Philadelphia, PA: Patients with refractory gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms report sustained improvements following their use of cannabis, according to data published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
A team of investigators affiliated with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia assessed changes in patients’ GI symptoms (e.g., anorexia, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain) at 30 days, six months, and at 12 months. Study participants consumed a variety of cannabis formulations, including extracts and flower.
“In each survey, participants reported a significant decrease in GI symptom severity when using medical marijuana versus when not using medical marijuana,” researchers reported.
The study’s authors concluded: “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. Overall, participants reported significant, enduring moderate GI symptom relief when using MMJ. … Additional studies … should assess the effects of different CBD/THC ratios, dosing, and methods of administration on GI symptom relief.”
The findings are consistent with those of several other studies showing that cannabis is associated with improved symptom management in patients with Crohn’s disease, IBS, gastroparesis, inflammatory bowel disease, and other GI-related conditions.
Full text of the study, “Relief in gastrointestinal symptoms with medical marijuana over 1 year,” appears in Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Additional information on cannabis and GI symptoms is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.