It has been documented that women and men may responddifferently to cannabis. This is supposedly due to the effects of circulating hormones: estrogen and progesterone, at least this has been shown in animal studies.
Animals (rats) given THC with higher levels of estrogen had highe rsensitivity to the behavioral effects of THC and also, supplemental estrogen boosted the pain-relieving effects of THC in these animals.
But what about inhumans? A new study published in“Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research” has provided some human data!
60 female persons were administered 7.5 and 15 mg. of THC at two different times- when estrogen is low (pre-follicular ovarian stage) and when estrogen is higher (late follicular ovarian stage). These people were not on any hormonal birth control and having regular moon cycles.
LOWER estrogen levels (in the early follicular phase) were associated with higher scores for anxiety after the 15 mg THC dose (at 1 hour).
Estrogen may be modulating CB1 receptor density. Women, who have highly ‘plastic’ brains therefore can have different reponses at different times of the month. This could be interpreted as: sensitivity to THC effects can vary across the moontime!
Pabon E, de Wit H. Effects of OralDelta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Women During the Follicular Phase of the Menstrual Cycle. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2023 Dec;8(6):1117-1125.