Cannabis and women's health, with Dr. Melanie Bone

By now, we’ve all heard of the concept of using cannabis to treat ailments like cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s, seizures, HIV, AIDS, Crohn’s, and terminal illnesses, but fortunately, those aren’t necessarily what physicians are most commonly confronted with. What then, can be done about things like anxiety, pain, insomnia, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, and other women’s health issues? 

Today we are joined by Dr. Melanie Bone, a physician in Florida practicing cannabis-based medicine. Dr. Bone has an impressive medical background from working as an OBGYN and delivering thousands (literally thousands!) of babies, to doing robotic surgery, and now, helping geriatric patients navigate cannabis medicine. In this episode, we hone in on one particular sphere of interest, and that is the way that Dr. Bone has integrated her OBGYN expertise with her medicinal cannabis practice. We hear about how her son’s run-in with cannabis set her forth on her research and ignited her passion, and how Dr. Bone integrates cannabis to alleviate women’s health issues. She lists the various women’s health issues that can be treated with cannabis, from debilitating menstrual cramps to sexual function, and breaks down the endocannabinoid system and the effects of vaginal suppositories. We find out how women and other estrogen-predominant people react differently to cannabis than men and those with more testosterone, and why microdosing is far more effective for the former. As it turns out, edibles also affect women differently, and Dr. Bone explains the ‘start low and go slow’ method that they should be approached with.

We move on to dissect Florida's current cannabis market and prescribing model, speculating on the dangers of over-regulation going forward. Dr. Bone fills us in on why she doesn’t believe the THC limit model to be of much use, and why she is such a fan of ratio products! Tune in for this informative episode on cannabis and women’s health, straight from the source of someone who truly has seen it all!

Key points from this episode:

• The cannabis laws in Florida, where Dr. Melanie Bone is based.
• Dr. Bone’s medical background and how she came to merge cannabis with her OBGYN expertise.
• The science behind why women react differently to cannabis than men, taking the trans population into consideration.
• How Dr. Bone integrates cannabis to help with women’s health.
• The various women’s health issues that can be treated with cannabis!
• Dr. Bone breaks down the endocannabinoid system and the effects of vaginal suppositories.
• Why Dr. Bone takes the “start low and go slow” approach to treatment.
• The effectiveness of microdosing for women, and the symptoms it can resolve.
• Why women respond differently to edibles than men and how they should approach them.
• Dr. Bone dissects Florida's current cannabis market and prescribing model.
• The government's concerns about diversion in terms of cannabis recreational legalization.
• The dangers of over-regulation.
• The medicinal benefits of CBD to THC ratio products.
• Heather Despres briefly joins us to discuss the work Americans for Safe Access is doing to advance cannabis therapeutics for use and research.

Links mentioned in today’s episode:

Cannigma
Dr. Melanie Bone
Dr. Melanie Bone on LinkedIn
Dr. Melanie Bone on Twitter
Dr. Melanie Bone on Instagram
Parallel