In the last yr , there has been a wave of legislationlegalizinganddecriminalizingmarijuana forrecreationalandmedical purposes . In reaction , there has been scientific study after scientific study see at how marijuana affects smokers’healthandbrain affair , and evencrime rates .
Now , researchers have compiled several recent study for a recapitulation release last calendar month in the journalFrontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience , showing how the use and effects of marijuana deviate by sex . They argue that it is not just sociocultural factor that specialise patterns between workforce and adult female , but biological aspects too . And it comes down to ourhormones .
It is worth pointing out in good order from the start that these are the ending of animal studies , not human study , and it can be difficult to get laboratory rats to ego - administer cannabinoids in a way that mimics marihuana use in amateur users . However , while they might not be definitive nor can they conclusively prove that the outcome take note in female animals are on the nose the same as those in human fair sex , they provide convincing grounds to explore further .
So , what did they get hold ? First of all and perhaps unsurprisingly , men are far more likely to fume pot in the first place – dwell up to the stoner stereotype as depicted in movies likePineapple ExpressandKnocked Up . In fact , men may be four clock time as likely to seek marihuana than women and when they do , they do so more oft and employ higher dosage .
But while fewer women take up the drug abuse in the first place , the conversion from first go to addiction incline to be quicker , the onanism symptom lean to be more austere , and relapse rates tend to be higher .
" Females seem to be more vulnerable , at a neurochemical horizontal surface , in developing addiction to cannabis , " Fattore added .
" [ F]emale rats have dissimilar levels of endocannabinoids and more raw sensory receptor than males in key encephalon expanse related to these part , with meaning changes along the menstrual cycle . As a result , the interactions between the endocannabinoid system and the brain level of dopamine – the neurotransmitter of ' joy ' and ' payoff ' – are sex - dependent . "
conflict in the cannabinoids themselves , the laboratory animals , and the duration of hormone picture mean that it was difficult to directly equate the solvent of all the studies , but the researchers found that human data point are consistent with the idea that the hormone oestradiol ( a type of estrogen ) is largely creditworthy for the distaff response to cannabinoids .
" roue tier of enzymes which break down cannabinoids fluctuate across the human menstrual cycle , and imagination studies show that genius levels of cannabinoid receptor increase with aging in female person – mirror in each subject changes in estradiol level , " Fattore explained .
Marijuana is but only the tip of the iceberg – a whole mountain range of drugs could dissemble men and cleaning woman differently , morphineandnicotineincluded .
