Therapeutic Uses Of Medical Marijuana

Harvard study says marijuana cures cancer, one website tells us. Miracle cannabis oil cures all diseases, but Big Pharma and the law enforcement industrial complex does not want us to have it, screams another.

As everyone knows, the pharmaceutical industry is big business. The World Health Organization estimates that by the end of 2013, global sales of prescription drugs will top $1.1 trillion dollars.

But the marijuana industry is big business, too. In the United States, marijuana produces greater cash value than all but three other American-grown crops, and in both Florida and California, marijuana sales are greater than the revenues generated by growing citrus or other fruits and vegetables.

In the United States alone, marijuana sales top $36 billion per year. So is there possibly an economic incentive to make people as psychologically dependent on marijuana as they are on pharmaceuticals? Are the claims about marijuana hope or hype?

Let's take a look at what we know for sure about the benefits of marijuana in treating medical conditions.

Investigating the use of marijuana and dronabinol in treating weight loss from AIDS

American medical researchers have been investigating the use of marijuana and dronabinol, a marijuana derivative, in treating weight loss from AIDS since the early 1990's.

When the studies are analyzed together with a statistical tool called meta-analysis, people who use marijuana or dronabinol are about twice as likely to start regaining weight (that is, they are twice as likely not to starve to death during the study) as people who do not use pot or its derivatives. Still, marijuana and dronabinol make a difference less than 50% of the time. Weight gain is usually about 2 pounds (a kilo), but that is often enough to prevent death.

Is marijuana oil alone sufficient to cure any kind of cancer?

Some websites announce that marijuana oil alone is sufficient to cure any kind of cancer. Typically the claim is made in the headline of a page, and then the citations in the page itself refute the headline rather than support it. There is good reason to believe that marijuana can reduce bone pain in stage 3 and stage 4 cancer, especially prostate cancer. But we never get before-and-after images of individuals treated with marijuana oil for other kinds of cancer and other stages of cancer.

Marijuana can reduce the persistent pain caused by nerve damage

There is good evidence that smoking pot (marijuana) can reduce the persistent pain caused by nerve damage, in conditions such as diabetic neuropathy, peripheral neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome, focal nerve injury, or spinal cord injury.

There is good evidence that THC suppositories (THC being tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) can relieve the spastic muscle movements that multiple sclerosis (MS) sometimes causes.

There is no doubt that a component of marijuana called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol can reduce the production of fluid in the eye, lowering pressure in the eye, and relieving glaucoma. However, the effect wears off after 3 hours--any time of night or day.

There is good evidence that dronabinol, the FDA-approved marijuana derivative, can relieve nausea and vomiting in a number of chronic conditions, including cancer.

In 2013, that's about all even the most ardent supporters of medical marijuana can say for the medical benefits of the herb--but it's no small accomplishment to reverse pain, nausea, vomiting, and wasting conditions that are the actual cause of death for many people who suffer chronic disease. But has marijuana received a fair review by the scientific community?

Why It Is Difficult To Conduct Marijuana Research

Doing medical marijuana research isn't easy. One of the barriers to this kind of clinical investigation is legal. National and local law enforcement agencies aren't exactly eager for scientists to find practical applications for marijuana.

A bigger problem in medical marijuana research, however, is the issue of double blinding. In clinical research, ideally you want to make sure that the effects you observe in your study are actually due to the medication (or natural substance) you are testing, not due to wishful thinking. The way essentially all accepted medical research studies get around this problem is by giving one group of volunteers the drug being tested and another group of volunteers a placebo. But when you are testing marijuana, it's hard to fool study participants as to whether or not they are actually smoking pot.

So, should you go with your gut and smoke pot if you think it might do you some good?

We're under legal restraints, too. We can't tell you that you should use marijuana for a medical application. However, we can tell you the factors you need to consider about your personal use of medical marijuana.

Dude, smoking pot can make you, like, lightheaded

Approximately 60% of marijuana users experience transient dizziness, lightheadedness, or loss of focus and attention (only 60%, oddly enough, research tells us). Of course, that's why people use the drug recreationally. If you are going to use marijuana on a regular basis, make sure you don't have obligations that require sharp mental focus while you are experiencing the effects of the drug.

You may face criminal liability for possession of pot, even for medical purposes

Depending on the local laws where you live, you may face criminal liability for possession of pot, even for medical purposes. Most arrests are made when someone is traveling through a city or county with tough enforcement laws to or from one's home where the law is more lenient.

Marijuana and marijuana oil occasionally have adverse side effects

Marijuana and marijuana oil occasionally have adverse side effects, such as muscle pain (about 25% of the time), muscle weakness (about 20% of the time), dry mouth (about 10% of the time), and, from smoking marijuana on a regular basis, sore throat and in rare cases, marijuana allergy.

Smoking marijuana induces production of an enzyme in the liver called CYP1A2

Increasing production of this enzyme accelerates the body's clearance of certain antipsychotic medications and some older, seldom-prescribed antidepressants.

Regular smokers experience mild symptoms of withdrawal when they quit

If you start smoking marijuana on a daily basis, you may experience mild symptoms of withdrawal when you quit. These include reduced appetite, acid stomach, nausea, irritability, and anxiety. These symptoms usually go away in two days to two weeks.

But the most important consideration in choosing to use medical marijuana is this:

Medical marijuana isn't a cure-all. It may be exactly what you need, however, for the medications you are already taking actually to do their job.

Don't give up a potentially life-saving medication to smoke pot. Instead, if you choose to use marijuana, use it as part of your health program, rather than as your entire health program, and operate within the legal system as much as you can.