In Germany, too, endometriosis regularly makes life hell for around two million people.Image: E+ / LaylaBird
Analyse
For many people, the week after Easter was a relief. It is now clear: Cannabis decriminalization is really coming. Not quite as expected – or hoped – but it’s coming. In the form of clubs and pilot projects. Exactly how all this is supposed to happen will probably become clear at the end of April. Then the specialist departments involved want to present a concrete draft law.
For the producers of medical cannabis products, this decriminalization and partial release will not change much at first. And yet: Here, too, a lot should happen in the coming years.
Because cannabis can not only help in classic pain therapy – but could possibly also mean relief for around two million people in Germany. Key word: endometriosis.
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In order to advance the medical use of cannabis – and to further develop the hemp drug, Allessandro Rossoni founded the company Nimbus Health. Oncologist Jan Witte is also part of his team. Both see great opportunities in the field of cannabis therapy. They explain why in an interview with watson.
Human body has its own endocannabinoid system
So far, cannabis has been used for medical purposes, especially in pain therapy for chronic diseases or in chemotherapy. However, Witte is convinced that cannabis could also be used in many other areas. And he is not alone in this belief.
“The system is responsible for keeping the body in balance.”
Jan Witte, oncologist and employee of Nimbus Health
Basis for this idea: The discovery of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the nervous system. As the “medical journal” describes in an article in 2021, this ECS is involved in stress processing, among other things. Other involvements: control of emotions, cognitive functions and motivation, but also involvement in immune and inflammatory processes.
“The system is responsible for keeping the body in balance,” says Witte. Because the receptors, says the doctor, are located throughout the body. “That means every process in the body involves the endocannabinoid system,” he explains. Conversely, this means that cannabis therapy could be used for many diseases.
In medicine, cannabis is not only offered in flower form for inhalation.Image: pexels / kindel media
Possible game changer in the field of endometriosis therapy
From Witte’s point of view, cannabis should also help in the treatment of endometriosis. Witte explains why he assumes this:
“We know that endometriosis is not a regional disease. There is no single focus of endometriosis, it is a complex inflammatory process that affects the whole body. That means endometriosis is a systemic disease. And we also know that the endocannabinoid system acts on the whole body.”
What actually is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is an abnormal growth of the uterine lining outside of the uterine cavity. Often this tissue is then distributed throughout the abdominal cavity – during menstruation, those affected therefore feel extreme pain in the affected regions.
So far, endometriosis has been little researched. The therapeutic approaches: Either suspend menstruation with a birth control pill – or remove the tissue by surgery. However, there is a high probability that the growth will come back. “It is a female disease, which is why it is examined at a disadvantage,” Witte clarifies. For this reason there are hardly any treatment options. He adds:
“A specific drug development for endometriosis – although the disease affects millions of women – does not yet exist.”
Several million menstruators suffer from endometriosis.Image: pexels / Polina Zimmermann
But now, there is findings, suggesting that cannabis helps with endometriosis. Witte speaks of surveys in New Zealand, Australia and the USA. In a survey there, many sufferers of endometriosis stated that they self-treated with cannabis. To relieve the pain. So far, however, there have been no scientific studies.
From the point of view of Rossoni and Witte, the fact that cannabis is still rarely used in endometriosis treatment also has something to do with the strict Narcotics Act. Prescriptions for drugs that fall into this category cannot simply be written out. This requires a special recipe in triplicate, which to this day represents a legal gray area. For many, says Witte, this is a major inhibition.
In addition, in the field of endometriosis, many gynecology practices do not have such prescriptions. These would then first have to be applied for – and then it would not be clear whether the practice even met the requirements.
In short, getting a cannabis recipe is very difficult. Witte and Rossoni therefore advocate that medical cannabis should no longer be listed as a narcotic, thus facilitating therapy.
Cannabis could also be the right therapy for other diseases
But not only in the treatment of endometriosis symptoms could cannabis be a game changer. The hemp flowers could also be used more in the field of pain therapy or in chronic diseases.
The fact that cannabis as a form of therapy has not yet progressed as far as the use of morphine or opiates is due to the fact that research on the ECS has not existed for that long. “The fact that the ECS is involved everywhere also means that we could make more progress with cannabinoids than with opiates,” explains Witte.
Because with the latter, the dosage ends at some point – even higher amounts could lead to death.
Most cannabis patients inhale the hemp flowers.Bild: pexels / Brandon Nickerson
It’s different with cannabis: “In terms of addictive potential and side effects, cannabis is manageable,” says Witte. And the fact that the treatment works is also shown by the accompanying survey by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. It says:
“In almost 75 percent of the cases, an improvement in the existing pain symptoms is reported. (…) The symptoms worsened when taking a cannabis medicine only in rare cases. In about 25 percent of the cases, the use of the cannabis medicine had no effect on the symptoms .”
The survey by the federal institute, says the oncologist, shows how promising cannabis therapy is.
Within science, there has also been a discussion for a few years about how and whether cannabis could help with mental disorders. Because the knowledge about the body’s own ECS goes hand in hand with the question: What are the effects of an endocannabinoid deficiency? For example, scientists are discussing whether such a deficiency could be related to mental disorders such as anxiety, schizophrenia or depression.
To date, there is no special drug that helps with endometriosis.Image: dpa central image / Monika Skolimowska
When it comes to medical cannabis, there is still a lot to discover and develop. Rossoni and Witte want to help shape part of this further development with their company Nimbus Health. They are also in talks with large pharmaceutical companies in the long term. Because the idea of the two: They want to develop different cannabis pills for specific ailments.
“The challenge will be to set up the right studies so that you can say: This molecule has been shown to work better for a specific indication,” says Rossoni. Then special medicines could be manufactured for special problem areas.
