Medicinal Cannabis in Women's Health

This book explores the scientific evidence for the medical use of cannabis in the treatment of common conditions affecting women. Written for healthcare professionals, this book sets out the rationale for why medicinal cannabis may be useful in the treatment of anxiety, depression, chronic pelvic pain, primary dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, menopause symptoms including insomnia, and osteoarthritis. It canvasses the current state of scientific research, both preclinical and clinical, into medicinal cannabis for the treatment of these conditions and includes case studies to illustrate how it may be used in clinical practice. Despite the growing interest in the medical use of cannabis by consumers, women in particular, there has been relatively little published in the form of books about the potential use of medicinal cannabis for the treatment of conditions affecting women. This book helps fill that gap.

The volume is set out in nine chapters. The first chapter introduces the book and discusses some of the history of medicinal cannabis in women’s health and the prohibition of cannabis in the US, the evidence-based medicine approach and types of research designs. Chapter 2 discusses the endocannabinoid system, its role in homeostasis, and gives an overview of its role in the female reproductive system. It also explores the key constituents of cannabis and their therapeutic actions, forms of medicinal cannabis, routes of delivery and safety aspects associated with medicinal cannabis. This sets the stage for understanding how medicinal cannabis might work for the women’s health conditions discussed in the remainder of the book. Chapters 3 through 8 cover medical conditions that impact women, including stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis, primary dysmenorrhea, menopause symptoms, including insomnia, and osteoarthritis. The structure of each of these chapters follows a similar pattern: a description of the condition, its prevalence, impact and comorbidities, and a brief description of pathophysiology and current treatments. The authors then discuss how the endocannabinoid system is involved, and the scientific evidence that medicinal cannabis may be efficacious. At the end of these clinically focused chapters are case studies that illustrate how medicinal cannabis may be used as part of an integrative approach to treating different women’s health conditions. Chapter 9 focuses on some of the clinical issues that are important to consider in treating women, including how to take an integrative approach to health and how to integrate medicinal cannabis into a treatment strategy, as well as what we believe is needed in terms of research into medicinal cannabis.

Medical Cannabis in Women’s Health: An Evidence-Based Guide will be of great interest to medical practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare practitioners who are prescribing medicinal cannabis, considering prescribing medical cannabis or simply want to be informed about the evidence base of its use in common conditions facing women.