People suffering from ailments, illnesses, and even cancer may be able to receive medicinal help for their various conditions from medicinal marijuana use. It is not approved for medical use in all states because the tests for its pain-relieving prospects are relatively new.
The fact that chronic recreational users receive a great amount of negative attention does not bode well for the medical side of marijuana use. People are constantly being arrested for both growing and selling marijuana illegally.
I will readily admit on this blog that back in the day I also used marijuana. However, I also used it to my advantage, as have many others have done for chronic pain and serious illnesses.
Which components inside marijuana make this a useful medicine? What is the most beneficial way to consume medicinal marijuana?
This article will cover some of the more serious illnesses that have recorded the effects of marijuana use during treatment. I will also talk about some of the daily ailments treatable with marijuana, which are starting to be medically recognized.
Helpful Components
Marijuana is the dried leaves and buds of a fully matured cannabis plant. The plant contains two very helpful components – tetrahydrocannabinol or better known as THC and cannabinoids.
Studies that have shown that THC has provided beneficial help for cancer and AIDS patients by increasing appetite and decreasing nausea.
There is also research being conducted on the positive effects that THC can have on people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders and Tourette’s syndrome.
Cannabinoids are being researched to determine whether they decrease the number of cancer creating and causing cells in the body. Reports on men suffering from prostate cancer, women with breast cancer, and even in cases of brain cancer, have noted improvement by the use of cannabinoids obtained from smoking marijuana.
Orally Is the Best Way
Throughout most of the research smoking marijuana has proven to be the best way to take this medicine.
People who don’t want to smoke marijuana can also eat it while mixed into various types of food. This method isn’t as effective and doesn’t work as fast to relieve pain, but it has proven to be a form of pain reducer.
Topical application has proven too be ineffective. Doctors have tried to treat patients suffering from glaucoma by applying it to the ocular area and yielded no positive results.
Glaucoma Sees Little Progress
Glaucoma is a disease in which the optic nerve is damaged, leading to progressive, irreversible loss of vision. Some people suffer from intraocular pressure (IOP), which will lead to the nerve damage and loss of vision.
In the 1970’s, people believed that smoking marijuana could reduce/lower IOP for three to four hours after administration. They later came to the theory that smoking marijuana could reduce the blood flow to the optic nerve causing more damage. This theory has never been proven.
With the large array of pharmaceutical drugs available on the market, doctors and researchers believe there are several better options.
Every Little Bit Helps
Researchers believe that people who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that attacks your nervous system and causes damage to your brain and spinal cord, can receive positive effects from the cannabinoids in marijuana. They say that it can act like steroids, only with fewer side effects and actually prevent/slow down some of the inflammation and hyperactivity.
My aunt suffers from MS and has been for about four years or longer. The last time I was home, I noticed huge difference in her health and ability to get around.
She told me that her doctor prescribed her medicinal marijuana for her hyperactivity and that it immediately helped her get through the day.
Double Positive Effects
Cancer is one of the worst things you could experience for yourself or someone else – the pain, fear, and uncertainty is an awful.
Doctors and researchers have found that THC can increase appetite and calm the feelings of nausea. The anti-cancer medication that is required to be taken throughout such treatments of chemotherapy and others is horrendous.
Researchers are trying to put together studies on the positive effects cannabinoids can have on cancer cells and stopping them from reproducing.
Myths Becoming Recognized
Dr. David Thomas, from Tampa Florida, believes that marijuana use can help with many everyday things people deal with. For some they are controllable, like having a hangover or joint pain from various activities.
On the other hand, some disorders that people suffer from on a day-to-day basis may not be controllable, such as anorexia (loss of appetite), anxiety, insomnia, and attention deficit disorder.
Dr. Thomas says that marijuana use can have positive affects on nausea and vomiting, pain relief, increase of appetite, slowing down the brain or thought processes, and help some people get a good night’s sleep.
Dr. Thomas also warns people who may be using marijuana chronically they can suffer the opposite effects. It can also cause you to have short term memory loss, a decrease in motivation, and a decrease in socialization.
I personally have used marijuana both recreationally and also to help myself with nausea, headaches, problems sleeping, back pain, and anxiety-filled situations.
If the positive signs are there for people using marijuana to treat issues, then why not give doctors the option to prescribe it for their patients? I believe everyone operates differently and think that medicinal marijuana should be an approved and recognized medicine in every state.
State Approval
In the 14 years marijuana has been recognized as a medicine, 15 states have approved this as an acceptable treatment for various illnesses. In the first four years, seven states approved marijuana as a medicine. In the last 10 years, eight states have given the approval for people to use marijuana to treat illness.
Although it seems like some states are slower to come around, I ultimately believe that more liberal states will start to approve with additional research that should start to surface over the years to come.