The recreational and medicinal use of cannabis is becoming more and more popular and accepted all over the US and Canada.
What was once thought of as a dangerous and addictive gateway drug is now recognized for its true therapeutic effects, and is prescribed as an effective medicine for several ailments.
Recreational use of cannabis is currently legal in eleven states of the US, whereas medical use is allowed in the majority of US states.
Though weed may have many advantages, the research into its effectiveness is still ongoing, as experts find new and exciting facts about cannabis. One of these facts is that cannabis can have slightly different effects on people depending on gender.
Today, I am going to talk in more detail about how both genders are affected differently by weed, so stay tuned to learn more.
Women May Be More Tolerant of Cannabis Than Men
When you keep using weed regularly, your body builds a tolerance to it. This is why the first time you may feel high after only a couple of hits, whereas regular users need to smoke an entire joint to get the same effect.
Though the amount of time you have been smoking weed is the main factor contributing to the buildup of tolerance, gender may also play a role.
According to an animal study at Washington State University, females may build up an understanding faster than men.
Now, what does this mean for women? In short, they may need higher doses to get the desired effects, whether recreational or medicinal.
Furthermore, it might be beneficial for women to do a marijuana tolerance cleanse more often, and they should keep changing the type of strains they use.
Even a week of not using cannabis can bring your tolerance down and increase the potency of your dose.
Men May Feel More Pain Relief As Compared to Women
Cannabis has many medicinal effects, one of the most common of which is pain relief. The cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, especially CBD, can numb severe pains and provide effective relief. However, pain relief is another aspect of cannabis, where the effects are different for both genders.
A recent study, conducted in 2016 studied the pain countering effects of cannabis with a focus on gender. It was concluded that when smoked, cannabis significantly decreased pain sensitivity in men. However, the female subject did not feel the same effects.
This means that women may need stronger strains for pain relief. Or they may need to use other products with a higher consistency of CBD.
Getting CBD products in Canada and the US is very easy, and they usually don’t have any significant psychoactive effects either.
Some studies contradict the claim that women need higher doses for pain relief. A study from Washington State University found that when the estrogen levels were at the peak, women were more sensitive to the pain-relieving effects of cannabis.
Men May Feel Hungrier After Using Cannabis
If you have ever smoked weed, you might be familiar with the effect called “the munchies.” cannabis can increase your metabolism, which results in you feeling hungry and craving snacks.
However, for women who want to lose weight, using cannabis is a great option, because according to a study, women are less likely to get the munchies after using cannabis.
Though women generally show more sensitivity to THC, the munchies are the only effect where men are more susceptible.
Therefore, if a woman wants to use cannabis while losing weight, it can be quite beneficial. However, if they are using it to treat an eating disorder, they might require higher doses or more potent concentrates than men.
Women Are More Susceptible to The Withdrawal Symptoms of Cannabis
Though withdrawal symptoms are associated with dangerous drugs, you can also have withdrawal symptoms if you stop using cannabis after a long time.
Of course, these withdrawal symptoms are nowhere near the effects caused by other drugs; they can still be a nuisance.
According to a study from 2010, which was also published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, women have more severe withdrawal symptoms after using cannabis as compared to men.
One of the most common symptoms prevalent in women and uncommon in men is an upset stomach.
Though this study may make it seem like cannabis is more dangerous for women, do bear in mind that this study had only 104 participants.
Cannabis May Improve The Cognition of Women More Than Men
When it comes to the cognitive effects of cannabis, the kind of strain used matters a lot.
High CBD sativa strains can increase creativity, and THC dominant indica strains may make you lazier and less responsive.
However, a recent study has shown that the low doses of cannabis improved the spatial working memory of women; but had no such effect on men.
Similarly, women were also found to be less susceptible to the memory impairment effects of cannabis indica strains.
Final Thoughts
By now, you might be wondering why cannabis has different effects on different genders.
The answer lies in the various gender hormones. Especially for women, estrogen plays a significant role in regulating the effects of cannabis.
Estrogen directly affects the production of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH). This can decrease the production of naturally occurring endocannabinoids in the human body known as anandamide.
The estrogen levels in a woman’s body can fluctuate. They go through their menstrual cycle when the estrogen levels are low, FAAH can degrade the naturally occurring cannabinoids of our body more freely, which lead to several effects like anxiety and stress.
It is also the reason why cannabis is less effective for women. On the other hand, since the hormone levels in men do not fluctuate as much as women, they can get the bulk of the weed effects.
- 5 Ways in Which Women React Differently to Cannabis Than Men - June 29, 2020
Unlike smoking cigarettes, when smoking cannabis in the form of cannabis your lungs aren’t harmed.
If you look around, you will notice that the avid cannabis user is usually not overweight