Cannabis Oil Can Help Heal Skin Wounds By Creating ‘A More Conducive Environment For Tissue Regeneration,’ Review Finds

A new scientific review says cannabis oil may help promote the healing of skin wounds, finding that it offers “promising benefits” despite a need to better optimize product formulations.

The report, by researchers at universities in India and Thailand, looked specifically at how cannabis oil can reduce so-called “reactive oxygen species” (ROS) during the healing of wounds. Those chemicals “play a crucial role in would development by causing cell and tissue damage,” it explains.

“Increased ROS levels can hinder wound healing by exacerbating inflammation and cellular damage,” the paper, published in the journal Pharmaceutics says. “CBD’s antioxidant properties mitigate these effects, fostering a more conducive environment for tissue regeneration.”

Specifically, authors wrote that the cannabis oil “may help mitigate oxidative damage by scavenging ROS and upregulating antioxidative mechanisms, potentially enhancing wound healing.”

“CBD’s therapeutic effects in wound healing are largely attributed to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties.”

“Cannabis oil, especially its primary bioactive constituents, CBD and THC, demonstrates considerable potential in facilitating skin wound healing by modifying oxidative stress via the regulation of reactive oxygen species,” the research says, adding that the antioxidant properties of CBD mitigate the effects of ROS, “fostering a more conducive environment for tissue regeneration.”

“Additionally, the antibacterial and analgesic properties of cannabis contribute to reducing the microbial load and minimizing the complications associated with chronic wounds,” authors added, “thereby enhancing the overall healing efficacy.”

The review looked at previously published literature on cannabis and wound healing, noting that the research so far has been rather thin.

“Despite extensive research into the pharmacological and pharmacokinetic properties of CBD, there are surprisingly few clinical trials focused specifically on its application in wound healing,” it says. “However, these studies lay a strong foundation for understanding how CBD behaves in the body, its safety profile, and its potential therapeutic effects across various conditions.”

In part because of the limited research into cannabis oil for wound treatment so far, authors call for further inquiry into how cannabis oil functions in wound treatment and how product might be better formulated to optimize healing.

“Integrating cannabis oil into drug delivery systems for wound management represents a promising strategy for treating both acute and chronic wounds.”

“Despite its promising benefits,” authors wrote, “optimizing cannabis oil formulations for therapeutic applications remains a challenge, underscoring the need for further research to realize its medicinal capabilities in wounds.

The research comes as more studies explore the use of cannabis to treat pain and injuries.

In terms of therapeutic use, marijuana as a pain reliever is widely reported as the most common reason that people use the drug. A recent study of consumers found that pain management was the most popular motivation for cannabis use, and chronic pain is the most frequently listed qualifying condition in many state medical marijuana programs.

A study published this summer, meanwhile, found that cannabis was more effective at treating musculoskeletal pain than traditional medications are, with more than 90 percent of patients calling medical marijuana at least slightly effective.

“More than half (57%) claimed cannabis to be more effective than other analgesic medications, and 40% reported decreasing their use of other analgesic medications since starting cannabis use,” said that paper, published in the Journal of Cannabis Research, adding that only 26 percent reported a doctor recommended cannabinoids to them to treat their musculoskeletal (MSK) pain.

In April, a federal research meeting brought together representatives of various U.S. agencies to discuss the use of cannabis components to treat pain, with a special focus on minor cannabinoids and marijuana terpenes.

A federally funded study published in May indicated that terpenes could be “potential therapeutics for chronic neuropathic pain,” finding that an injected dose of the compounds produced a “roughly equal” reduction in pain markers when compared to a smaller dose of morphine. Terpenes also appeared to enhance the efficacy of morphine when given in combination.

Unlike with morphine, however, none of the studied terpenes produced a meaningful reward response, the research found, indicating that “terpenes could be effective analgesics with no rewarding or dysphoric side effects.”

Another recent study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that most marijuana consumers use the drug to treat health issues at least sometimes, but very few consider themselves medical marijuana users.

“Less than half the patients who used cannabis reported using it for medical reasons, even though the majority of patients reported cannabis use to manage a health-related symptom,” authors of that study wrote. “Given these discrepant findings, it may be more useful for clinicians to ask patients what symptoms they are using cannabis for rather than relying on patient self-identification as a recreational or medical cannabis user.”

“This aligns with another study that found that this type of cannabis use is clinically underrecognized,” they added, “and without specifically screening for medical cannabis use, clinicians may not ask and patients often do not disclose their use.”

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Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney.