Let’s face it: cannabis has a stigma, but medical and recreational cannabis are two very different things. Thirty-nine states have now legalized medical cannabis, but why? Does it really work?
Medical marijuana may very well be the next great revolution in disease treatment and prevention, and there is a growing body of science to prove it.
Medical cannabis has been used to treat everything from arthritis to ADHD, including anxiety, PTSD, various cancers, childhood seizures, spinal cord injuries, pain, nausea, digestive disorders like Crohn’s disease, and HIV/AIDS.
Cannabis is used as a full-body pain reliever and anti-inflammatory substance for relief of chronic arthritis symptoms; it’s a disease that affects over 50 million Americans.
Cannabis has also been linked with cognitive performance, so it improves attention deficit and anxiety disorders like ADHD and PTSD.
There is a growing body of global research being done. Israel has long been on the leading edge of that research.
Israel has done extensive research on marijuana to look at its effect on all aspects of cancer, including inflammation. Initial research shows THC to have anti-tumor properties that inhibit the growth of cancer cells. THC shows promise in fighting breast, bone, and prostate cancers.
There are three main strains of marijuana that are used medically: indica, sativa, and hybrid.
Physical sedation comes with indica strains, while sativa is known to invigorate and uplift the brain. Hybrids fall in the middle, depending on the two strains used to create the hybrid.
Cannabinoids
The human body has a built-in cannabinoid system that functions to keep the body in a balanced state (homeostasis). Chemical receptors are found throughout the body in organs, immune cells and the brain, and the cannabinoid system functions differently in each area. The human body makes endocannabinoid chemicals that stimulate these receptors.
Plant-based cannabinoids are called phytocannabinoids, like those from cannabis, and are very similar to the cannabinoids in our bodies, and produce the same effects.
CBD
Various compounds in marijuana have been isolated as phytocannabinoids. One is called cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound used to treat medical patients. It doesn’t produce the hallucinogenic effects marijuana is characterized by. Research studies have shown that CBD is very effective in treating anxiety, epilepsy and many other disorders. Parents who have children who suffer epileptic seizures swear by CBD treatments.
CBD has been studied extensively for cancer reduction. It has been shown to actually impede substances in the body that feed cancer cells and create inflammation. Specifically, recent American, Italian and Israeli studies looked at its potential to cure the incurable multiple myeloma cancers, a disease that affects blood cells.
Their research shows that CBD paired with other inhibitor substances strongly inhibited cancer cell growth, and it also sped up the death of the cancerous cells.
THC
A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that cannabis may be able to stop the spread of HIV. Patients afflicted with the disease have increasingly turned to marijuana to help the symptoms of chronic pain and cachexia, the wasting away and dramatic weight and muscle mass loss seen in these patients.
HIV shuts down the body’s immune system by killing protective white T-cells in the blood. The result is that the body is literally overrun by opportunistic infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis and cancers. As HIV worsens, it leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), characterized by chronic low T-cell count and additional infections. Israeli scientists developed a particular cannabis strain that helps AIDS side effects, and it also can be used for other ailments as well.
Cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, but the majority of states have legalized its use medically because of the promising research. Some physicians remain skeptical because of the lack of clinical research, but that is changing on a global scale.
Each state has an approved list of qualifying conditions, and if your condition qualifies, you can participate in the medical marijuana program in your state. Some states even accept out-of-state authorizations. Additionally, each state has physicians and clinics that specialize in cannabis, and there are medical cannabis dispensaries as well.
Medical cannabis is extremely promising, and we’re on the forefront of the research to prove its effectiveness for a whole host of illnesses.
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