Ask a Stoner: Does Cannabis Treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Westword

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Dear Stoner: Does cannabis help with carpal tunnel syndrome? My wrists and thumbs are killing me, and I’ll try anything.
Rita

Dear Rita: As someone who types for work, I sympathize. One winter, the base of my thumbs started throbbing, and the pain never really went away. If I could sell it as an athletic-related injury, maybe I’d bring it up to friends, but no one wants to hear about thumb pain from a guy who smokes weed for a living. Luckily, cannabis use has helped manage that pain, especially after I added oral CBD oil to the mix.

click to enlarge

Jake Holschuh

The carpal tunnel is a thin tube in the wrist containing a nerve that becomes inflamed after continued pressure, causing pain, numbness and tingling. And cannabis consumption, whether done by smoking weed or taking non-intoxicating CBD, has been shown to help fight pain-causing inflammation. Research on CTS and cannabis use is hard to find, but if you’re really suffering and have already tried pharmaceuticals, it’s worth taking a chance on CBD oil and looking more closely at medical marijuana.

Send questions to [email protected].