Medical Marijuana: Nothing is New
The use of cannabis as medicine is not new, in fact, there are references to the use of marijuana as a medicine that date back to 2,000 years BC. Marijuana use hasn’t been confined to just one geographical area either – there are global records of its use. In China, it was used to treat conditions such as malaria, constipation and rheumatism.
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You might be surprised to find that it wasn’t just ancient peoples who used the drug; marijuana remained in the United States pharmacopoeia until 1941. Up until that time, cannabis was freely available in shops and, in the UK, Queen Victoria, that most conservative of royals, used cannabis to alleviate her menstrual cramps.
Medical Marijuana: The Truth
The truth of the matter is we don’t know exactly how many illnesses and symptoms that the medical use of marijuana could alleviate. The following list is taken from Appendix IV of a US Government Accountability Office report issued in November 2002, Descriptions of Allowable Conditions under State Medical Marijuana Laws.
Over the following days detailed articles will be written about how marijuana may help each of these conditions and as the articles are published they will be linked to this page.
This is not an exhaustive list of the conditions that may be helped by using cannabis and other conditions will be added as you tell us about them!
We believe Medical Marijuana will help these conditions:
- Alzheimer’s Disease: a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior
- Amyloidosis: Amyloids are body-proteins that have folded in on themselves, making them insoluble. The fact that they don’t dissolve can lead to a build up of deposits in various organs, such as the heart, the kidneys, and the nerves.
- Anorexia: an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight
- Anxiety: a feeling of apprehension or fear, the source of which is not always known or recognized
- AIDS: (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the final stage of HIV disease, which causes severe damage to the immune system
- Arthritis: inflammation of one or more joints, which results in pain, swelling, stiffness, and limited movement
- Autism: autistic spectrum disorders are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges
- Breast Cancer: cannabis study suggesting that a particular compound may be effective at taming metastasizing breast cancer cells with low toxicity.
- Cachexia: physical wasting with loss of weight and muscle mass caused by disease
- Cancer: a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell division leading to growth of abnormal tissue
- Crohn’s Disease: an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing inflammation of the digestive tract lining . This can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea and malnutrition
- Depression: a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration
- Epilepsy: a disorder that results from the surges in electrical signals inside the brain, causing recurring seizures.
- Fibromyalgia: a constellation of symptoms that include widespread aching, stiffness, fatigue, and the presence of specific body tender point
- Glaucoma: a group of eye diseases characterized by damage to the optic nerve usually caused by raised pressure (IOP) within the eye
- Insomnia: chronic inability to fall asleep or to enjoy uninterrupted sleep
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): Anecdotal evidence suggests that use of cannabis/marijuana reduces symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
- Mesothelioma: Well, let’s get this said up-front: as far as we know medical marijuana will not cure mesothelioma. Nevertheless, we know of at least one study looking at cannabis for chemotherapy patients (Harvard University) that showed THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, slashed tumor growth in common lung cancer by 50% and also reduced the spread of the cancer.
- Migraine: a severe recurring headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, characterized by sharp pain and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and visual disturbances
- Multiple Sclerosis: a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting movement, sensation, and bodily functions.Caused by destruction of the myelin insulation covering nerve fibers in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
- Nausea: a feeling of sickness in the stomach characterized by an urge to vomit
- Pain: an unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder
- PTSD: (post traumatic stress disorder) a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event
- Rheumatoid Arthritis: It’s been known, anecdotally at least, for many years that cannabis can help ease the painful symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
- Spasticity: a constant and unwanted contraction of one or more muscle groups
Find out the Medical Marijuana state laws where you live. Then you will know whether you are legally able to use Medical Marijuana to treat your medical condition.
Have severe sciatica pain along with pretty severe arthritis. Will medical M help me? Getting tired of taking Hydrocodone!
Its a great medicine for all ailments. Helps me keep an appetite even after my chemo sessions!
Cannabis has been used for thousands of years, both recreationally and medically. People all over the world know the effects of cannabis, yet until 20 years ago, no one knew how it worked within our bodies. In the early 1990s, research scientists identified a system they named “the endocannabinoid system”.
It is made up of receptors and the chemicals that bind to these receptors. This system has been identified in the some of the most primitive creatures on earth. It has been found to be the most widespread receptor system in the human body. These receptors are found throughout the nervous system, immune tissues, blood cells, liver, lungs, and kidneys.
This system appears to regulate many important physiologic pathways in the human body, including gastrointestinal activity, cardiovascular activity, pain perception, maintenance of bone mass, protection of neurons, hormonal regulation, metabolism control, immune function, inflammatory reactions, and inhibition of tumors cells.
Please add Ulcerative Colitis to your list.
Thanks!
Marijuana for HOT FLASHES! really does work!…thank God for the natural medicine, it works better than yams, pycnogenols, Vit. B!!!
Why is it that sleep disorders are not on this list. I have had issues sleeping since I was a child and now I am suffering from sleep paralysis because I was on sleep medication that supressed it when it was really suposed to start up, granted I would have had it sooner but the stress level of my life now is a lot higher than when I was a child and high amounts of stress make this disorder unbairable it happens everyday, sometimes twice a day.
I have ruled out persciption drugs because they are just not safe, marijuana on the other hand is. So I do not understand why sleep disorders are not on the list it does not make any since.
wow really passed right over insomnia, I guess thats what no sleep does to you lol
Hello Kim
Medical marijuana is an excellent treatment for Insomnia. We have recently published this article:
http://www.medicalmarijuanablog.com/benefits/insomnia-234.html
I am so happy to see that Fibromyalgia and PTSD are on this list!
I live in NJ and as soon as the dispensaries are up and running, I want to find a doctor who will be willing to recommend medical marijuana as a solution for both my problems.
I currently use it illegally here in NJ, but it’s so so soooo helpful and I wish I could use it legally like everyone else who has Fibromyalgia in California or Colorado.
I’d like to know about doctors in Yuma Az as well
Can medical marijuana help back pain and depression?
Yes, marijuana can help with back pain. It doesn’t have to be medical grade, either. I suffer with chronic back pain/knee pain from 9 bulging discs, 2 herniated discs, and chondromalacia (runner’s knees). I’ve noted that ache style pains are helped greatly from cannabis but broken bone style pain is less affected.
Your best bet would be finding a strain high in CBD’s (cannabinoids) for pain relief. I know of 2: Cannatonic, a new strain, and Alaskan Ice (which I’ve used). These 2 have pretty high levels of CBD’s (Ice is over 1 percent and Cannatonic is over 6.0 percent!!).
High Times Magazine is a great resource for learning about this and you might send them your questions to get a more informed answer. HT recently interviewed Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, the man that found THC and has discovered CBD’s, in the June 2011 issue.
Im totally new to the MJ use. I have fibromyalgia, chronic pain and fatigue, and depression all caused from years of working hard, and a auto accident 4 years ago. I am fanatical about meds and side effects.I do my best to take care of my health.
I was on Percocet, and Valum for the past 4 years as the former left me with buldging and degenerating discs in both my neck and back. I braved up and tried a small amount in a water pipe (to ease irritation) and the benifits are amazing! The ease of pain, and relaxed mood is unspeakable.
I quit the other meds over a month ago, and smoke very little. I recommend give it a try. Start small (two lungs full) and wait to do more to see how it affects you.I will have my card this week! Just a newbies opinion….
I’m using the medical marijuana to treat a heart disease, it takes away the pain and relaxes me a lot.. I think I couldn’t deal with this without the medical marijuana.
Asthma should be on the list. It is my far the best bronchial dialater I have ever used.
I am 41 and have had asthma my whole life. I did not get to do many things while younger or I could not do them like I would have like to. I inhale some cannabis a couple times a week at bedtime.
I have gone from using my advair twice daily and fast acthing twice daily to advair once and fast acting a couple times a month. It is awesome and I wish I would have been able to be like this while I was younger.
now lets say i have none of this conditions – but i want to prefent myself from haveing these conditions whould a certified doctor say yes to medical marijuana to prefent this medical conditions from occurring.
Doctor/scientices say Medical Marijuana prefents listed medical conditions from rapidly occurring wheather your taking it before you have these conditions or after you have these conditions.
I have ulcerative colits which is similar to chrons disease, do you think medical marijuana would be helpful?
I believe medical marijuana is very useful in easing alot of the symptoms of ulcerative colitis I have had ulcerative colitis for ten years now and had my colon removed and mmj has really helped me in many ways
I would like to know if or who the Doctors are in Yuma, AZ. that do the exames for Medical Marijuana. Thank you
Our child possesses a many ADHD problems. His class thinks he could be ADHD and also expects me to get him evaluated. What are the free Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder assessments that I can perform online.
There are many county and state programs that are free for your child to get evaluated. All you have to do is do the dirty work. No one is gonna do it for you. Ask around or look online for it. I did it for my child and am thankful for it. I started in the phone book. It was that simple.
I had the same issues with my son. I took him to his pediatritian and told him about all the symptoms and gave him the evaluation from his school. He was able to diagnose him. He is now on Intuniv and doing much better. Please excuse my spelling.