Medical Cannabis: What Does The Science Say?
Cannabis is renowned for its health benefits and the positive user experience that it provides. From bodily relaxation to intensified focus and an overall feeling of euphoria, there is no question why millions of Americans are loyal customers within this growing industry.
Many people have sworn by marijuana as a treatment for a variety of health conditions, from common to severe illnesses. While it has not necessarily been considered a legitimate pharmaceutical drug in the past, there have been advancements within recent years that dispute the controversy around the substance.
As a result, medical cannabis is currently used to treat a long list of ailments, including chronic pain throughout the body and mental illnesses such as depression. Doctors can grant a recommendation to qualifying patients, allowing them full access to dispensaries using a medical marijuana card.
Whether you have obtained a prescription from your physician or you have the privilege of living in a legalized state, it is helpful to understand the science behind medical cannabis before considering this route.
What Can Medical Cannabis Be Used To Treat?
With marijuana becoming a more hot topic almost every day, there is new research and information surfacing constantly, showcasing its benefit in the pharmaceutical industry. There are many conditions that medical cannabis has been proven to treat over the years.
These are some of the ailments that are known to be cured or alleviated by medical marijuana:
• Chronic Pain
• Anxiety
• Crohn's Disease
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Lou Gehrig's Disease
• Parkinson's Disease
• Huntington's Disease
Certain states allow marijuana as a pharmaceutical drug for only a defined category of conditions. Therefore, if you suffer from any of the above listed medical problems, you should consult your doctor before trying cannabis as a means of treatment.
Cannabis For Pain Relief
When cannabis first became a legal pharmaceutical drug, it was mainly used to treat different types of pain in patients, namely those with some form of cancer. Since chemotherapy can be painful and exhausting, many people going through the treatment would find relief in the relaxing effects of the substance.
Aside from cancer, cannabis has been used to help with chronic pain in many patients, from muscle and joint pain to arthritis.
Cannabis As a Cure For Cancer
With all of the buzz around cannabis as a developing pharmaceutical drug, there has been a lot of speculation about how the substance can be beneficial in finding a cure for cancer.
Since the drug is frequently used to relieve pain in chemo patients, there is a belief that it can also provide some benefit in stopping the spread of cancer cells or getting rid of them altogether. While this logic makes sense, it is unfortunately not yet backed by concrete scientific evidence.
As far as studies go, there have been plenty of scientific cases over the years focusing on marijuana and cancer. However, the studies have been focused on both humans and animals, with most resulting in the conclusion that marijuana might interfere with cancer medication.
Most recently, there was a study performed at Harvard that highlighted the possibility of treating pancreatic cancer with specific components found inside of the plant called flavonoids.
Along with this discovery, the team of researchers came up with innovative technology to ensure that the administration of the drug was as effective as possible. Since the traditional delivery methods of medication will only allow for about 5 percent to reach the affected area, they were able to raise the odds to 90 percent through the invention of microscopic drones.
Even though this conclusion is nowhere near concrete proof that marijuana can stop pancreatic cancer from spreading, there is no telling what kind of discoveries will advance the search for a cure.