Yo, what’s up? My name is Dan and I’m here to talk about medical marijuana. This medicine comes from the dried up leaves and other parts of the plant Cannabis sativa. Some people be thinking it’s an addictive drug, but it’s actually got potential to treat a whole bunch of illnesses and symptoms. When we talk about medical marijuana, we mean using the unrefined version or its extracts to cure diseases. But even though it’s got all these benefits, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t recognized it as a medicine yet because they’re still testing it out.
So, what’s in marijuana that makes it so special? It’s got two main things: cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Research has shown that both of these have medicinal uses. If you take the right amount of CBD, it can help your brain without making it too active. THC, on the other hand, can act as a painkiller.
Now let’s talk about the different things that medical marijuana can help with:
Glaucoma: Marijuana can help prevent and treat glaucoma, which is an eye disease that increases pressure on your eyeballs and damages your optic nerve. If you smoke marijuana, it can decrease the pressure in your eyes. But there are better medicines out there for treating glaucoma.
Nausea: Smoking marijuana can help relieve nausea, especially if you’re going through chemotherapy. THC is what makes this happen. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends using marijuana to help with nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy.
Nerve pain: Marijuana has been shown to be effective at relieving nerve pain caused by diabetes and AIDS. It works better than traditional painkillers. It can also help with chronic neuropathic pain that can’t be controlled with regular medicine. But since it’s not FDA-approved, doctors can’t prescribe it like they would other medicines.
Multiple sclerosis: Marijuana can reduce muscle spasms and stiffness caused by multiple sclerosis. There’s a medicine called Sativex that contains compounds found in marijuana, like THC and CBD, that’s used for treating multiple sclerosis. But doctors are still figuring out whether marijuana is safe for long-term use.
Lung health: Marijuana doesn’t harm your lungs like tobacco does. Smoking marijuana can actually increase lung capacity over time.
Anti-carcinogenic: CBD in marijuana has been shown to prevent cancer from spreading by making certain genes dormant. More research needs to be done to see if marijuana can kill cancer cells.
Bowel diseases: Marijuana has been found to help deal with bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Arthritis: Medical marijuana strains can act as a painkiller and also have anti-inflammatory effects that can help people with rheumatoid arthritis.
Parkinson’s disease: Smoking pot has been shown to ease Parkinson’s disease symptoms like discomfort, pain, tremors, and poor motor skills.
PTSD: Medical marijuana is being used to help veterans cope with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). THC can help with fear and anxiety.
Neuroprotective effects: Marijuana has neuroprotective effects that can help your brain recover after a stroke or concussion.
Hepatitis C: Smoking marijuana can help patients cope with treatment side effects like nausea, vomiting, tiredness, muscular pain, anxiety and loss of appetite. It’s been found to be especially helpful for patients with hepatitis C who are undergoing treatment.
So why hasn’t the FDA approved medical marijuana? Well, they need to do more testing on humans before they can give it the green light. Cannabinoids are powerful ingredients in marijuana that need to be studied more carefully before we know how much is safe for people to use.
To sum up, medical marijuana has a lot of health benefits that we’re still learning about. It’s got some risks too, especially for elderly people or those with poor health conditions. But overall, there’s a lot of potential here for using marijuana as a medicine in the future!