Joints for Joints: Marijuana and Rheumatoid Arthritis

I don’t make it much of a secret that I have rheumatoid arthritis and self-medicate with marijuana. In fact, I do everything I can to be open about that fact. While a good chunk of us understand that marijuana can help those with arthritis, many of us don’t understand why. So, here is a list of reasons why marijuana helps my rheumatoid arthritis:

1) Cannabis is an anti-inflammatory.

It has been proven time after time that certain things in the cannabis plant, such as 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), work as anti-inflammatory drug. Hell, National Geographic even wrote an article about beta-caryophyllene ((E)-BCP), a non-psychoactive anti-inflammatory component of cannabis, in 2008. Since a lot of the pain and destruction associated with rheumatoid arthritis is a result of systematic inflammation, it kind of goes without saying that reducing inflammation improves quality of life for patients.

2) Cannabis positively affects the immune system.

Cannabinol (CBN) is an agonist of cannabis receptors CB1 and CB2. The presence of CB1 (a cannabis receptor predominantly expressed in the brain) and CB2 (a cannabis receptor predominantly found on immune cells) in the body strongly suggests that cannabis is an immunomodulator (link#2) (chemical that helps regulate an improperly functioning immune system). This means that certain chemicals in cannabis are, based on a seemingly unrecognized technicality, DMARDs. This means that cannabis not only helps with the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, but the underlying function of the disease.

3) Cannabis is good for your bones.

Obviously, when you have an autoimmune disease affecting the joints, your bones are at risk. And hell, it’s not like RA patients aren’t at a much higher risk of osteoporosis. We need to keep our bones as strong as we can! Turns out, CB2 can help with that, too. CB2 has been found to be a stimulator of bone formation, and has been found to help regulate bone mass. It’s also interesting to note that CB2-deficient mice had accelerated age-related bone loss.

4) Cannabis works as an analgesic!

It is no big secret that cannabis helps with chronic pain. But, did you know that the analgesic effects of 20mg of oral THC has been found to be comparable to 120mg of codeine? The analgesic effects of THC are comparable to opiates, and yet, there are a number of risks associated with opiates that do not exist with cannabis. And it’s not like the FDA doesn’t recognize that opiates are risky drugs. It’s undeniable: many studies have proven that cannabis helps pain. For anybody with rheumatoid arthritis, an effective analgesic is as beautiful as a sunset.

5) Cannabis can make methotrexate less awful.

Usually, the treatments for RA are shitty. Like, really shitty. So shitty, in fact, that the side effects are comparable to the disease. Methotrexate has well-earned notoriety for causing severe nausea, headaches, and loss of appetite. Coping with side effects is an important part of coping with this disease. Many people decide to stop taking methotrexate despite noticing disease improvement because the side effects were too much. However, analgesic properties improve nausea and headaches. Cannabis also stimulates appetite for patients that find eating more of a challenge. I’d look for a source to back that like every other point I’ve made in this article, but honestly, if I need to source my claim that weed gives munchies, if I need to source my claim that pain relievers help headaches and stomachaches…. you’re hopeless.

6) Marijuana helps promote sound sleep.

Most RA patients deal with fatigue. For some of us, that fatigue can be disabling in itself. After all, an active immune system drains you of energy. That’s why you get so tired when you get a flu. For those with autoimmune disease, that flu-exhaustion feeling often lasts a lifetime. To make matters worse, we often find it difficult to sleep despite such extreme exhaustion because of our pain. The analgesic properties of cannabis, naturally, relieve the latter issue. As for the first, however, the only thing you can really do is, well, sleep. The deeper you sleep, the more rested you feel. Cannabis can make it easier to fall asleep when you are in pain, and it can promote sound sleep, making you feel more rested.