Studies suggest that marijuana can be an effective blood thinner; however, for optimal results it’s wise to consult a medical professional first. Since blood thinners are metabolized through enzymes known as cytochrome P450 and marijuana can interact with them and alter their effectiveness.
Drug interactions cause medications to build up in the body and prolong their effects, increasing bleeding risk and internal hemorrhaging – an extremely dangerous combination.
Cannabinoids
Cannabis contains phytocannabinoids that bind to CB1 and CB2 receptors in your body to alter various functions, such as pain perception, appetite regulation, memory formation and inflammation control. They can even help mitigate nausea. Certain cannabinoids produce psychotropic effects while others like CBD are non-psychoactive in nature.
Blood clots can be fatal when they form inside an artery or vein. Many patients take medications known as blood thinners to help prevent such clots from forming; this medication does not alter the consistency of their blood, but interferes with clotting activities and should therefore not change how your body processes clots.
Some pharmaceutical medications used as blood thinners interact with marijuana. This interaction may take place when your liver CYP450 enzymes break down cannabis, producing metabolites which interfere with these enzymes and increase the amount of medication in your system. How you consume marijuana may also influence its interaction with these medications: smoking increases your risk while edibles and vaping decrease it.
THC
THC, one of the main active chemicals found in marijuana, can interfere with how your body processes blood thinner medications and interfere with their effectiveness causing side effects like bleeding. This interaction could significantly diminish their efficacy or lead to unexpected side effects like irregular bleeding.
Cannabis compounds such as THC and CBD exhibit anti-clotting effects in test tubes; however, this has yet to be proven in clinical studies.
Marijuana can interact with medications that reduce blood clotting by inhibiting cytochrome P450 enzymes found in your liver. This could increase the amount of blood thinner medication present in your system and may result in excessive bleeding.
If you use marijuana and take blood thinners, be sure to inform your physician of this combination. This can allow your physician to monitor your blood levels more closely and ensure you do not develop too thin a blood supply, which can be fatally thinned. Thinning too much blood supply may result in bleeding and internal hemorrhages – something blood thinners prevent by blocking clotting factors in the body.
CBD
Though the precise mechanism by which marijuana works as a blood thinner remains uncertain, certain cannabinoids do have an impactful endocannabinoid system response and THC may possess antiplatelet properties and inhibit platelet aggregation necessary for clotting.
However, further research needs to be completed on CBD to ascertain whether or not it has the same antiplatelet and coagulant effects as THC and whether there could be potential drug interactions between CBD and traditional blood thinners.
Warfarin can interact with THC and other cannabinoids such as CBD to cause increased bleeding or clotting, so those taking warfarin should consult their physician before using any cannabis products containing THC and edibles that contain fat. It is especially important that those on warfarin consult their physician prior to consuming any products containing these cannabinoids; other blood thinner medications must also consult with a healthcare provider prior to using any cannabis-containing edibles containing fat or THC.
Interactions
THC and CBD found in marijuana interact with medications and substances in our bodies in various ways, from changing how other drugs affect us to altering how they break down in our system. THC’s interactions are termed as pharmacodynamic, while CBD changes the way another drug breaks down over time.
How cannabis is consumed also influences its interactions with other substances. Smoking marijuana metabolizes in the lungs, potentially interfering with medications filtered there such as blood thinners. If consumed as edibles instead, however, its metabolism could occur via liver or gut rather than through inhalation into the lungs.
Thus, many pharmacists are cautioning their patients not to mix cannabis and prescription medicines together. Two recent studies show that THC and CBD interfere with enzymes responsible for breaking down various prescription drugs in your system, increasing how much is present and possibly leading to serious side effects.