Researchers find yet another use for marijuana – to help heal broken bones

by Jaime Williamson
According to a new study, cannabidiol which is an element of marijuana is not good enough for people to get high, but it improves the process of healing broken leg bones in rats at the end of 8 weeks, says the study now published in Journal of Bone and Mineral Research by Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University in Israel.

marijuana plants

Yankel Gabet from Tel Aviv’s Bone Research Laboratory who is also the lead author of the study stated that the specific element cannabidiol in marijuana has the ability to lend more strength to the bones in the process of healing and thereby prevent further fractures. CBD or Cannabidiol has the ability to enhance maturation of collagen which is the protein in the connective tissue that holds our body together.

In a news release, Gabet adds that when a broken bone is treated with CBD, it becomes harder and therefore difficult to break in future. The results from the study also provide an insight into marijuana’s potential health benefits.  Medical marijuana is already in use for reducing side effects from chemotherapy administered to cancer patients. It also finds use in treating PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In an earlier research, the team led by Gabet also learned that cannabidiol receptors in the body was responsible for stimulating bone formation and inhibiting bone loss. Those findings how now opened the doors to using marijuana in the treatment of osteoporosis and other diseases related to the bone – the researchers said.
Across the world, marijuana continues to be largely illegal and the United States is not an exception.  But in 23 states of the United States, prescription of marijuana for medical use is legal including in the District of Columbia.
Marijuana is classified by the USDEA as a Schedule 1 drug which has no medical use that is currently accepted and holds a high potential for abuse along with LSD and heroin. Although it is unlikely that the classification will change in the current year, events and attempts across the nation that challenge the status of marijuana have indeed received its due attention.
Gabet added further that plenty of work needs to be done yet to develop suitable therapies for medical use of marijuana but a clinical therapy objective could perhaps be detached from the ability of marijuana to impact mood swings.  He concluded saying that the clinical potential for cannabidiol and related compounds at this point in time is undeniable.