There are pioneers in every field, including the Marijuana field (pun intended!), and the earliest record of cannabis being used as a treatment goes back to China in 28 BC. Emperor Shen-Nung prescribed cannabis for: beriberi, constipation, female weakness, gout, malaria, rheumatism, and absent-mindedness.
Further historical uses include:
Eight-hundred years later, in Ancient Egypt, we have records suggesting that cannabis was used to treat sore eyes.
In the tenth century BC, a cannabis preparation known as bhang was used as an anaesthetic in India.
It is thought that the religious use of the plant predated the medical use. In fact, cannabis is still used in Hindu and Sikh temples, as well as at Mohammedan shrines, to aid meditation. In rituals where food and water are disallowed, it is also used to overcome hunger and thirst, although how this squares with the well-documented munchies is difficult to say.
Back to China, but fast forward to the 2nd century AD, and we find that cannabis was used as an analgesic in surgical procedures.
There are many more historical incidences of marijuana use but to list them all might have you clicking off to another site! Suffice it say that weed, pot, or whatever else you wish to call it, has historically been used in the treatment of these medical conditions:
tetanus
rabies
delirium tremens (DTs)
infantile convulsions
nerve pain
cholera,
very heavy periods
rheumatism
hay fever
asthma
skin diseases
prolonged labour in childbirth
Astoundingly, despite the hoard of cannabis detractors, tests were undertaken in the mid-20th century (so about 40 years ago), which proved that cannabis sativa is effective as an antibiotic for local infections. Given the crisis in hospital acquired infections that are resistant to current antibiotics, surely, this use of the evil weed is one worth exploring.
The following list of ailments against which cannabis is thought to be effective was published in a House of Lords report, The Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis – Second Report, 2001:
AIDS Wasting Syndrome
Arthritis
Brain Injury/Stroke
Multiple Sclerosis
Nausea associated with cancer Chemotherapy
Anti-Tumour Effects
Asthma
Epilepsy
Glaucoma
Schizophrenia
General Pain
Migraine
Eating Disorders
Please let us know whether you have used marijuana to improve your health.
I have gastroparesis, a disease in which your stomach has a very difficult time digesting food and often leaves you either with extreme nausea or vomiting undigested chunks of food. It also comes with severe stomach cramps (nearly every day for me) and your diet is extremely limited. Without the use of marijuana I can only eat maybe 1/2 peanut butter sandwich a day, though I can usually drink as much as I want.
Obviously, this sucks! I had smoked herb for a while before I got diagnosed with gastroparesis but had quit for about 3 years prior. Upon diagnosis and a 10-day-no-food-at-all stay in the hospital, I went home and lit up a bowl and could eat about a normal sized meal (which for me is A LOT of food). Without pot, I’d probably only weigh about 85 lbs (I’m 5′) but with it I’ve been able to keep my weight at around 105. This is an amazing plant and I love it now even more than I did before!
I use cannabis to help with my bipolar disorder. I rapid cycle and the drugs that the doctors had me on before were horrible. I was catatonic most of the time. I had no emotion, no feelings, and just existed.
About 3 years ago I read about how someone used it to treat BPD. I have been off the harmful drugs with the very bad side effects ever since. I smoke about a 1/2 a bowl each night and as needed if I slip into a mania. My cycles are fewer and fewer between.