The anti-inflammatory properties of cannabis have been the subject of many studies, which is why cannabis was a favorite for treating Crohn’s Disease, an inflammatory bowel condition that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, though most commonly it affects the small intestine. It leads to fever, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, and bloody diarrhea. Sufferers of Crohn’s Disease are also at increased risk for bowel cancer.
However, Israeli researchers recently discovered that although cannabis may not help reduce gut inflammation, a steady regimen of cannabis oil made a significant improvement on the symptoms of patients with Crohn’s Disease. The findings were presented at the European Gastroenterology Conference.
After 8 weeks of treatment, the group receiving the cannabis oil had a significant reduction in their Crohn’s disease symptoms compared with the placebo group, and 65% met strict criteria for clinical remission (versus 35% of the placebo recipients). The cannabis group also had significant improvements in their quality of life compared with the placebo group.
