Most individuals when they hear of cannabis, they think pot, chronic, marijuana, an unlawful herb which can cause them long prison convictions where the authorities throw away the key. Some people have heard that the use of marijuana can drive you nuts. However how many of you knew there is another side to marijuana use. Yes! outside of recreational drug use. Marijuana help A.I.D.S suffers, cancer suffers, suffers of Multiple Sclerosis. Various studies have shown cannabis may be useful in addressing alcohol abuse,attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or AD/HD), collagen-induced arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis,asthma,atherosclerosis,bipolar disorder, colorectal cancer,depression, diabetic retinopathy, dystonia, epilepsy, digestive diseases, gliomas, hepatitis C, Huntington’s disease, hypertension, urinary incontinence, leukemia, skin tumors, morning sickness, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Parkinson’s disease, pruritus, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sickle-cell disease, sleep apnea, and anorexia nervosa. However regarding some of these claims validation of these results needs longer, controlled studies on broader samples. Which may not occur due to the criminal status of this magnificent herb
Although the extent of the medicinal value of cannabis has been disputed, and despite the opposition to research and use put forward by most national governments, it does have several well-documented beneficial effects. Among these are: the amelioration of nausea and vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and AIDS patients, lowered intraocular eye pressure (shown to be effective for treating glaucoma), as well as general analgesic effects (pain relief). In fact Marijuana has been used in China and India as early as 3000 B.C. to treat a variety of ailments from easing the pain of childbirth to relieving asthma and epilepsy symptoms, even improving appetite and mental or emotional dispositions. In fact marijuana was the weapon of choice when it came to medicinal treatment in pre 1930’s U.S.A. Cannabis was used in the treatment of all kinds of malady from tooth ache to several forms of anxiety disorders. However it is in recent times that marijuana also known as Hemp is again finding prominence in the medicinal arena. This was influenced by efforts being done by researchers investigating methods of ascertaining cannabis intoxication when they observed that smoking the drug reduced intraocular pressure. Thus arousing efforts for further research in the medicinal benefits of marijuana.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a policy in May 1999 that prescribed the need for further research into the use of marijuana for medical treatment. The NIH maintains that the use of marijuana for medical reasons must involve an analysis of the benefits of use as well as the possible risks. Although the United States has not openly supported any efforts regarding the medicinal efficacy of marijuana. Most other countries have researched and identified various areas in which Cannabis help relieve suffering.
Research released in the British Journal of Cancer reported that the intra-cranial administration of THC was associated with reduced tumor cell proliferation in humans with higher glioblastomaecting the viability of non transformed counterparts. This was supported by Italian researcher who identified “cannabinoids have displayed a great potency in reducing glioma tumor growth. Appearing to be selective antitumoral agents as they kill glioma cells without affecting the viability of non transformed counterparts.” What this means really is that cannabiniods which is a component of cannabis effectively isolates and destroy brain cancer cells without harming or affecting healthy brain cells unlike any invasive or radiation therapy known of. Spanish researcher Dr. Manuel Guzman, one of the world’s leading experts in the field, wrote in a 2003 review in the journal Nature Reviews: Cancer, “Cannabinoids are selective anti-tumor compounds, as they can kill tumor cells without affecting their non-transformed counterparts.” It is likely that cannabinoid receptors regulate cell-survival and cell-death pathways differently in tumor and non tumor cells.” But Medicinal marijuana benefits doesn’t stop with cancer either, remember I mentioned earlier it also delivers benefit to persons suffering with A.I.D.S
What assistance does marijuana offer A.I.D.S stricken individuals? Here is how marijuana helps; Researchers at Columbia University publicized clinical trial data in 2007 showing that HIV/AIDS patients who breathed in cannabis four times everyday experienced considerable increases in food intake with little evidence of irritation and no impairment of cognitive performance. They reasoned that smoked marijuana has a clear medical benefit in HIV-positive patients. In another study in 2008, researchers found that marijuana significantly reduces HIV-related neuropathic pain when added to a patients already-prescribed pain management regimen and may be an “effective option for pain relief” in those whose pain is not controlled with current medications. Medical cannabis appears to help negate appetite loss, nausea, and pain associated with HIV and AIDS. Additionally marijuana’s use has been known to ease the dementia, also known as AIDS dementia complex, HIV dementia, HIV encephalopathy, HIV-associated dementia, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder, and HIV-related dementia suffered by many AIDS patients during the end stages of the disease.
That’s cancer and AIDS what else is there? It is a very long list which I will share with in another article. However some individuals may think that cannabis is just great for any disease or disorder. The problem is that every individual responds to cannabis differently depending upon their age and illness, their unique genetics, the setting in which cannabis is utilised, the particular strain, makeup, and potency of the cannabis used, and the unique thinking and emotions of that patient. It remains arguable whether medical marijuana is a legitimate treatment or a miracle drug. I personally cannot substantiate that however from where I stand it seems marijuana is very helpful.
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by Earle Greene
