Marijuana is often used for two separate purposes; recreational and medical. Recreational marijuana is utilized for their psychoactive properties, offering euphoric bliss, and stoned feeling to the user. You can access medical marijuana in medical dispensaries, provided that you present a medical marijuana card. However, there are different laws for each state regarding the possession, use, and distribution of medical marijuana seeds.
It is usually consumed through smoking, vaping, or edibles such as space cookies. On the other hand, medical marijuana is used for improving the symptoms of different health conditions. It can alleviate basic to severe medical disorders and it offers little to no psychoactive effects.
What is Medical Marijuana
Medical marijuana is the term used to refer to the usage of the raw and full-bodied marijuana plant to cure symptoms of disorders and other conditions. It is usually in an extracted form. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US has not established its approval for medications that are enriched with a marijuana plant. But, two marijuana-based medications have recently been approved because of the studies that backed up its medical value. These two medications have cannabinoids as their active ingredient.
Since marijuana can decrease the symptoms of many illnesses, many people claim that it should be legalized for its medicinal purposes. Some states already allow legal use of medical marijuana.
Why Marijuana Medications are not FDA-approved
To get the approval of the FDA for medications, it needs to undergo thorough clinical trials with hundreds and thousands of human respondents. This will determine the medical value and potential side-effects of the medication. This is why marijuana medications are not yet approved by the FDA. Researchers haven’t undertaken the biggest clinical trials that will exhibit the medical value of marijuana. Apart from that, potential side-effects of using the plant as medicine are still not fully determined by the researchers.
If organizations who support marijuana-based treatment wanted the FDA to approve it, large scale studies need to be conducted with enough participants to prove its wide array of benefits and risks.
Cannabinoids as Active Ingredient, What Is It?
Cannabinoids, like delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are the chemical substances that refer to the active ingredients in marijuana. THC is the cannabinoid that contributes to marijuana’s signature “high” feeling. The marijuana plant has over 500 cannabinoids. Illegal manufacturers and scientists have produced a lot of cannabinoids in factories and lab. These cannabinoids are extremely potent and strong. Some of them can cause severe health issues when used inappropriately.
The human body is also capable of making its cannabinoids. They are the chemicals that contribute to the regulation of body movement, concentration, thinking, pleasure, memory, pain, awareness of time, appetite, and different senses including sight, taste, smell, touch, and hearing.
Using Marijuana without Getting Stoned
Typically, marijuana contains over 500 active components. The main component that contributes to its psychoactive effects is THC. This chemical causes the feeling of being stoned and is the reason for marijuana’s use as a recreational drug. Another key cannabinoid is cannabidiol (CBD), and the body reacts to it in a different way from THC. It doesn’t have any psychoactive properties and it won’t get its user stoned. However, it is sought after by medical experts for patients who wanted to take advantage of its medical value, without worrying about the intoxicating experience.
Using CBD, a person can consume marijuana without experiencing the high feeling. It has little to no intoxicating properties, which makes it less controversial than other forms of the marijuana plant.
Medical patients have reported many health benefits of CBD, including treatment for anxiety, insomnia, spasticity, muscle spasms, pain, and severe conditions like epilepsy. One specific type of epilepsy among children is the Dravet syndrome and it is extremely difficult to regulate. Amazingly, it responds to a CBD-dominant marijuana strain called Charlotte’s Web. The videos that recorded the ability of the strain in treating the patient are heartwarming.
Different Uses of Medical Marijuana
Commonly, medical marijuana is used in the United States for controlling pain. Though the medication is not powerful enough to manage severe types of pain including a broken bone and post-surgical pain, it is proven to be an effective treatment for chronic pain, a condition that affects millions of Americans as they grow old. Apart from this, marijuana is a much safer alternative than opiates because it is less addictive and it offers zero risks for overdose. It can also replace NSAIDs like Aleve or Advil, in case patients can’t consume them because of GERD, ulcers, or kidney problems.
Moreover, marijuana can also regulate the pain among patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis and nerve pain. This condition usually comes with highly-addictive treatments such as opiates, Lyrica, or Neurontin, which makes marijuana a great option. There are activists and medical professionals like Dr. Rachna Patel, who promote the use of CBD and medical marijuana.
Patients reported that after taking the medications, they can still do daily activities without the effects of feeling disengaged. Aside from this, marijuana is a great muscle relaxant and people bow to its capacity to decrease tremors in Parkinson’s disease. It is also hailed as an effective treatment for interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and other conditions that could lead to chronic pain.
Also, marijuana is an effective treatment in managing nausea and weight loss. It is also a potential medication for patients that are diagnosed with glaucoma. For those who are coming home from combat zones, marijuana showed promising results in addressing PTSD among veterans. Therapists have seen visible results of improvement and they reported that veterans were much better right after taking marijuana medications.
They also support the legalization of medical marijuana and hope that the government will lift the ban against further studies of the plant. Furthermore, medical marijuana also did a great job controlling pain and wasting syndrome among those that are dealing with HIV, Crohn’s disease and bowel syndrome.
This is not an extensive list of everything that medical marijuana is capable of treating. Instead, it is a guide of the different kinds of medical conditions that medical marijuana can offer relief. In terms of the medications, reports of effectiveness need to be evaluated carefully and patients should use it with full knowledge on its proper usage and possible side effects.
States Which Allow Medical Marijuana
Those who oppose the legalization of medical marijuana claim that it is dangerous to public health and it poses a lot of safety risks. On the other hand, those who are in favor state that it is not as harmful as alcohol and many studies could back up its therapeutic value, including pain and stress relief.
Advocates also view it as a potential economic booster for the states and an essential social justice initiative. Laws against the legal use of marijuana have a lot of impact on the minority, which has led to mass incarceration.
States where recreational marijuana is legal:
• Washington, D.C.
Selling of medical marijuana from licensed dispensaries is allowed in all of the states that legalized medical or recreational marijuana, except for one state – Vermont. States have different procedures when it comes to licensing their dispensaries. But in areas where marijuana is treated as a legal drug, companies that distribute marijuana should obtain a license from the state to continue their business.
The sales generated by the marijuana industry is taxed and managed by the states at different rates. Some states demand an excise tax on the sales of marijuana. These taxes are taken from a certain product – like marijuana – and imposed on the business owner, which usually passes it along to the buyer by adding it on to the price of the product.
Aside from this, restrictions on use, additional taxes, as well as how the state spends the tax collection is different from every state.
Sourcing Medical Marijuana Seeds
Patients can source out medical marijuana in dispensaries or seed banks. They can be found online and they also have physical stores. Typically, these stores sell different varieties of marijuana, with different features and medical benefits. If you want to know more about the certain strain you wanted to purchase, dispensaries and seed banks have highly accommodating staff that will answer your inquiries.
Most patients want to learn more about medical marijuana and what it can do, but because it is a controversial substance, they feel embarrassed to talk about it with their doctors. Though there are patients who are already getting marijuana treatment and buying medical marijuana seeds, they don’t know how to open this matter to their doctor due to fears of being criticized.
We advise patients who go through this dilemma to be completely honest with your doctor. Simply explain that it is a part of your treatment and that you are looking forward to their guidance in terms of taking the medication.