The Menstrual High: How Marijuana is Controlling the Period Market

Autumnm1216

You flip on the television, and here it comes—the commercials of butterflies and a woman jumping off the diving board. The words absorbent, powerful, and beautiful are thrown at you again when you watch the average menstrual product ad. I have heard the conversation about how I should feel empowered and honored to have this journey since the lucky age of 10. But when it arrives, I am clutching for dear life on the 1st and 2nd days of the Aunt Flow journey. I don’t feel powerful; I feel the cravings, moodiness, drained exhaustion, and good ol’ PAIN.

Pain that sometimes feels too unbearable to focus on the items of my 9-6 job because I am too busy fighting what feels like someone stabbing me in my lower abdomen. Oh yeah, I go through pain. Trying to find answers as to why this is happening, I found out this may be another result of my body changing as I grow older. My doctor advised me to take something more substantial than Midol, and as someone who isn’t keen on taking pharmaceuticals, I thought there had to be a natural way to aid this. Could CBD be a helpful aid to the pain?

Yes, CBD came my way when researching organic methods for PMS pain. Once seen as a “hushed” topic is becoming less of a taboo subject, and maybe we can thank the mainstream boom for that. CBD products are now making their way to the shelves of the feminine & beauty aisles with different strains and application methods. An increasing number of people are welcoming alternative methods with other products to target the pain and reduce the hurt they feel while going through our cycle—items including pain relieving patches, suppositories, body balms, and pain sprays.

What stood out to me is the fact that, as someone who is an occasional cannabis smoker & user of CBD oils, how I did not know there were products directed specifically for humans with vaginas? One name I came across was Foria. Foria’s vaginal Relief suppositories provide the user with 100 mg of CBD to relieve and soothe your body almost instantly (according to the product description). The product is all-natural & made for insertion to ease the pain of menstrual symptoms and give you a gratifying sexual experience.

Foria Relief Suppositories $50, 800mg entire box

Could it be too good to be true? Have we found the cure for our dreadful days, or are we just putting on a band-aid to our solution? When diving into statistical studies, I see that a 2020 study stated that there was no hard evidence that proved that the use of CBD products could solely relieve pain. While products continue to make their way to the primary market, the FDA has also not backed or approved the use of CBD pain/period targeted products, but thousands of people who suffer from endometriosis and pain can't be wrong.

Link: @holisticsabrina

Even brand founders praise these methods for their long-time suffering. The co-founder of Moi Me, Laura Walton, told Women & Home Magazine in a 2022 i nterview that the start of her brand was inspired by wanting to relieve the pain of endometriosis in an organic and herbal way.

"Having suffered from endometriosis for over 20 years and using several medications to help with the pain, using CBD oils and topicals like balms that can be applied to the direct area of pain has massively helped me manage my pain like that; it's a natural product, and although it is certainly not a cure for endometriosis, it does help me personally."

What's stopping me, my old way of thinking, fear that it would be a waste of money or not enough knowledge on how this would affect my body?

I will save all of these questions and thoughts for my doctor & I advise you, readers, to do the same. Ask your doctors if you are thinking of new options to find relief. Our cycles are a part of our experience as humans with vaginas & while we continue to learn more about ourselves, our body-journey is a part of that experience.

Products that also caught my eye: