Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Medical Marijuana helps people with these Conditions

Medical Marijuana helps people with these Conditions

Medical Marijuana: Nothing is New
The use of cannabis as medicine is not new, in fact, there are references to the use of marijuana as a medicine that date back to 2,000 years BC.  Marijuana use hasn’t been confined to just one geographical area either – there are global records of its use.  In China, it was used to treat conditions such as malaria, constipation and rheumatism.
You might be surprised to find that it wasn’t just ancient peoples who used the drug; marijuana remained in the United States pharmacopoeia until 1941. Up until that time, cannabis was freely available in shops and, in the UK, Queen Victoria, that most conservative of royals, used cannabis to alleviate her menstrual cramps.

Medical Marijuana: The Truth

The truth of the matter is we don’t know exactly how many illnesses and symptoms that the medical use of marijuana could alleviate. This list will continue to grow as we discover more conditions that can potentially be treated with cannabis.

We believe Medical Marijuana will help these conditions:

·        Alcoholism: scholars call it the “Alcohol dependence syndrome” and it is a severe disease that’s destroying millions of people’s lives.
·        Alzheimer’s Disease: a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior
·        Amyloidosis: Amyloids are body-proteins that have folded in on themselves, making them insoluble. The fact that they don’t dissolve can lead to a build up of deposits in various organs, such as the heart, the kidneys, and the nerves.
·        Anorexia: an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight
·        Anxiety: a feeling of apprehension or fear, the source of which is not always known or recognized.
·        AIDS: (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the final stage of HIV disease, which causes severe damage to the immune system
·        Arthritis: inflammation of one or more joints, which results in pain, swelling, stiffness, and limited movement
·        Attention Deficit Disorder: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is one of the three subtypes of Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
·        Autism: autistic spectrum disorders  are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.
·        Biopolar Disorder – Mixed results when it comes to using medical marijuana to treat Biolpar patients.
·        Breast Cancer: cannabis study suggesting that a particular compound may be effective at taming metastasizing breast cancer cells with low toxicity.
·        Cachexia: physical wasting with loss of weight and muscle mass caused by disease.
·        Cancer: a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell division leading to growth of abnormal tissue.
·        Crohn’s Disease: an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing inflammation of the digestive tract lining . This can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea and malnutrition.
·        Dementia – Medical Marijuana has Potential to treat Dementia.
·        Depression: a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration.
·        Diabetes: people who are dealing with diabetes are falling short of insulin. It is either not produced by the body or it isn’t produced in sufficient quantity.
·        Diarrhea: Well, we’ve all had it, that’s for sure. For those of you who are not familiar with this river of fecal matter, think of diarrhea as a casual turd, not very compact but quite fluid.
·        Epilepsy: a disorder that results from the surges in electrical signals inside the brain, causing recurring seizures.
·        Fibromyalgia: a constellation of symptoms that include widespread aching, stiffness, fatigue, and the presence of specific body tender point
·        Gastritis: It’s an inflammatory condition that can’t really be narrowed down to one single disease. When your stomach lining reaches the stage of inflammation, that’s a pretty good sign you have gastritis.
·        Glaucoma: a group of eye diseases characterized by damage to the optic nerve usually caused by raised pressure (IOP) within the eye.
·        HepatitisSeveral studies, as well as ample anecdotal evidence have demonstrated that medical marijuana can reduce nausea, increase appetite, and improve wasting in people with hepatitis.
·        HIV/AIDS – Medical marijuana can be used to treat the symptoms of HIV and AIDS.
·        Insomnia: chronic inability to fall asleep or to enjoy uninterrupted sleep
·        Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): Anecdotal evidence suggests that use of cannabis/marijuana reduces symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
·        Mesothelioma: Well, let’s get this said up-front: as far as we know medical marijuana will not cure mesothelioma. Nevertheless, we know of at least one study looking at cannabis for chemotherapy patients (Harvard University) that showed THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, slashed tumor growth in common lung cancer by 50% and also reduced the spread of the cancer.
·        Migraine: a severe recurring headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, characterized by sharp pain and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and visual disturbances
·        Multiple Sclerosis: a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting movement, sensation, and bodily functions.Caused by destruction of the myelin insulation covering nerve fibers in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
·        Nausea: a feeling of sickness in the stomach characterized by an urge to vomit
·        Obesity: Cannabis has pain-killing abilities that enable one to lead a more active life necessary for weight loss. Two compounds, Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) and cannabidiol (CBD), found in cannabis increase the amount of energy that the body burns.
·        Pain: an unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder.
·        Period Cramps – THC, assists in blocking pain while allowing the brain to receive pleasure signals. Second, cannabidiol, or CBD, works with the immune system to suppress inflammation.
·        PTSD: (post traumatic stress disorder) a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event
·        Rheumatoid Arthritis: It’s been known, anecdotally at least, for many years that cannabis can help ease the painful symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
·        Spasticity: a constant and unwanted contraction of one or more muscle groups.
·        Stuttering –  Cannabis is said to reduce stuttering by relaxing the muscles thus removing that disruption to speech.
Find out the Medical Marijuana state laws where you live. Then you will know whether you are legally able to use Medical Marijuana to treat your medical condition.

Cannabis a solution to motion sickness
Motion sickness also known as travel sickness, is a condition in which a disagreement exists between visually perceived movement and the vestibular system’s sense of movement. Depending on the cause, it can also be referred to as sea sickness, car sickness, simulation sickness or airsickness.
It describes an unpleasant combination of symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea and vomiting, that can occur when you’re travelling. Children from 5 to 12 years old, women, and older adults get motion sickness more than others do. It’s rare in children younger than 2.
Causes of motion sickness
Motion sickness is thought to occur when there is a conflict between what your eyes see and what your inner ears, which help with balance, sense. The most common hypothesis for the cause of motion sickness is that it functions as a defense mechanism against neurotoxins. The area postrema in the brain is responsible for inducting vomiting when poisons are detected, and for resolving conflicts between vision and balance.
When feeling motion but not seeing it (for example, in a ship with no windows), the inner ear transmits to the brain that it senses motion, but the eyes tell the brain that everything is still. As a result of the discordance, the brain will come to the conclusion that the individual is hallucinating and further conclude that the hallucination is due to poison ingestion. The brain responds by inducing vomiting, to clear the supposed toxin.
Medication
Many pharmacological treatments which are effective for nausea and vomiting in some medical conditions may not be effective for motion sickness. For example, metoclopramide and prochlorperazine, although widely used for nausea, are ineffective for motion-sickness prevention and treatment. Sedating anti-histamine medications such as promethazine work quite well for motion sickness, although they can cause significant drowsiness.
Motion Sickness Cannabis as Treatment
The primary symptom of motion sickness is nausea. Marijuana has been known to cure nausea with no side effects as compared to the traditional medication. The National Cancer Institute also states that cannabinoid medications are FDA approved for nausea and vomiting. They not only work on nausea and vomiting but they often work better than the non-cannabinoid treatments that are currently available.
There are currently two cannabinoid medications available for nausea and vomiting in the United States. These drugs are Delta-9-THC medications that go by the names nabilone and dronabinol. The active ingredient – tetrahydrocannabinol – in these medications is the same as found in the marijuana plant. Inhaled marijuana vapors can work markedly faster as compared to smocking it.
Conclusion

The Federal Drug Administration has not cleared these medications for use with motion sickness. This does not mean that they do not show promise for all types of nausea and vomiting even in the case of motion disease. Medical marijuana has been proven utterly safe concerning overdose and emergency side effects. With the rescheduling of marijuana underway, the hope of more research and cure for several other illnesses is reassuring.


Cannabis, treating Graves’ disease symptoms

Graves’ disease is an immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism). It is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in the United States with about 50% to 80% cases and often results in an enlarged thyroid. The thyroid gland is located on either side of the Adam’s apple in a patient and can be easily felt on physical exam. Its main function is to regulate the overall metabolism of the body. It also plays a role in calcium metabolism.
Although the exact cause is unclear, it is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors. A person is more likely to be affected if they have a family member with the disease. Those with other autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to be affected.
Signs and symptoms
Graves’ disease affects both men and women. However, it’s more common among women between the ages of 20 and 40. Graves’ disease is accompanied by a range of symptoms which include: irritability, muscle weakness, sleeping problems, a fast heartbeat, and poor tolerance of heat, diarrhea, and weight loss.
Other symptoms may include thickening of the skin on the shins, known as pretibial myxedema, and eye problems such as bulging, a condition known as Graves’ ophthamopathy. About 25% to 80% of people with the condition develop eye problems which involves eye irritation, double vision and even protruding eyeballs.
Treatment
The primary treatments have aimed at inhibiting the overproduction of thyroid hormones and lessen the severity of symptoms. These include radioactive iodine, antithyroid medications such as methimazole (Tapazole) and propylthiouracil (PTU), and beta blockers. In some patients, surgery is done. However, these conventional treatments re associated with a range of side effects.
Radioiodine therapy may increase your risk of new or worsened symptoms of Graves’ ophthalmopathy anti-thyroid medications, on the other hand can cause a relapse of hyperthyroidism at a later time. Side effects of both drugs include rash, joint pain, liver failure or a decrease in disease-fighting white blood cells. Beta blockers have been known to trigger an asthma attack in addition to complicating management of diabetes.
Using medical marijuana to treat the side effects
Graves’ disease causes a great variety of symptoms, many of which can be easily treated with cannabis. According to research and several trails, medical marijuana has been found to be an alternative to treat many of the symptoms associated with Graves’ disease. Medical marijuana can reduce eye pressure, reduce anxiety, relieve insomnia, reduce irritability, encourage appetite/weight gain, relieve restlessness/nervousness, slow or relax heart rate.
Studies have repeatedly shown the effectiveness of medical marijuana as an appetite stimulant. Medical marijuana can be used to help with any pain related to Graves’ disease. Conventional treatments often lead to painful side-effects such as joint pain.
Studies have shown that not only does medical marijuana significantly decrease pain levels, but it can also work to reduce a patient’s dependence on opiate based pain medications that are commonly prescribed for pain. By reducing the patient’s dependence on opiate based pain medications, the patient is at less risk for overdose, dependence or addiction.
Conclusion
Medical marijuana has a long history as a viable treatment for loss of appetite, insomnia and fatigue as well as for pain and anxiety. In addition, medical marijuana does not cause many of the serious side effects associated with traditional Graves’ disease treatments. For the many Graves’ disease sufferers in the US, the adoption to medical marijuana is an excellent option.


Medical cannabis, a fighting chance against autism

People living with autism make up approximately 1 percent of the global population. As of the year 2014, out of every 68 births in the United States, one child is autistic.
Autism, also referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a group of complex brain disorders, described by National Autistic Society as a lifelong development disability that affects how a person communicates and relates with others, and how they experience the world around them.
How it all began
Debra started to notice Roger’s autism symptoms at the age of three when he continuously failed to articulate his words and regularly threw tantrums. On critically looking at him, she noticed a dull look in his eyes and some occasional clumsiness where he could all of a sudden swing his arms involuntarily.
At first Debora thought it wasn’t anything serious and that Roger would soon grow out of it. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of her troubles of having to live with a child suffering from autism.
As a mother of a child living with autism, Debra Perkins always had to look out for her son Roger who had become a home-bound because his levels of cognition were far much lower than those of his age mates. For this reason, he could not go to school.
Need close attention
Autistic people have a tendency of self-injuring and so they always have to be under the care of someone. For this reason, Debra, who was by then working, had no choice but to give her work a break for a month as she sought of a way she could have her son well taken care of.
Soon enough, Debra was able to enroll Roger in a school for children with autism. With the doctor’s recommendation, she started him on a dosage of drugs for improving the mood and curbing psychotic behavior, although these presented some negative effects like sleeplessness and tremors. He also lost appetite and by age seven, he had lost a lot of weight.
What fellow parent has to say
One day as Debra picked Roger from school, she met a parent, also having a daughter there and he shared with her the wonders of cannabis as concerns autism. “I was delusional at first because I had grown up knowing that marijuana was like a drug for the most notorious people in society.” Worse still, Debra could not imagine introducing a narcotic to her little boy’s system.
After trying several therapeutic treatments, all seemed to be worsening and by the age of six, Roger had quite a number of scars from injuring himself. “He would frequently hit his head on the wall, or even tree,” Debra recalls, “It always broke my heart to see him like that!”
There is hope
Out of desperation, she decided to give it a shot – offered Roger a pot cookie. Alas, his behavior intensely improved; he became more relaxed, threw fewer tantrums and reduced on the self-injuring.
Discovering cannabis was a great breakthrough for Debra. Something she took for a street joke actually turned out to be the biggest reason for her smile. Roger is now on a dosage of cannabis tablets and it suffices to say that he’s moving proof of the wonders of the drug.
The dysfunction in the production of proper levels of endocannabinoids, the body’s own healthy molecules very similar to phytocannabinoids like Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) present in cannabis, may be one of the primary causes of autism.
Studies show that the cannabinoids from cannabis regulate emotional states and focus by redirecting the neurons in a way that is more manageable for the autistic. This way, symptoms such as anxiety, mood swings and hostility are dealt with. As earlier noted, autism is a life-time disorder. Despite this fact, the lives of thousands of people can be changed if they are to give cannabis a shot.

Cannabis and HIV/AIDS

Many people in the US living with HIV/AIDS have for long suffered with the disease alongside its illnesses.
The Human Immune Virus is a sexually transmitted infection that damages the immune system and interferes with the body’s ability to fight off organisms that cause disease. This can eventually lead to development of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
HIV can also be spread by contact with infected blood or from mother to children or breast-feeding. Without treatment, AIDS patients live, on average, about 10 years before they succumb to the disease.
The HIV virus enters the bloodstream, then enters the cells that make up the immune system and multiplies. It attacks the immune system making it easier for a person to get a variety of illnesses known as opportunistic infections.
Traditional Treatment
The anti-HIV drugs both reduce the viral load and the number of infection present in the blood stream. Some of the commonly prescribed drugs are used to help the body fight off opportunistic infections. Although these drugs are available to help slow down the virus, there is no cure to eliminate the virus from within the body. The major downside to antiretroviral therapy are adverse side effects that can be so depilating that “patients will often abandon their treatment.
Cannabis’ role in the HIV/AIDS related illnesses
Marijuana is widely recognized for its effectiveness in treating symptoms related to HIV/AIDS. Marijuana has been known to help reduce the following symptoms in HIV patients: Nausea, Lack of appetite, Nerve pain, Depression, Anxiety, Sleeping problems.
In addition to treatment of common symptoms of HIV and side effects of antiretroviral drugs, research indicates that cannabis may help fight HIV itself. An increasing number of scientific studies, are revealing antiviral effects of cannabis against HIV.
The effects of cannabis are as a result of interactions between cannabinoids and receptors located on many cells. These include macrophages (a tissue cell of the immune system), CD4 cells called cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2). Researchers at New York City’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine published data in 2012 demonstrating that stimulation of CB2 with compounds called cannabinoid receptor agonists can block the signaling process between HIV and CXCR4, one of the main types of receptors that allow HIV to enter and infect a cell. CXCR4 is used by HIV during advanced disease progression.
By stimulating activation of CB2 with cannabinoid receptor antagonists, Mount Sinai researchers decreased the ability of HIV to infect cells that utilize CXCR4, reducing the frequency of infected cells by 30 to 60 percent.
Cannabinoids may help prevent neurocognitive disorders
Macrophages are long-lived cells that are targeted by HIV and exist throughout the body. Macrophages are present in the blood and all organs, including in the brain. Some researchers hypothesize that these cells may be key to ongoing replication that creates inflammation, a damaging effect of overstimulation of the immune system. Inflammation can greatly contribute to many non-AIDS related illnesses, such as neurocognitive disorders, cardiovascular disease, bone disease, and some form of cancer.
The study authors found that anti-inflammatory compounds related to THC blind to CB2, effectively reducing viral replication and inflammation in the brain.
Many research studies by acclaimed medical institutions have found repeatedly, that Cannabinoids (components of Marijuana) are effective in treating AIDS conditions of; nausea, loss of appetite, anxiety, depression, wasting, and neuropathic pain. In addition, Medical Marijuana has anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties that aid in battling associated opportunistic conditions.
Conclusion
There is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS. However, there are medications that can dramatically slow the progression of the disease. Cannabis has become an increasingly common prescription to help patients manage the often devastating symptoms of the disease and accompanying.


Cannabis, the hope for viral hepatitis illness

Hepatitis is a series of viruses that primarily attack the liver. These include, hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, F (not confirmed), and G.In the United States, viral hepatitis is most commonly caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). These 3 viruses can all result in acute diseases with symptoms of nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, malaise, and jaundice.
Chronic hepatitis may simmer for 20 years or more before causing significant symptoms related to advanced liver damage such as cirrhosis (scarring and liver failure), liver cancer, or death. Viral hepatitis, accounts for more than 50% of cases of acute hepatitis in the United States.American liver foundation estimates that one in every 10 people in North America is afflicted with a liver, biliary or gallbladder disease.This makes it a worldwide health problem in humans for which pharmacological treatments currently available are not adequate enough. With the letters representing the different hepatitis viruses going up, the need to venture into more research on ways to curb the illness has grown cannabis being one of the possible solutions.
Cannabidiol suppresses ConA-induced hepatitis
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major non-psychoactive cannabinoid component of marijuana (Cannabis sativa). CBD has been shown to have potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties and is currently approved for clinical use in some countries for the treatment of pain in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A research was conducted where rats where used to experiment the effect ofCannabidiol on suppressing the damage on the liver caused by the hepatitis virus.
Natural cannabinoids such as Delta (9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) effectively modulate immune cell function and have shown therapeutic potential in treating inflammatory diseases. According to the research results, THC treatment resulted into significant suppression of crucial inflammatory cytokines in ConA-hepetitis. THC treatment in ConA-injected mice led to significant increase in the absolute number of Fox3 (+) T regulatory cells in the liver.
Cannabis’ role in improving Treatment Response in Hepatitis C Patients
Auto immune hepatitis is generally treated with medications that suppress the immune system, such as prednisone and azathioprine, although these treatments are not universally effective and long term side effects exist.

Interferon-based therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is often limited by side effects including flu-like symptoms, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle and joint pain, and depression, which can lead to poor adherence, dose reduction, or treatment discontinuation. However, research has shown that Medicinal cannabis

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