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.
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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.
·
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.
·
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.
·
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.
·
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.
·
Hepatitis: Several studies, as well as ample anecdotal
evidence have demonstrated that medical marijuana can reduce nausea, increase
appetite, and improve wasting in people with hepatitis.
·
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).
·
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.
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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