Marijuana is an effective herbal medicine for many conditions. More and more it is being prescribed by doctors to help patients cope with disabling conditions. Unfortunately cannabis has been wrongly associated with dangerous street drugs. (1) & (2) The truth is that no one has ever died from cannabis overdose. Unlike conventional painkillers and sleeping aids which have a narrow therapeutic window, it would take 20,000 to 40,000 times the amount of raw herb as is found in one joint to induce death (3) It is an extremely safe drug that can be effective for many medical conditions.
Having to smoke cannabis can create other issues. Use of vaporization, oral oils or cooking with cannabis infused fats can mitigate the damage that would occur to the respiratory system if marijuana was smoked. Eating cannabis offers a longer and often stronger effect which can be highly desirable for chronic conditions. If you are dealing with more then one condition such as chronic pain, sleeplessness and nausea, taking cannabis can have a synergistic affect and possibly lessen the amount of chemical medications that are required. Talk to your medical doctor to see if marijuana is the right medicine for you.
What is cannabis proven to treat?
1) Relieves Nausea – The use of cannabis to combat nausea isn’t new, in the UK a synthetic variant of THC has been used since 1983. However, smoking or vaporizing marijuana is much better treatment for nausea as the effects are almost immediate within the brain and the stomach settles very quickly. It is an excellent option for patients undergoing chemotherapy who suffer from nausea.
2) Quells Nerve Pain – studies show that marijuana is more effective then prescription drugs in soothing neuropathic pain. This page from the same website provides a great overview of using cannabis for pain and co-existent conditions with charts to show which types of cannabis are indicated for a condition.
3) Controls Muscle Spasms – marijuana can ease muscle spasm symptoms of multiple sclerosis and Parkinsons disease.
4) Chronic Pain Relief – although the study cited in the link used inhaled marijuana, edibles provide a longer lasting body effect which maintains the pain free state over hours.
5) Controls Seizures – some drug resistant forms of epilepsy respond well to high cannabidiol marijuana (the non psychoactive type).
6) Induces Sleep and Reduces Nightmares – high cannabidiol marijuana helps with sleep. Marijuana reduces the amount of REM sleep, when dreams happen. For those with nightmares it will reduce the instances and how vivid they are. The downside is that once you stop taking cannibis for sleep there can be sleeplessness and dreams can also become much more lucid initially.
7) Enhances Appetite – “the munchies” is a side effect of marijuana use and can be used in some cases to help increase appetite in cancer patients, the elderly and anyone else living with chronic illness.
As you can see, cannabis is a very versatile herbal medicine!
References:
(1) http://theinfluence.org/why-is-marijuana-banned-the-real-reasons-are-worse-than-you-think/
(2) http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/marijuana-was-criminalized-in-1923-but-why-1.2630436
(3) 1988 Department of Justice/DEA brief written by Judge Francis L. Young
(4) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_us_56816417e4b06fa68880a217
