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woman with catamenial cramps in New York state could have a new choice for easing their monthly pains : aesculapian marijuana .

The New York State Assembly is considering a notice to add dysmenorrhea — the aesculapian name for menstrual cramps — to the list of precondition for which doctors can legally authorise a patient to use aesculapian marijuana . Under the state ’s law of nature , only patients with the specific aesculapian conditions mention in the law can get at aesculapian Cannabis sativa in New York , accord to Newsweek . Cancer , HIV and multiple sclerosis are among the term already on the inclination .

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Severe cases of dysmenorrhea can be " debilitating , " New York State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthalwrote in the bill . " Medical marijuana can alleviate many of the painful effect of dysmenorrhea . " [ Healing Herb ? Marijuana Could Treat These 5 Conditions ]

The bill , which still has several legislative hurdling to overcome , is supported by actress Whoopi Goldberg , who deal a line ofmedical marijuanaproducts that are market specifically for period bother , Newsweek reported .

But does marijuana really help with menstrual pain ?

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There have n’t been any strict studies that have shown that there ’s a welfare to using marijuana for menstrual muscle spasm , said Dr. Charles Pollack , an emergency - medicine physician at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and the theater director of the university ’s Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp .

And though there are secure data designate that marijuana can help masses with neuropathic pain , the hurting from catamenial cramps does n’t come into this category , Pollack state . Neuropathic painful sensation is pain in the neck related to the nerve , such as a pinched or enkindle heart .

That said , " it ’s not out of the kingdom of the possible " that the drug could be helpful for woman with menstrual cramp , Pollack told Live Science .

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This is because the distaff procreative piece of ground , and , in particular , the uterus and the lining of the womb , has an " teemingness " ofendocannabinoidreceptors , Pollack order . The chemicals in marijuana that are responsible for for its upshot in the body are call cannabinoids , and can adhere to these receptors .

The discovery of these receptor , for good example , has guide to some researcher thinking that marijuana may help women withendometriosis , Pollack read . adenomyosis is an often unspeakable disorderliness in which the tissue that usually lines a woman ’s womb , called the endometrium , grows outside the uterus , theMayo Clinic says . One area of research is view whether marijuana may help both with relieve the pain of adenomyosis and slow up the maturation of endometrial tissue , Pollack say .

It ’s also possible that women with irritating catamenial cramp profit from the anxiolytic , or anti - anxiousness , consequence of marijuana , Pollack supply .

Sickle cell anaemia. Artwork showing normal red blood cells (round), and red blood cells affected by sickle cell anaemia (crescent shaped). This is a disease in which the red blood cells contain an abnormal form of haemoglobin (bloods oxygen-carrying pigment) that causes the blood cells to become sickle-shaped, rather than round. Sickle cells cannot move through small blood vessels as easily as normal cells and so can cause blockages (right). This prevents oxygen from reaching the tissues, causing severe pain and organ damage.

But because of the lack of datum , it ’s hard to draw conclusions about the drug ’s effects . " There ’s just a dearth of data in this regard , " Pollack tell . And the drug may have downsides : Although it ’s " exceedingly unlikely " that someone will die from an overdose of marijuana , there are still questions about the potential effects of regular , long - term use , he say .

Dr. Ranit Mishori , a prof of phratry practice of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine , told Live Science in 2016that , " with the exception of a discipline in 1800s , I see no evidence in the medical literature   that supports " the use of marijuana for catamenial cramp .

Although there are barriers to studying marijuana in the U.S. , " the choice is n’t to recommend a treatment in the absence seizure of evidence , " Mishori said .

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