The popularity of medical marijuana is increasing every year, as is its use to combat the symptoms of certain diseases. However, more and more disputes arise around the study of the causes and motives for the use of this substance. In another study, it was found that the main reason is to solve problems with chronic pain and other symptoms of diseases, and not at all its use as a relaxation agent.
The journal Health Affairs published data from researchers on the exact ways people use marijuana. They also examined records from registers to determine how much weed is used in medical treatment. Washington and 20 states have data on the total number of patients who use medical marijuana to combat chronic pain. The question is, does weed help with cramps and other conditions? Let’s look at this in more detail…
What are the results of the research?
The authors were able to establish that in 2016 there were 641,176 registered patients who use medical marijuana in treatment. In 2017, this figure increased to 813,917 people. According to scientists, the official figures are much lower than the actual number of people who use the substance. It is estimated that 85.5% of patients have prescriptions for cannabis to treat chronic pain. Let’s see the effectiveness of this drug in the fight against various diseases.
The solution to chronic pain
Chronic pain is one of the major problems that patients struggle with the help of marijuana. Initially, this syndrome was the main reason for the frequent prescription by specialists of opioids, which cause addiction and dependence in the process of taking. Excessive use of these prescription drugs often resulted in overdoses, which accounted for 52,404 deaths in 2015. Cases like these have forced experts to find other drugs that could replace opioids.
Studies have shown that medical marijuana is highly effective in relieving chronic pain. In addition, side effects have not been established when taking this substance. Previously, this use of cannabis has not been investigated, since scientists have not previously studied the reasons for using this drug. However, the work that confirmed that the cause of the use of medicinal marijuana is chronic pain, allowed to change the medical attitude towards this plant. The study of this effect of cannabis is of great importance for tens of millions of people who experience chronic pain.
The healing properties of marijuana
The effects of cannabis on the human body began to be studied back in the days of the great psychedelic revolution. However, the early studies were not objective, as they involved people with low social responsibility who did not know the measure. Because of this, it was believed that the passion for weed did not provide any benefit, but only caused social and intellectual degradation.
Oncologists were the first to discover the medicinal properties of this drug. They noticed that patients who smoked marijuana had better chemotherapy tolerance. All subsequent studies have found that medical marijuana improves the quality of life and alleviates many diseases.
Consider all the medical benefits of cannabis and how it helps in the fight against mental and physical illness.
Cannabis as a cure for the disease
It’s worth noting that chronic pain isn’t the only time doctors prescribe marijuana. Let’s consider 10 variants of diseases in which this is relevant:
- HIV. Medical weed has been proven to reduce the number of viral cells in the body and reverse damage to the human immune system caused by HIV.
- Cancer. Periodic use of weed reduces the risk of developing cancer, as well as reduces the effects of chemotherapy.
- Alzheimer. Cannabis suppresses the external signs of this disease and reduces the degenerative effect.
- PTSD. In the treatment of nervous and mental disorders, weed helps to get out of stressful situations.
- Depression. It has been proven that cannabis helps with sleep disorders, effectively destroying conditions that lead to depression.
- Autoimmune diseases. The THC in weed reduces the body’s susceptibility to autoimmune diseases.
- Cramps. Marijuana is used to treat chronic cramps.
- Heart failure. Is reduced with moderate consumption, and pulmonary heart disease.
- Crohn’s disease. Thanks to weed, this disease goes into remission and a person can again live almost the same life. In addition, there are no side effects of using marijuana.
- Glaucoma. Many patients with glaucoma notice a reduction in the development of this disease after consuming cannabis. In addition, the drug prevents the development of glaucoma.
Cannabis medical uses help with many diseases, even serious ones such as cancer or HIV. It is worth noting that the benefits for humans are not only in the plant itself but also in the seeds. With the use of hemp seeds, the benefits of marijuana increase tenfold, since they contain a huge amount of minerals, vitamins, and amino acids.
Conclusion
However, scientific experiments have shown that medical marijuana use is more harmless. And this is compared to taking opioids, which are prescribed to eliminate pain caused by a particular disease. Thus, cannabis is of great benefit to a range of patients with diseases that cause chronic pain and it alleviates the conditions.
References:
https://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/15/health/marijuana-medical-advances/index.html
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/medical-marijuana-faq
https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-conditions-can-medical-marijuana-treat-4125192
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