Cannabis Suppositories: Do They Actually Work?

Cannabis suppositories have been around in the legal market for a while now and they are starting to grow in popularity, but what are they supposed to be good for? Do suppositories work? Are they something you have to buy at a store, or can you make them yourself like other edibles and concentrates? Let's start with the basics of what a cannabis suppository is and dive into the specifics of how they're used and some of the reported benefits.

What is a Weed Suppository?

Suppositories are solid forms of medication that are inserted into the rectum, vagina, or urethra to quickly enter the body. Rectal suppositories are the most common, followed by vaginal suppositories. Urethral suppositories are much less common but not unheard of. A cannabis suppository is a small, solid capsule-shaped pill of cannabis-infused oils. The suppository itself is usually coated in oil and upon administration, the cannabinoids activate the body's endocannabinoid receptors in the area. The pelvic region contains many nerves that are connected to the legs and spine, and the colon has many CB1 and CB2 receptors that the cannabis suppository engages with to provide a range of benefits. 

What Are the Primary Active Ingredients in Weed Suppositories?

My Foli

Cannabis suppositories are fairly simple. They consist of a (usually) high-potency cannabis extract that is infused into a solid with oils or butter. After infusion within a suppository mold, the cannabis oil/butter is frozen until solid and taken out of the mold. Upon administration, applying oils or emulsifiers to the suppository for improved insertion is not uncommon. Like with other cannabis products, there's a wide variety of concentrates available for suppositories. THC extracts, full-spectrum cannabis extracts, CBD extracts, CBG extracts, and Delta-8 THC extracts are all viable ingredients that can make up the suppository. Of course, without more research, it's difficult to detail what benefits each cannabis extract will provide when used as a suppository.

Marijuana suppositories are available in some states - check out Where's Weed to find a dispensary near you - but you can also relatively easily create your own. There are many out there, but here's one cannabis suppository recipe that only takes 5 different materials (cocoa butter, suppository molds, cannabis distillate, pipette, and metal fork) over four steps. You warm the distillate and mix it into the cocoa butter, fill your suppository molds with the cocoa butter mixture, and put the molds in the freezer until they are set. Then, all you have to do is break them out of the molds and store them in a glass jar in a cool, dark place.

What Are Marijuana Suppository Side Effects and Benefits?

Foria Wellness

It should be noted that, like most aspects of cannabis, research about suppositories is limited and needs to be expanded upon. Much of the data currently available comes from experiments conducted on animals or accounts from patients who use suppositories. Suppositories are primarily used to deliver medicine to patients if oral consumption is not a viable option, but there are other reasons to use them. Here's a list of reported benefits and side effects of cannabis suppositories, primarily using CBD & THC rich extracts.

Pain, Inflammation, and Menstrual Relief

Suppositories act more as topical applications than anything else. Since cannabis is known for aiding pain relief, reducing inflammation, and limiting cramps & muscle spasms, it makes sense that suppositories would provide these things directly to parts of the body within the immediate vicinity of where it is inserted. Marijuana suppositories are often used to alleviate local inflammation and relax the smooth muscle tissue in the lower body and are reported to alleviate cramps and pelvic discomfort. Vaginal application has proven beneficial to women experiencing menstrual discomfort specifically. Other conditions that may benefit from pain relief provided by cannabis suppositories include hemorrhoids, acute inflammation, and gastrointestinal inflammation. There is also reason to believe that cannabis suppositories may actually help alleviate some of the causes and symptoms of dyspareunia (painful sex). And while the research is not yet available to back these claims, there may be a reason to believe that suppositories may offer acute localized treatment for GI conditions such as Crohn's Disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 

No Psychoactive Effects

Initial clinical data and a vast majority of patients report that suppositories do not provide the "high" associated with traditional methods of consuming marijuana. The lack of a noticeable psychoactive high reinforces that, while cannabis suppositories act as an effective topical treatment that affects local areas of the body like the pelvis and colon, they cannot disseminate cannabinoids throughout the body via the bloodstream. So, if you're wondering, "will THC suppositories get me high?" the answer is "no, it is very unlikely they will get you high."

Do you use marijuana suppositories? Let us know what your favorite brands are, if you create your own, and what benefits you use them for. Comment below!