Cannabis: Could It Help Treat Bone Fractures?

New findings published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research reveal that cannabis may help heal bone fractures.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University conducted a rat study that showed how the non-psychotropic component cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) enhanced the healing process of the femora just after eight weeks.

"We found that CBD alone makes bones stronger during healing, enhancing the maturation of the collagenous matrix, which provides the basis for new mineralization of bone tissue," Dr. Yankel Gabet, of the Bone Research Laboratory in the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University, said in a news release. "After being treated with CBD, the healed bone will be harder to break in the future."

During the study, researchers injected one group of rats with CBD and another with a combination of CBD and THC. After evaluating the administration of THC and CBD together in the rats, findings revealed that CBD alone provided the necessary therapeutic stimulus.

Even when isolated from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive component of cannabis--researchers found that CBD markedly enhanced the healing process of the rats mid-femoral fractures just after eight weeks.

"We found that CBD alone makes bones stronger during healing, enhancing the maturation of the collagenous matrix, which provides the basis for new mineralization of bone tissue," Gabet added. "After being treated with CBD, the healed bone will be harder to break in the future."

Related Articles

Marijuana: Are More Children Being Exposed To The Drug?

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).