And It's Probably Best if You Don't Put This Up There

'Stick This In Your Vagina' month continues with an article I came across advising that THC suppositories are the bomb for dealing with menstrual cramps. Yes, that's right, THC as in marijuana.

Foria is a company that makes lube laced with pot. I heard about them a few years ago because the media thinks that pot lube is pretty news worthy. I don't have a problem with the THC in the lube. I can't find anything that would suggest that it's dangerous. I also don't think that their claims of heightened desire, increased sensation and more frequent and intense orgasms are substantiated. It's unlikely to really do anything for you, it's very expensive and it is technically illegal in Canada and thus hard to get - but other than that, if you really want to use pot lube, fill your boots.

Now Foria has come out with something new. With the help of Dr. Jennifer Berman, they have developed THC vaginal suppositories to treat menstrual cramps.

This is not as off-base as it sounds. THC is widely used to treat all kinds of conditions, many of which cause chronic pain. Many people find that it helps to ease muscle pain. We also know that the epithelium, the lining of the vagina, can absorb substances from the vagina and transfer them into the bloodstream. It stands to reason that this weed suppository could work.

Why, then, do I think this may be a bad idea? Firstly, the delivery method is cocoa butter. It's a ball of cocoa butter laced with THC. The jury is still very much out on if, and in what measure, cocoa butter is safe inside the vagina. There's just no information on this. Many people are using coconut oil as a lubricant and claiming it does not lead to infection, but there's no actual research on it. There's even less anecdotal information about cocoa butter than there is about coconut oil.

Secondly, we also don't know how well the epithelium absorbs the THC. Is it really enough for there to be a therapeutic effect? This product is quite new and, for reasons I don't quite understand, doesn't seem to require an FDA approval even though it's purported to treat pain. For that reason, there's no evidence to show that it actually does work. Does it work any better than smoking or ingesting cannabis would? Is there a good reason to get this product rather than just using regular delivery routes?

Third, and you were probably anticipating this one, it's expensive. The suppositories cost about $15 CAD each. I am by no means an expert on the cost of marijuana and it's equivalent THC content, but my rudimentary calculations put this at about twice to cost of just buying the weed and smoking or otherwise ingesting it.

So overall, this is definitely not the worst thing you could put in your vagina - that number one spot is still held by the womb detox tea bags - but it's probably a waste of money. If you can get your hands on it, that is.

What does bother me about it is that the people who make it are making claims about its effectiveness while openly acknowledging that it has never been tested for safety and efficacy.
Then again, it's Dr. Jennifer Berman. Given her history with such things, this is not at all surprising.