Women Try "Weed Tampons" For Period Cramps

If you experience bad cramps, you already know that when you’re in the throes of terrible, debilitating, menstrual pain, you will try anything — anything — to make it better, even, shall we say, more “non-traditional” pain-relief methods. In a new BuzzFeed video, women try “weed tampons” to ease their period cramps. Yes, a “weed tampon” is exactly what you think it is — a vaginal suppository laced with marijuana. And why not? If pot is known for making people feel super relaxed, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that a weed tampon could make a uterus feel nice and chilled-out, too.

The weed tampon’s proper name is “Foria Relief.” It’s a suppository made of three ingredients: Cocoa butter, THC, and CBD. (Those last ones are two key chemicals found in cannabis.) Created by Foria founder Mathew Gerson and California urologist Dr. Jennifer Berman, Foria Relief is intended to ease menstrual pain by relaxing the muscles and lessening inflammation.

“When a woman experiences menstrual cramps, the uterus is contracting,” Berman explained to Broadly. “The muscle goes into spasm, and it releases inflammatory mediators that exacerbate pain. Cannabis, in general, works to relieve muscle spasms by increasing blood flow and decreasing muscle contractions. When you increase blood flow, you help to restore oxygenation to the tissue, thereby decreasing inflammation and lessening discomfort.” Foria Relief is supposed to ease pain, but it won't get you high, so you can potentially insert it and then continue with your day, without having to worry that you’re going to go off the rails.

Foria Relief has not been approved by the FDA, and some doctors have expressed skepticism about the efficacy of treating menstrual pain with cannabis. But anecdotal evidence does seem to suggest that it works for some users. Mish Barber Way at Broadly, for example, tried out Foria Relief and wrote that her “cramps totally disappeared” about 20 minutes after insertion.

For the women in the BuzzFeed video, Foria Relief seems to be a success. One reports after about five hours, “I’m just feeling relaxed and tired, but not high.” She says that she doesn’t feel any pain — not even the dull background pain that often persists after you take painkillers. The other woman in the video runs into a little trouble: Her weed tampon breaks in half when she tries to put it in place. She reports no trouble from the half-suppository that she inserted, but she does something ill-advised with the other half: She eats it.

Turns out that’s a bad idea. “Wooo, you guys! Don’t do it! They’re not for eating. They’re really, really, really strong,” she says.

Foria Relief is currently available in California and Colorado. At $44 for a four-pack, these weed tampons aren’t cheap, but, based on the women’s experience in the video, a single suppository’s effects seem to last for a number of hours. And, let’s face it, when your struck by horrible period cramps, practically any amount of money to make the pain to away seems like a bargain.

Images: rexmedlen/Pixabay; YouTube (2)