Can cannabis treat Crohn's disease?

Crohn's disease is a form of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the origin of which is poorly understood but involves genetic, environmental and autoimmune factors. Between 100 and 200,000 people are thought to suffer from it in France today.

Most patients diagnosed with Crohn's disease are under 35, and although the disease is not fatal, it severely impacts quality of life and can become a heavy burden both in daily life and financially. The symptoms of the disease are rather embarrassing: rectal bleeding, a feeling of constipation but violent diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc...

Numerous treatments for Crohn's exist, essentially to reduce inflammation, not cure it, and depend on a host of factors: stage and severity of the disease, location of the disease, previous treatments, side effects of treatments.

What about cannabis?

In 2011, an Israeli team analyzed the effects of cannabis on Crohn's disease. The study included 30 participants suffering from the disease to varying degrees, and therefore involved recording differences in disease activity, medication use, need for surgery and hospitalizations before and after cannabis use. Study findings: of the 30 participants, 21 experienced considerable improvement after cannabis treatment. Use of other medications was also significantly reduced. 15 of the patients had undergone 19 surgeries over a 9-year period prior to the test. Only 2 underwent surgery over a 3-year period of cannabis use.

Patients were free to consume cannabis as they wished. Most opted for joints, a few used water pipes and one ingested it in a pipe. space food. They consumed between 0.5 and 1.5 mg of THC per day, with one chronic pain patient using up to 3.5mg per day (7 joints). Cannabis use ranged from 3 months to 9 years, with an average of 2 years.

Another study also revealed interesting results, this time with a placebo control group. 21 patients were administered medical cannabis, 11 with THC dosed at 0.5% CBD and 23% THC, and 10 without. Study participants were asked to smoke 2 joints a day for 8 weeks.

Of the 11 people, 5 went into complete remission of their Crohn's disease. And 10 of the 11 saw an improvement in their symptoms with no notable side effects. In the placebo group, 4 out of 10 people reported a reduction in symptoms.

While these two studies are promising, the potential of cannabis must lead to further research and clinical trials to demonstrate its efficacy on Crohn's disease.

Tobacco and alcohol consumption are not recommended in Crohn's disease (farewell!). cannabis tinctures and joints). Authorized physicians therefore recommend vaporization instead, using cannabis strains high in CBD to avoid the plant's psychotropic side. As medical cannabis is not legal in France, 20% CBD oils can be used and consumed as drops or vaporized.