We now know that cannabis can help with things like seizures, chronic pain, diabetes and more but what about the skin? Well cannabinoids have been shown to soothe burns to the skin, skin irritation, psoriasis and eczema. Some people are touting weed as the cure for some skin diseases and there lots of individual anecdotal cases but further studies would be needed to confirm this…or not.
In recent years the study of cannabinoids (the active compounds in cannabis) has grown tenfold as the pharmaceutical industry sees the potential in using them in medicine. Each cannabinoid is being isolated from the rest and studied for it’s properties to treat different conditions. There are whole plant studies taking place too which is where the full spectrum of cannabinoids are used to alleviate conditions – sometimes referred to as the entourage effect. The entourage effect is what many people claim has the most benefit to humans because it saturates our ECS (endo-cannabinoid system) which is our body’s own form of cannabis.
Did you know that the body’s biggest organ is the skin? If studies confirm that cannabis helps it recover from damage or disease then it won’t be much of a surprise to us here at Weed Recommend
A common misconception is that you must eat or smoke cannabis to get the medicinal effects but this is not entirely true, if you have a issue with your skin you can also apply cannabis oil topically, directly to the affected area or use a cannabis balm or salve. We can’t tell you if cannabis will work for you or not but there is only one way to find out…
Check out this short video and the snippets from 3 pub med studies below it
From Pub Med Study – Cannabis for Refractory Psoriasis-High Hopes for a Novel Treatment and a Literature Review
Abstract: Psoriasis is a common skin disorder characterized by hyper proliferation of keratinocytes. Although the exact pathophysiology of psoriasis is not entirely understood, immune system and its interaction with nervous system have been postulated and investigated as the underlying mechanism. The interaction between these two systems through cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and also endocannabinoid system, may suggest cannabinoids as potential addition to antipsoriatic armamentarium
From Pub Med Study – The Endocannabinoid System and Its Role in Eczematous
“The skin serves as the foremost barrier between the internal body and the external world, providing crucial protection against pathogens and chemical, mechanical, and ultraviolet damages. The skin is a central player in the intricate network of immune, neurologic, and endocrine systems. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) includes an extensive network of bioactive lipid mediators and their receptors, functions to modulate appetite, pain, mood, and memory, and has recently been implicated in skin homeostasis. Disruption of ECS homeostasis is implicated in the pathogenesis of several prevalent skin conditions. In this review, we highlight the role of endocannabinoids in maintaining skin health and homeostasis and discuss evidence on the role of ECS in several eczematous dermatoses including atopic dermatitis, asteatotic eczema, irritant contact dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, and chronic pruritus. The compilation of evidence may spark directions for future investigations on how the ECS may be a therapeutic target for dermatologic conditions.”
From Pub Med Study – Epigenetic control of skin differentiation genes by phytocannabinoids
From Summary & Conclusion “findings show that the phytocannabinoids cannabidiol and cannabigerol are transcriptional repressors that can control cell proliferation and differentiation. This indicates that they (especially cannabidiol) have the potential to be lead compounds for the development of novel therapeutics for skin diseases.”