‘Women build-up Marijuana tolerance faster than men’

Despite a shortage of research on the topic, it’s been suggested that drugs affect men and women differently. And because of the recent legalisation of recreational marijuana in Colorado, Washington and medical marijuana in 23 states, it’s now more important than ever that women understand how Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a chemical in cannabis affects their body chemistry specifically.

Researchers at Washington State University have found evidence indicating that females may build up a tolerance to marijuana more easily than males do.
While it’s not entirely predictive, people with an increased tolerance of a drug are more likely to become addicted to it – which means women may want to think twice before matching a man joint for joint.
The study focused on the pain-relieving effects of THC on male and female rats. In this case, rats made for good subjects, because, like humans, rats have a menstrual cycle (albeit one that lasts four to five days instead of 28), and they experience similar ovarian hormone fluctuations, which affect pain.
At the beginning of the trial, the female rats displayed a higher sensitivity to THC than the males. However, after 10 days of testing, researchers found that the female rats were needing higher doses of THC than the males just to experience the same degree of pain relief.
In other words, while female rats started out being more sensitive to THC, after 10 days, they ended up less sensitive.
“We were looking at the pain-relieving effects. One of the things that is of concern if you’re using any medication repeatedly is: Will it maintain its effectiveness over time?” Professor Rebecca Craft, chair of the psychology department at WSU and lead researcher of the study, told HuffPost.
In a 2014 study, women reported feeling the “high” sensation more acutely than men when given a joint to smoke. This sensitivity, combined with Craft’s findings, can better inform doctors who want to prescribe cannabis as a pain reliever and women who smoke cannabis recreationally.
Craft noted that it’s possible today to get much stronger marijuana than when the drug first rose to popularity in the 1960s and ‘70s, and that it’s easier now than ever to observe potential differences in how men and women respond to the drug.
She suggested that women educate themselves about marijuana use and proceed with caution, just as they would with liquor consumption. Marijuana addiction does occur, though only in a small percentage of cases.
“I think it’s great that there’s been a social change in the fact that recreational drug use is more acceptable now than it used to be. But there are some greater risks for women with some drugs, and I think they need to be aware of that,” said Craft. —Huffingtonpost.com