5 Diseases You Didn’t Know Are Treated With Marijuana
Medical
marijuana is proving effective for at least managing horrific diseases
such cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s. Twenty U.S.
states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana use
for doctors to write prescriptions. Not all states honor all
conditions. This is just a sampling of the diseases permitted. There are
many more. Here are 10 diseases you didn’t know are treated with
marijuana. - See more at:
http://afkinsider.com/47879/10-diseases-medical-marijuana-helps-treat/#sthash.lT2njSSd.dpuf
1. Alzheimer’s Disease
As baby boomers continue to age, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s is set to triple in the next 50 years, the World Health Organization reports, making prevention of this unpreventable brain disorder an important priority. Cannabis is the only remedy so far that has shown any promise in early research studies in preventing the disease. In a 2006 study published in Molecular Pharmaceutics, University of Connecticut researchers reported that THC — the active ingredient in cannabis — could be “considerably better at suppressing the abnormal clumping of malformed proteins that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease than any currently approved prescription.” The scientists went so far as to say that cannabinoid-based medications “will be the new breakout medicine treatments of the near future.” Further evidence this theory is real? Ironically it is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which owns the patent for cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectives.
2. Cancer
The U.S. federal government doesn’t exactly promote this link on the National Cancer Website stating there is real evidence that THC has an anti-tumor effect. Government websites aside, many people have reported using a daily oral dose of concentrated THC cannabis oil to cure cancers from the skin to the lung. This treatment has also been tested in dogs (although canines require much lower doses, and giving too much can have serious adverse affects). Cannabis is approved in all 20 medical marijuana states and Washington, D.C. for the treatment of cancer pain, to help increase appetite and decrease nausea following chemotherapy.
3. Asthma/Breathing Disorders
Smoking pot can help with breathing issues? That just seems contradictory, but according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, THC’s anti-inflammatory properties actually help dilate respiratory passages. This is the opposite of what tobacco smoke does — it constricts, rather than expands, the bronchial passageways. Plus asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease and cannabis is a proven anti-inflammatory, so it does kind of make sense. Moderation is key, however. Take one or two puffs, don’t sit there and smoke all day. There is yet to be a single case of lung cancer tied to cannabis use.
4. Multiple Sclerosis/Muscle Spasms
This one is less controversial, and has been on the medical marijuana conditions list in many states since the laws were first passed. Even the National MS Society is giving it a tentative thumbs up on its website. Studies have shown that THC can help control spasticity in patients with MS, and that this works best by taking a controlled amount orally.
5. Crohn’s/Gastrointestinal Disorders
Again cannabinoids’ ability to act as a powerful anti-inflammatory make them a seemingly obvious solution for chronic conditions involving inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and bowels. So much so that the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America released this statement to the medical marijuana website ProCon.org:
“Several small studies have shown that a significant proportion of patients with IBD report smoking marijuana to relieve IBD-related symptoms, particularly those patients with a history of abdominal surgery, chronic abdominal pain, and/or a low quality of life index. However, the medicinal use of marijuana is limited by potential side effects, the risk of smoking, and the lack of direct scientific evidence of clinical effectiveness for intestinal inflammation.”
