The Healing of Medical Cannabis on the Gastrointestinal Tract

For people with gastrointestinal disease, incl. Crohn’s Disease or Colitis there has been limited treatments for these painful, life-altering conditions. The correct, appropriate, diet for gastrointestinal disorders is fundamental to any treatment, western or alternative medicine.

Fortunately, both Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease have recently been recognised for treatment by medical cannabis and, as a result, individuals who suffer from these conditions now have access to medical marijuana treatment in most legal states in America.

Both Crohn’s Disease and Colitis are gastrointestinal disorders that belong to a family of disorders known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Crohn’s Disease causes chronic inflammation throughout the gastrointestinal tract and can cause painful swelling in any part of the GI tract from the oesophagus to the rectum.

Symptoms of Crohn’s disease include rectal bleeding, severe abdominal pain and cramping, constipation, persistent diarrhoea or a persistent feeling that the bowels are not entirely empty.

Ulcerative Colitis is quite similar to Crohn’s disease except for the fact that it only affects only the innermost layer of the colon. The symptoms of Colitis are similar to Crohn’s disease and include fever, decreased appetite, weight loss, fatigue and dysmenorrhea in women.

Although the anti-inflammatory properties of medical cannabis hold true for most people, IBD patients have been shown to have more cannabinoid receptors in the tissue of the colon than people without IBD, meaning people affected by Crohn’s Disease and Colitis are more likely to respond to the anti-inflammatory properties of medical marijuana, mainly THCA.

Recent research has also shown that medical cannabis can stimulate the appetite in affected patients, resulting in healthy weight gain and an overall improvement in symptoms. Moreover, the same study found that, after three months of treatment with medical marijuana, patients affected by Crohn’s Disease or Colitis enjoyed a better quality of life, greater ability to work a normal job, increased ability to perform daily tasks and maintain a social life, and a drastic decrease in pain. These results were reported without accompanying side effects.

Gastrointestinal diseases are best treated with a combination of CBD and THCA. Tinctures are ideal for micro-dosing throughout the day. Please refer to the suggested Gastrointestinal Disorders treatment guideline.