Marijuana for PMS & PMDD Relief

by Dr. Daniel J. Heller

We’ve written before about using weed—marijuana—to relieve PMS and PMDD symptoms. You can find the previous blog post here. It’s one of our most commented on posts, at least in part because—like much of our site, which provides the most comprehensive resource on PMDD and PMS on the web—it’s one of the few on the web on the subject of cannabis and PMS or PMDD. But many of the comments that have rolled in have told us something like “You don’t know what you’re talking about, pot works great for my premenstrual symptoms.”

So let us soften our previous message on this subject by pointing out:

Yes, marijuana can indeed work to temporarily relieve PMDD and PMS symptoms, including anxiety, pain, and more.
Some women—perhaps the majority—can use marijuana temporarily, without descending into abuse or overuse, to relieve their symptoms. For these women, it can be a very good solution for occasional and temporary relief.

However:

Marijuana is NOT the only natural alternative to antidepressants and birth control hormones. This might be the most common underlying argument we hear about why our previous post was wrong, and it is an unfortunate misunderstanding of that previous post, and indeed what we’re all about. Many have told us “I’d rather smoke pot for a week out of the month than take those awful drugs my doctor told me I had to take.”
There are many natural alternatives for PMS and PMDD. We offer natural alternative herbal and nutritional programs here on this site. We have hundreds of pages of do-it-yourself solutions and suggestions to help take matters into your own hands, without any purchase whatsoever. There are many other natural solutions that are beyond our purview here: psychotherapy and counseling; acupuncture; homeopathy, and others. It is simply incorrect to assume that your choice is either prescription drugs, or marijuana, with no other possible solutions.

To briefly restate what we said in the previous post on this subject:

Pot is still illegal in most of the U.S., and is in legal limbo, to some degree or another, in much of the U.S. where medical marijuana makes it available. So we don’t promote anything illegal, or legally tenuous.
Marijuana has the potential for abuse. People become addicted to it, perhaps psychologically rather than physically, but there is no doubt that for some people, it lowers their level of functioning, and they’re using it as a way to avoid their problems. We understand, however, that there are many other ways, medical ways, to use this drug. More and more people are using it, only when they need it, to deal with insomnia, pain, chemotherapy side effects, and yes, PMS and PMDD symptoms
Too much marijuana is a depressant, and that is not a good thing for a woman with PMS and PMDD.
When abused, marijuana probably has permanent central nervous system effects. Too much of any drug, including alcohol, does not make you smarter or more stable, and probably does the opposite, and some of these effects—from long term use—are not reversible. However, the same is almost certainly true of long-term use of all psychoactive drugs, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers.
It’s always better to treat the cause, rather than just ameliorate symptoms. Marijuana is a “band-aid.” It can effectively relieve symptoms, but in natural medicine it is always better to try to remove the cause of a problem. So we don’t consider marijuana a perfect solution to the problem of PMDD and PMS symptoms.

Attitudes towards marijuana are changing rapidly, so we’re posting on the subject again. After all the responses we’ve received, we feel it’s important to clarify our position on this controversial subject. Just as attitudes towards marijuana are changing, laws are changing, and even the president of the United States said in a published interview that pot is not quite as bad as it’s been cracked up to be.

Marijuana is a natural, herbal medicine. Marijuana has a long history within the world of respected natural medicine long before it ever became a recreational drug. In that sense, we have respect for role of marijuana when used correctly. But natural products aren’t always safer and more effective, just as synthetic products and drugs aren’t always more dangerous. It’s important to admit to the shades of gray that exist in this and other areas.
Marijuana treats the symptoms of PMS and PMDD only. For many women, this is all they want: something to take the edge off for a few days per month. As long as it is only used for those few symptomatic days per month, that’s fine. More chronic use, however, can aggravate tendencies towards depression and create dependency.

If you can use marijuana judiciously, without descending into abuse, overuse, or dependency, and it helps you, we’re happy that you’ve found an effective, natural, albeit temporary solution to your symptoms. We don’t have a judgement about it, and we are all for women taking charge of their own health. We continue to dispute, however, the mistaken notion that marijuana is the only alternative to prescription drugs, and that it treats the cause of the problem. We are biased, but feel our products, and our website, are a superior solution for women looking to balance their hormones and their moods, naturally.