At this point, it’s no secret that medical marijuana is useful for a variety of ailments. It can relieve glaucoma, reverse damage from smoking cigarettes and improve lung health, combat the severe seizure disorderDavet’s Syndrome, and can even stop cancer from spreading by turning off the Id-1 gene. And now, we can add healing broken bones to the list of marijuana’s medicinal uses.
According to a study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research by Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University, cannabidiol, an element in marijuana that does not result in psychoactive effects, rats with broken legs healed faster after 8 weeks than rats that were not given cannabidiol.
The lead of the study, Yankel Gabet of Tel Aviv’s Bone Research Laboratory, found that cannabidiol made bones stronger during the healing process and can help prevent future fractures. CBD enhances the maturation of collagen, the protein that “holds the body together.”
“After being treated with CBD, the healed bone will be harder to break in the future,” Gabet said.
In earlier research conducted by Gabet, CBD receptors stimulated bone formation and prevent bone loss. This could open up marijuana as a treatment for osteoporosis.
Still, the DEA, or Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it is among the most dangerous drugs and has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” It rests in the same company has heroin and LSD.
