Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and medical cannabis

Published October 14, 2022 in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, this study stated that its goal was to determine the adverse effects of using medical cannabis in patients with IBD.

The authors conducted a cross-sectional anonymous survey among 236 IBD patients with mild to moderate symptoms in New York and Minnesota during 3 months between October 2020 to January 2021.

Summary points:

• Cannabis users had fewer emergency room visits
• They also experienced a reduced impact of IBD symptoms on their daily lives
• "without serious adverse effects"

Most of the patients (79%) inhaled D9-THC dominant extract products via vape pens at least once during the 7 days before the survey.

In the authors' words:

Respondents reported fewer emergency room visits in the 12 months after versus before MC use (35.2 vs 41.5%, P<0.01) and less impact of symptoms on daily life.

Most respondents reported euphoria with MC use (75.4%). The other common side effects were feeling drowsy, groggy, or with memory lapses (4.2%), dry mouth/eyes (3.4%), and anxiety/depression or paranoia (3.4%).

MC [medical cannabis] users with IBD perceive symptom benefits and report decreased emergency room visits without serious adverse effects. 

The abstract is available here.