Connecticut’s Medical Marijuana Board of Physicians has approved two new qualifying conditions: female orgasmic difficulty disorder and autism.
State Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli this week thanked the Board of Physicians and “petitioners who gave thoughtful and well-researched presentations to the board, and shared their personal stories with these conditions.”
There are now 42 qualifying conditions for adults to use cannabis for medicinal reasons, ranging from chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, cancer to ulcerative colitis.
Female orgasmic difficulty disorder, sometimes called anorgasmia, can result from psychological, physical, cultural or side effects from other medication, according to the Mayo Clinic.
A 2024 observational study from a group of researchers, including some from Harvard University and MassGeneral Brigham Hospital, found that 41 percent of women “face challenges achieving orgasm.”
Researchers asked 410 women to discuss how cannabis affected their ability to achieve orgasm and found it to be beneficial for 71 percent of respondents.
“Cannabis-related treatment appears to provide benefit to women who have female orgasm difficulties or dysfunction,” researchers concluded.
As for autism, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not identified cannabis as being beneficial for those with the disorder. Organizations such as the Autism Science Foundation note, however, that while some parents are already giving their children with autism CBD and THC, they “should be very cautious” about doing so.
Connecticut has not approved cannabis as a treatment for autism in children, though there are 11 conditions that would qualify a state resident under 18 to be prescribed cannabis. Those conditions include cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Tourette syndrome and muscular dystrophy.
A 2022 metastudy by researchers in Brazil analyzed a series of studies on cannabis’ effect on autism and reported some positive effects, though researchers also expressed some caution.
Researchers concluded that studies overall found that cannabis can alleviate symptoms found among people with autism “including hyperactivity, attacks of self-mutilation and anger, sleep problems, anxiety, restlessness, psychomotor agitation, irritability, aggressiveness perseverance and depression.”
They also found “an improvement in cognition, sensory sensitivity, attention, social interaction, and language,” and adverse effects were limited to “sleep disorders, restlessness, nervousness and change in appetite.”
But the researchers also said that the studies reviewed were small and not conclusive, suggesting “randomized, blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials are necessary to clarify findings.”
H/T: www.theday.com