Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Tel Aviv Scientists Find That Pot Heals Your Bones

Broke your arm? Time to smoke some dope.

According to researchers at Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University, marijuana can help heal bone fractures. Their results were published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

“The clinical potential of cannabinoid-related compounds is simply undeniable at this point… it is possible to detach a clinical therapy objective from the psychoactivity of cannabis. CBD, the principal agent in our study, is primarily anti-inflammatory and has no psychoactivity,” , who led the study along with Professor Itai Bab.

Israel, which has one of the world’s highest per capita use of medical marijuana, has pioneered marijuana research for at least a decade. Recently, Israel’s leading marijuana distributor and researcher, Tikun Olam, struck a deal with Compassionate Care Center New York to apply for one of five medical marijuana licenses for New York State. The recipients of said license will be announced later this summer.

The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, was conducted using rats. Scientists injected one group of rats with CBD and another group with a combination of CBD and THC – the major psychoactive component in marijuana. Gabet and the rest of his team determined that CBD alone could produce significant results.

This research indicating the marijuana can help with broken bones may lead to inquiries about osteoporosis and other bone-related diseases.

“We found that CBD alone makes bones stronger during healing, enhancing the maturation of the collagenous matrix, which provides the basis for new mineralization of bone disuse,” Dr. Gabet continued. “After being treated with CBD, the healed bone will be harder to break in future.”

Medical marijuana is also commonly used to combat the symptoms of cancer, reduce seizures, and manage PTSD.

Currently, medical marijuana use is allowed in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version