No bones about it: Cannabis may be used to treat fractures.

Tel Aviv University researcher finds non-psychotropic compound in marijuana can help heal bone fissures

July 16, 2015

American Friends of Tel Aviv University

A new study explores another promising new medical application for marijuana.

According to the research, the administration of the non-psychotropic component significantly helps heal bone fractures.

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Cannabis -- marijuana, hashish -- was used as a go-to medical remedy by societies around the world for centuries. But the therapeutic use of marijuana was banned in most countries in the 1930s and '40s due to a growing awareness of the dangers of addiction.

The significant medical benefits of CBD in alleviating symptoms of such diseases as Parkinson's, cancer, and multiple sclerosis have only recently been reinvestigated.

A new study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research by Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University researchers explores another promising new medical application for marijuana. According to the research, the administration of the non-psychotropic component cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) significantly helps heal bone fractures. The study, conducted on rats with mid-femoral fractures, found that CBD -- even when isolated from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive component of cannabis -- markedly enhanced the healing
process of the femora after just eight weeks. The research was led jointly by Dr. Yankel Gabet of the Bone Research Laboratory at the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the late Prof. Itai Bab of Hebrew University's Bone Laboratory.

Undeniable clinical potential The same team, in earlier research, discovered that cannabinoid receptors within our bodies stimulated bone
formation and inhibited bone loss. This paves the way for the future use of cannabinoid drugs to combat osteoporosis and other bone-related diseases.
"The clinical potential of cannabinoid-related compounds is simply undeniable at this point," said Dr. Gabet. "While
there is still a lot of work to be done to develop appropriate therapies, it is clear that it is possible to detach a clinical therapy objective from the psychoactivity of cannabis. CBD, the principal agent in our study, is primarily
anti-inflammatory and has no psychoactivity."