We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: When it comes to cannabis and its intersection with issues like civil liberties and health care, we are living through a truly fascinating time in history.
For one thing, Americans are letting it be known in overwhelming numbers that they support access to safe and legal cannabis. According to a CBS poll conducted early in 2017, some 61 percent of respondents feel marijuana should be legal for all uses. And in a further endorsement of cannabis’ medical and therapeutic validity, 88 percent of respondents believed it should be legal at least for medical usage.
Tellingly, women are now supporting legalization as strongly as men, an upward trend from only a few years ago. The poll didn’t drill down to gender-specific reasons for that support, but they’re not hard to guess. Increasingly, women are finding that cannabis addresses some very gender-specific concerns and interests of theirs: reproductive health, the promise of better sex, and general mindfulness.
Cannabis Benefits for Women
Cannabis, Your Ovaries, and You
As you are likely already aware, cannabinoids—the “active ingredients” in marijuana—interact closely with one of our body’s most important regulatory systems, the endocannabinoid system (endocannabinoids are the body’s version of the very same cannabinoids in marijuana).
Cannabinoid receptors—the specific points of interaction between those cannabinoids and you—are in many places in your body, including….(drum roll please)…your ovaries and uterus. In fact, during some stages of the menstrual cycle, the interplay between the uterus, cannabinoids, and endocannabinoids such as anandamide—the so-called “bliss molecule”—far outweighs the brain’s interactions. This helps regulate the menstrual cycle and, just as importantly, how good—or not so good—you can feel at certain stages of your cycle.
The takeaway? Cannabis is a powerful, and very gender-specific medicine for the discomfort and irritation sometimes associated with menstruation.
And when menstruation ends with the onset of menopause, cannabis still has an important role to play, helping alleviate hot flashes, night sweats, and many of the other symptoms associated with this change in your body’s regulatory activities.
Cannabis and Sex
It’s no secret that cannabis can be a pleasurable sexual enhancer for men and women alike. But when it comes to women’s experience of sex and orgasm, some cannabis may be even better suited to aiding the female experience. According to cannabis consultant Eloise Theisen (MSN, RN, AGPCNP-BC), women generally need less THC than men, so lower-THC strains like the aptly named “Sexxpot” can further the sensual experience while helping maintain healthy levels of estrogen and other hormones.
Marijuana Mindfulness
Marijuana is already finding fans in the personal-training arena for some strains’ ability to aid focus and insight; it’s only a short leap from there to the worlds of yoga, meditation, holistic health and general mindfulness. While we feel duty-bound to point out that some adherents of traditional practices frown on the use of stimulants of any kind, a large and growing number of practitioners are finding value in the calmness and clarity they find through responsible cannabis use.
In short, an increasing number of Americans are concluding that cannabis has a role to play in an active, engaged and balanced life. We couldn’t be happier that we’re getting to play a small part in this process and helping provide cannabis benefits for women. Thanks for checking in with us today!
