Ladies in New York may soon be able to turn to pot to turn down the pain from their periods. The state is considering adding menstrual cramps to a list of conditions that could warrant a prescription for medical marijuana, reports Newsweek. A bill that seeks to have dysmenorrhea, the medical term for painful menstrual cramps, added to the list of conditions (which include multiple sclerosis and cancer) passed the New York Assembly's Health Committee late last month and will now head to the Assembly floor. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a Democrat who introduced the bill, says dysmenorrhea can be "debilitating," per Live Science, but the condition has long been ignored because it's not in the "everyday consciousness" of men who dominate government.
The American Academy of Family Physicians notes 20% of women who experience cramps find it hard to get out of bed or go to work. But "for years women have suffered in silence. There's Midol. You can take Advil, but really nothing more," Rosenthal says. "Medical marijuana can alleviate many of the painful effects," the bill adds. There haven't actually been any modern studies that show marijuana eases menstrual pain. However, a doctor tells Live Science that the uterus and uterine lining have an "abundance" of endocannabinoid receptors, which cannabinoids bind to, so "it's not out of the realm of the possible." Whoopi Goldberg certainly thinks pot can help. Goldberg, who has met with Rosenthal, sells cannabis-infused products designed to alleviate period pain. (More marijuana stories.)
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