Buzzkill study finds weed provides more pain relief for men than women

Impact

Today in disappointing scientific findings: A recent study by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center found that smoking marijuana offered more pain relief for men than for women. 

The study, published online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, examined the effect of smoking marijuana on pain sensitivity and found that, when the 42 participants smoked weed (or a placebo) and then sat in a cold bath for as long as they could, men experienced more weed-related pain relief than women, according to a press release

Medical marijuana is often used for pain relief — there are even marijuana menstrual products to ease period-related pain. This study doesn't mean women should give up on marijuana as an option for treating pain — after all, it only looked at 42 people, and they only ingested the pot by smoking it — but it does suggest that, like all drugs, marijuana affects different people in different ways.