cannabis active ingredient THC or a “bag” that was free of the active ingredient.

Painful ice bath

The scientists tested the sensitivity to pain with a method that is often used in research: To do this, the test subjects dipped a hand in icy water. It was then measured how long the participants endured the increasingly painful situation. In addition, they also answered questions about their subjective perception of the effects of cannabis.

Significant differences

The difference in effect between the sexes was striking: while the men reported a significantly reduced sensitivity to pain after smoking psychoactive cannabis and showed a higher pain tolerance in the ice water bath, the pain perception of the women remained unchanged. Only her pain tolerance increased a little immediately after smoking weed.

Men and women get "high" equally

However, this is probably not related to the fact that THC generally works less well in women than in men: There was no difference between the sexes in terms of the perceived strength of the intoxication and positive sensations.

Further investigations are necessary to clarify the factors responsible for the pain-relieving effect and to what extent it plays a role how the drug is consumed - orally or smoked, the researchers write. In addition, one has to find out how regular consumption would affect pain sensitivity.

Research gender-specific effects

"The study showed that it is important to examine both women and men in clinical trials to determine the possible therapeutic effects and side effects of cannabis," says Cooper.

Therapeutic use in Germany only in exceptional cases

In contrast to the USA, the use of cannabis in Germany is still strictly regulated. Medicines containing cannabinoids may only be dispensed in legally approved exceptional cases. So far, the health insurance companies have not covered the costs for the very expensive drugs. That should change in the future. The cultivation of cannabis - also for (therapeutic) personal use - remains forbidden.

Cannabis effects and risks

The intoxicating effect of cannabis is diverse: These include euphoric feelings, more intense perception, increased fooling around and a stronger feeling of connectedness with friends, but also a distorted time perception and a disturbed short-term memory. In addition, there is an increased appetite - an effect that patients who suffer from anorexia take advantage of - for example some cancer patients.

With long-term consumption, a psychological and a slight physical dependence can develop. In addition, tendencies to withdraw can intensify, in which those affected develop an increasing indifference to everyday tasks, but also to hobbies. In addition, cannabis is suspected of being able to trigger the outbreak of a latent psychosis, for example schizophrenia.

Source: Cooper ZD et al .: Sex-dependent effects of cannabis-induced analgesia; Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016 Aug 5. pii: S0376-871630223-X. doi: 10.1016 / j.drugalcdep.2016.08.001.

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