Spotlight: Cannabis for Women's Reproductive Health

by Billee Sharp

Cannabis medicine has therapeutic value for a very wide range of physiological and mental health issues; from glaucoma and epilepsy to depression. Clinical trials have clearly demonstrated positive outcomes when cannabinoids interact with our ECS ( endocannabinoid system) , our central homeostatic regulatory system. Women have found that cannabis has great value for reproductive health and that symptoms of menopause can be treated successfully with cannabis in a variety of forms.

Women use cannabis for female health issues throughout their lives; problems with menstruation, perimenopause, menopause and post-menopausal life can all be alleviated with the appropriate cannabis medicine.

A woman’s reproductive system is transformed through her lifetime several times; at puberty her ovaries activate the hormones which will produce the female gametes which create fertility in females.

Estrogen and progesterone are the hormonal building blocks of fertility, at different stages of the monthly menstrual cycle and the fertility lifecycle these hormones occur in greater and lesser amounts.

Since the scientific discovery of the ECS in the 1990s the connection between endocannabinoids and hormones has been revealed. In females the endocannabinoid Anandamide is produced in the ovaries and the level at which it is produced fluctuates as the menstrual cycle runs its course.

Research found that estrogen levels mirror anandamide levels and although the ECS is the body’s main regulator, it is, in fact, estrogen that determines the amounts of anandamide through the regulation of the fatty acid FAAH, which breaks down anandamide.

This research into estrogen and anandamide levels in menstruating women has shown that the ECS also goes through changes as women progress thro life into peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause.

It follows that if estrogen is not present it cannot act to stimulate or reduce anandamide levels.

Anandamide (AEA) was the first endocannabinoid to be identified by Raphael Mechohlam and his team in 1992. Anandamide, the name derived from the Sanskrit word for happiness is an endocannabinoid that exerts influence over mood, neurogeneration, appetite, libido, anxiety, inflammation, fertility levels and also exhibits anti-tumor behavior. Low levels of amandamide in later life might explain why post-menopausal women have an increased risk from some cancers, cardiac conditions and osteoporosis and neurodegeneration.

In Western medicine, the conventional treatment for women who are suffering debilitating physical and mental effects of menopause is HRT

(Hormone Replacement Therapy) which often successfully alleviates symptoms. Unfortunately research shows that HRT elevates the risk of breast cancer and vascular disease over time and understandably makes it a less appealing route for some women.

Many alternative and natural treatments for menopause rely on anandamide supplements for relief of symptoms. Dietary sources include chocolate, truffles, hemp seeds and oil, flax seeds and oil, olive oil, meat, oily fish and eggs. But CBD (Cannabidiol) is by far the richest source of anandamide and has become a very popular supplementary aid to menopausal complaints across the board.

Clinical trials on the effects of CBD on menopausal, peri-menopausal and post-menopausal women are scant but recently Rutgers University conducted a trial on post-menopausal mice and CBD. The trial showed that the CBD improved general health; strengthening bone tissue, improving gut bacteria and increased energy levels.

Another recent study based on data from 258 self-reporting participants shed light on women’s use of cannabis for menopausal issues; 67% used CBD for insomnia, broken sleep and night sweats; 46% for anxiety and 30% for libido enhancement.

CBD increases anandamide levels through the inhibition of FAAH, the fatty acid that breaks down anandamide. The study also indicated that smoking was the most popular first choice delivery method at 84%, closely followed by 78% choosing ingestion ( edibles, tinctures, oils and raw capsules) and 52% preferring vaping.

Other menopausal symptoms, headaches, brain fog, memory loss and vaginal and vulvic pain and dryness can also be relieved with cannabis medicine.

Menopausal symptoms often respond better to a specific delivery method, Synergy Wellness has a wide range of medicinal products which women use for menopausal symptoms and conditions.

Cannabis based vaginal suppositories relieve vulvodynia ( vaginal and/or vulva pain), vaginal dryness and are effective for painful periods.

Synergy suppositories are prepared in various strengths using a 1:1 CBD:THC CO2 extracted oil, this combines the anti-inflammatory benefits of CBD and the pain-relieving value of THC, suspended in easily absorbed cocoa butter.

Throughout the menopausal years women often experience a declining libido and may find intercourse painful, cannabis suppositories can help with vaginal pain and Synergy’s Sensual Wellness Oil (#572) composed of cannabis oil infused in a proprietary botanical oil provides lubrication and stimulating cannabinoids to massage both vagina and vulva.

Similarly Synergy’s 1:1 topical salve (#552.#554), is avaliable with or without essential oils, our salve helps with surface dryness of the vulva and perineum. The addition of CBG isolate to the salve provides restorative support for damaged and inflamed skin tissue. This topical is also popular for inflamed joints and arthritic pain which is often exacerbated by menopausal changes.

Smoking organic cannabis flowers provides an almost instantaneous effect as does vaping CO2 extracted oil cartridges. Synergy offers a comprehensive range of cannabis flowers and vape cartridges in a variety of cannabinoid blends to address different issues: anxiety, hormonal distress, appetite, pain, mental alertness and endocannabinoid support.

Alcohol based tinctures and oil based tinctures are easy to administer and constitute a viable delivery method that has sustained efficacy owing to absorption through the digestive tract. Tinctures can be titrated offering the ability to control the dose in increments of ½ mg. Raw CBD cannabis capsules also offer sustained efficacy as well as benefits from increased bioavailability, as an unprocessed cannabinoid remains in acid form (CBDa).

In conclusion it is important to recognize that menopause is not a disease but a hormonal transition that affects women differently, some women will experience extreme discomfort and disturbances to their physiological health and others will not suffer significantly. Menopausal symptoms are wide ranging and not at all predictable; hot flashes will change in frequency and intensity for no discernible reason, likewise mood swings and anxiety attacks. This is why cannabis can be profoundly useful during these years, cannabis medications do not have to be taken consistently, but can be utilized as needed and dosages adjusted accordingly. Cannabis medicine in all its forms can be experimented with safely by the individual to alleviate symptoms however and whenever they occur

Dahlgren, M. Kathryn PhD et al. A survey of medical cannabis use during perimenopause and postmenopause. Menopause: September 2022 - Volume 29 - Issue 9 - p 1028-1036.

Dahlgren, M. Kathryn PhD et al. A survey of medical cannabis use during perimenopause and postmenopause. Menopause: September 2022 - Volume 29 - Issue 9 - p 1028-1036.

Cannabis: A Christmas Curiosity

The Winter Holidays have been celebrated for thousands of years, changing form as human culture shifts through time. The Winter Solstice has been the focus of midwinter celebrations in the Northern hemisphere for thousands of years. Neolithic monuments like Stonehenge and Bru na Boinne are aligned to capture the first rays of the rising sun on the Solstice, bringing the hope of the returning sun in the days and months ahead.

The Winter Solstice celebrates the release from the coldest darkest days and nights of the year and it is easy to see why ancient people, so completely bound to their environment, celebrated the return of the Sun.

Many of our Christmas rituals and traditions have absorbed our forebears’ Solstice festivities; the use of Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe in our holiday decorations hark back to ancient times and if we delve deep enough we find cannabis has also held a place in our winter holidays for centuries.

Christmas Carolling,  the tradition where folks go house to house singing Christmas Carols on the nights before Christmas is purported to have roots in the old Northern European festival of Koleda. Koleda celebrated the return of the Winter Sun God; young men would dress up  as magical creatures, halfman, half animal, they proceeded from house to house singing, they were led by an Elder and they carried a ‘Bride’ on a woven hemp seat as she sat spinning hemp on a spindle. The ritual singing brought blessings to each home and chased out any evil spirits lurking within. The householders would pay for this cleansing with hemp fiber which the Bride would spin into thread which would become clothing for the newborn in the community. Ethnologists believe this ritual formed the basis of our Christian caroling tradition, though the part played by cannabis fell by the wayside.

In other places cannabis has maintained its significance. In modern day Poland a hemp seed soup, Semieniatka, is served on Christmas Eve and offered to the family ancestors who are invited into the home that night. 

In Germany, where our St Nicholas or Santa Claus traditions started, cannabis was one of the sacred herbs that this mythical figure smoked in his pipe. This special smoking blend, included special herbs; mugwort, juniper and hemp seeds which crackled and popped. This special smoke is known as Knastert. Another ancient hemp recipe from Germany is Christmas Beer, which infused extra herbal ingredients, including cannabis, into the holiday brew.

It makes sense that cannabis formed part of the winter holidays as the ancients knew that this special plant had many gifts to offer. Not only fiber for weaving and seeds for nutrition but also medicinal properties that enhanced health and relaxation during the dark days of midwinter.

Centuries later, we welcome back cannabis to embellish our own holidays, a reminder that nothing is really new under the life-giving sun!

From all of us at Synergy Wellness we wish you a very merry Solstice and Christmas and a Happy New Year!

THE GARDENS OF THE KLAMATH MOUNTAINS

by Dharma Clement

At Synergy Wellness the majority of our flowers come from a wonderful garden on the southern end of the Klamath Mountain Range, that overlooks the snow capped Marble Mountains at a 3,600 foot elevation, the local flora enjoys a particular micro climate of the Klamath River water basin.

Some of the rocks that built these Klamath mountains traveled thousands of miles across the Pacific, often as chains of volcanic islands that were formed in the tropics. Today’s limestones and marbles in the range began as coral reefs. The land was repeatedly uplifted, folded, and sheared by faults that brought peridotite and serpentine from Earth’s mantle to the surface.

Where the garden is in particular, we have beautiful mountains consisting of a single long crest that runs over 20 miles east to west. Much of the range is composed of reddish peridotite, giving it a distinct appearance. This mix of volcanic soil and serpentine soil provides a particular soil environment of clay and silt and loam that a variety of cannabis plants can thrive in.

While other gardeners might prefer the ease of cultivating in sandy loam soil of a river bed, the minerals and natural nutrients in the clay and sand of ancient soils provide that extra character to the flowers grown in this particular geographical area.

Another attribute of cultivating cannabis in the northern mountains of California is with the higher elevation, there is additional UV exposure to botanical plants, those UV-A and UV-B rays that give us a great tan which we avoid because of the risk of skin cancer, are meanwhile being happily absorbed by the wild flowers, the evergreens, and cannabis plants of the area.

Many cannabis varietals thrive with this higher intensity of Ultraviolet rays, increasing their rate of photosynthesis and accelerating their conversion of sugars into trichomes, which ironically, they do so to protect themselves from those same UV rays, a natural sunscreen of sorts, and pleasantly provide us humans with a better herb.

In the Klamath mountains, the UV rating starts at 3 in March, the spring season, and goes as high as 7 during the summer months before it settles back down to 3 in October, the harvest season. Gardeners beware, these UV ratings match the tropics so be vigilant to wear sunscreen if you're out in the sun for more than 30 minutes.

But unlike the tropics, the cannabis grown in the Klamath mountains of California enjoy hot summer days and cool summer nights, with the dew drops on the leaves and early morning tully fog in the valley. Along with this daily baptism of water from the rolling clouds, the natural springs on the land are derived from snowmelt, slowly filtering through the serpentine soil, enriched with natural minerals and absent of any toxins, waiting for us in the natural granite aquifers.

The terroir of these Klamath mountains ; with its ancient oceanbeds , volcanic rocks, snowmelt waters and tropical sunshine is something special for any human to enjoy and creates something unique when it comes to the botanical characteristics of the cannabis varietals ☺