The discovery of the health benefits coming from medical marijuana has taken the medical world by storm.
Marijuana or cannabis is a medicinal plant that has been around for more than 5,000 years. People from long ago have reaped health benefits using the plant to cure chronic pain, nausea, and loss of appetite, painful nerve ends, and more.
It was only through a gross misunderstanding that the plant was banned from countries around the world, including the United States. Making the cannabis a restricted drug did more harm than good when other people abused their use of it.
Nowadays, the future looks bright for marijuana as strains high in CBD are being used to treat sick people of all ages, gender, and race.
But, is medical marijuana the miracle cure everyone expects it to be? Can it be the long-awaited cure for cancer, glaucoma, insomnia, and even tinnitus? Let’s dig deeper to find out if it lives up to expectations.
Medical marijuana for cancer
The rapid multiplication of non-human DNA mutant cells is the chief cause of the different types of cancer. These mutant cells are quickly killed or are encouraged to commit suicide when they invade healthy people. The core of cancer lies in a defective immune system that failed to identify rogue DNA. When this happens, cancerous tumors rapidly grow in size as to debilitate body tissues and organs. The end result is always pain and death.
There are prescribed drugs to combat the effects of cancer. The side effects from these medications can range from hair loss, stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, loss of appetite, and general body weakness.
How can medical marijuana help in curing cancer? It has been discovered that cannabinoids in medical marijuana hold the key to open the CB1 and CB2 receptors of the body. Studies have shown that cells in animals and humans undergo these changes when cannabinoid medicals are introduced into the body:
- Stops division of cells
- Stops and reduces the malignant cells from invading or moving to other organs and tissues of the body
- Kills malignant cells
- Assists in disposing cellular waste
- Cuts off the blood supply to tumors
CBD or cannabidiol has been found by the scientists of California Pacific Medical Center to be able to prevent many types of cancer by switching off their DNA. In medical marijuana, one of the most abundant ingredients is CBD which does not cause a “high”, unlike recreational marijuana. The “high” felt in recreational marijuana is due to the high level of THC.
The inhibition of tumor growth caused by CBD slows them down by suffocating their blood supply. This eventually kills them off. Normal cells are not in any way affected by CBD. The cannabinoids actually protect them. Inflammation of body tissues and the colon are reduced by CBD, resulting in prevention of colon cancer and other cancer types. There are lots of videos giving more information about the strains and cancer.
Medical marijuana for insomnia
Sleeplessness or insomnia is an affliction that affects millions of people around the world. At some point in their lives, adult people have experienced it. People having this condition either have a harder time of staying asleep or falling asleep. They can also experience both symptoms.
Missing out on a good night’s sleep affects your daily activities of living from working, socializing, eating, exercising, and driving. Prescription medications are usually the way for these afflicted people to sleep and stay asleep during the night.
However, the unpleasant side effects of these sleep medications can almost be as serious as insomnia itself. Side effects range from hallucinations, depression, and drowsiness during the day, forgetfulness, constipation, aggression, and more.
Can medical marijuana provide the timely answer to insomnia? Alberta University in Canada recently made a study to find out the result of marijuana with regards to the loss of appetite in cancer patients. The surprising result was the effective help of CBD towards insomnia. Patients began to sleep and eat better with marijuana.
Yet, some human studies have found that the sleep-inducing effect of CBD may not differ much from other popular sleeping medications like Valium. However, would the use of CBD be as addictive as valium?
This question needs further studies to find out the real score of CBD use for insomniac patients.
Medical marijuana for glaucoma
Glaucoma can result in blindness when it is not treated. What is the health risk leading to glaucoma? Alzheimer’s disease seems to be a precursor risk for acquiring glaucoma. Actually, acquiring glaucoma predicts a patient to eventually have Alzheimer as well.
Treating glaucoma to prevent blindness is to take off IOP or intraocular pressure from the eye. The usual treatments prescribed by ophthalmologists are surgery or prescription eye drops.
Can medical marijuana reduce intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients? A study done in 1971 showed positive results. The study discovered that as much as 30 percent pressure was lifted off after patients’ ingested medical marijuana. However, ophthalmologists remain skeptical in spite of this finding.
For one, glaucoma needs to be treated 24/7 which means that patients have to smoke cannabis 24/7 also. Smoking cannabis applies more pressure to the eye, making them unstable. It would also mean that patients have to consume marijuana 8 times a day for them to lower their IOP levels.
If and when this happens, consuming cannabis becomes an addictive habit. However, ophthalmologists give medical marijuana the go signal when it concerns end-stage nausea and pain for glaucoma.
Medical marijuana and tinnitus
People affected by tinnitus hear sounds even when there’s none. The sounds they usually hear range from roaring, ringing, hissing, and clicking. These phantom sounds can cause anxiety, poor concentration, and depression.
There is a wide range of conditions that result in tinnitus. These include ear wax, noise-induced hearing loss, cardiovascular disease, tumors, ear infections, medication side effects, and Meniere’s disease.
A lot of research has been done to determine the effectiveness of medical marijuana to tinnitus. This has resulted in a draw. It seems that recreational marijuana that contains high amounts of THC worsens tinnitus symptoms. The high content of CBD in medical marijuana is still being subjected to further studies with regard to tinnitus.
Despite the draw, doctors believe that there’s a future for medical marijuana and tinnitus. For one thing, all the studies show that the cannabinoids in marijuana DO interact with the brain’s auditory nerves.
Medical marijuana seems to hold the key to a miracle breakthrough for cancer. It may have a lesser degree of influence with tinnitus, insomnia, and glaucoma, but the results are still positive. The highly positive results medical marijuana can do to help cancer makes the future brighter for people afflicted with it. We all stand to gain should medical marijuana become part of the treatment scenario for cancer and other serious health conditions.