A new pain-relief product for women plagued by period pain will soon be available in the U.S.—"weed tampons." Okay, they're not actual tampons, they're "cannabis-based vaginal suppositories" (tampon-shaped but without the absorbent quality of tampons), but "weed tampons" sounds wonderful, so let's stick with that.
FORIA, the California-based company famous for their "weed lube" (a THC-enhanced lubricant for women), says their new product will relieve pain by relaxing the muscles around the uterus, cervix, and ovaries. They claim that users will get the benefit of the pain-and cramp-relief that cannibis provides without the attendant stony effect. So the medicine is designed to get your vagina high, but not your brain.
But not all medical practitioners are on board with that idea. Gynecologist Jen Gunter warns against using these suppositories (weed tampons!), due to the lack of medical testing and the limited scientific research backing up Foria's claims that you won't accidentally Pineapple Express yourself. She writes:
The company says its product won't get you high because "the medicine is administered as a vaginal suppository." This makes no sense. Medications are absorbed from the vagina into the bloodstream and then from the bloodstream they go to the uterus and the brain and everywhere else that blood goes. This requires only a rudimentary knowledge of physiology. Medication doesn't crawl up the vagina to the uterus and then just hang out avoiding circulation.
She also points out that the dosage of the suppositories (ahem, "weed tampons") is noticeably higher than what's recommended for oral ingestion:
Technically there is more than enough THC in Foria Relief vaginal suppositories to get you very high and even send you to the emergency department, although as vaginal absorption of THC is totally unstudied who really knows? Also, you are taking their word that this is the actual dose. The product might also contain not much of anything. Why they decided to go with such a high dose is unknown as much lower doses can produce analgesia (pain relief), unless of course it's not about the cramps after all. If Foria Relief really does contain 60 mg of THC and absorption is between 15 and 60 minutes it's hard to believe the goal isn't to leave you paralyzed on the bed thinking menstrual cramps aren't so bad after all.
Each suppository ("weed tampon") supposedly contains 60mg of THC and 10mg of CBD (but, like Gunter points out, you can't really know), and a four-pack of them will retail for $44 (that part is fact). And hey, if things get bad enough, you can always just try eating one (just kidding, definitely don't do that).