Wellness Foria study links menstruation and cannabis

The cannabis industry is going from strength to strength in countries where the plant is legalized. One of the most niche markets with the most potential also supports the claim of marijuana as feminist ally. Menstrual pains, intimate hygiene, sexual pleasure … For thousands of years the plant has helped us through the cycles of our lives and now brands like Foria Wellness are launching these same lines to the market.

From menstrual pain to pleasure

This startup wants us to think about our menstrual pain and also about our orgasms. With this in mind they have released a series of products with multiple uses, including lotions, aerosols, vaporizers and cannabis suppositories. According to the CEO of Foria, Mathew Gerson, in an interview with Business Insider, cannabis has been used by women for around 10,000 years, the date in which we have evidence of its appearance.

Foria Wellness is a brand based in Venice Beach, California, which has come to the market with a range of articles for various aspects of our lives. Foria Pleasure, a natural excitement lubricant with THC formulated specifically for women. Foria Empower, a vaporizer rich in CBD that provides a mild micro dose of THC. Foria Explore, a rectal suppository that can be used to facilitate and improve erotic play and to soothe local discomfort and inflammation.

And perhaps the best known, having received the most media coverage last year, is Foria Relief, the vaginal suppository. Through its composition (organic cocoa butter, cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol) this pharmaceutical preparation relieves menstrual pain, generally with little or no psychoactive effect.

A study that links menstruation and cannabis

The brand has started an observational study with 400 menstruating people (they refer to them as women, but I prefer to refer to those participating in the survey in this way because we already know that not just women menstruate, but transgender men as well). They will answer surveys over several months in which they will record their symptoms while using this cannabis suppository.

This research aims to see how marijuana-based products affect or alleviate the symptoms associated with menstruation. It is the first study in the world to track people who use a medicinal cannabis product to treat menstrual pain. And also the first study to track whether these products are effective in treating pain and menstrual discomfort.

Staci Gruber, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of Marijuana Research for the Neuroscientific Discovery Program (MIND) and the Clinical and Cognitive Neuroimaging Center (CCNC) at McLean Hospital, will be responsible for following the results of these 400 people who use Foria Relief for the first time. It will be take place during this autumn and winter.

The goal will be to create greater awareness, innovation and relief for people around the world by “demonstrating the benefits of natural and localized cannabinoid therapies; Providing women and their doctors with a valuable data set on the efficacy and safety of this increasingly popular natural product; Raising awareness about the space for innovation in the treatment of women’s unique health challenges; Paving the way for additional studies at a national level, and more specific studies on dosage and suppositories of just CBD; Informing and inspiring the cannabis industry to continue innovating new and improved remedies for women and men around the world; Awakening your pleasure.”

A pain so far ignored

It is nothing new to have to hide the pain of menstruation because it is generally not understood in society as something serious, but as an excuse. Classes, work, even with the doctor. Because, as indicated by the Foria Relief, pharmacies and doctors “continue to treat painful menstruation and related conditions with hormonal contraceptives, ibuprofen and opioids, which can have unpleasant and even dangerous side effects throughout the body.”

These suppositories provide localized relief without side effects and, generally, without any psychoactive effect. We look forward to the results of this study that will surely be very positive. The products of this brand that contain THC can only be purchased in Colorado, California and Canada, once legalization is officially underway at the end of October. However, products that are made with CBD can be purchased (and received) from all over the world through its online store.