Medicinal Marijuana: The Plant that Should Be Given a Chance

Cannabis: A Natural Remedy

Cannabis is a natural plant that possesses many chemical properties. With such properties, upon human consumption, it alters the human experience and effects placed upon individuals. These natural abilities offer numerous potential benefits, including providing better solutions to non-curable diseases, offering safer alternatives than other medications prescribed to treat the same symptoms, and demonstrating that medical marijuana is effective in alleviating nausea and vomiting post-chemotherapy for many of the world’s cancer patients.

Epilepsy and Seizures: A Potential Solution

Since the dawn of medical history, many diseases have become irreparable and distinctively incurable when seeking solutions. If the ability to lower symptoms for better overall health were available, many would certainly try it. Epilepsy and seizures have been known to have a reduced effect when using CBD. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound of marijuana that doesn’t contain the psychoactive chemical strains deemed illegal and dangerous by the government. According to a study hosted by the New York University - Langone Medical Center, researchers observed over a 50 percent reduction in the frequency of certain types of seizures in patients consuming cannabidiol (Devinsky et al., 2016). Although marijuana is considered illegal contraband on the federal level, it has the potential to do significant good for society when prescribed by a highly accredited doctor.

Safe Alternatives to Traditional Medications

Medicinal marijuana is one of the best alternatives when it comes to harmless explanations and experiences, compared with other medications prescribed to treat the same symptoms. For instance, many medications require the liver and kidneys to adapt to these unnatural laboratory-made drugs and chemicals, which the body is not accustomed to, causing the breakdown and deficiency of the human body. The most common use for medical marijuana in the United States is for pain control. Dr. Peter Grinspoon, from the prestigious Harvard Medical School, notes that while medical marijuana isn’t proficient enough to cure severe pain, it is quite effective for the chronic pain experienced by millions of Americans (Grinspoon, 2020). Such relief in chronic pain replaces the need for opiates and the expenditures of NSAIDs, such as over-the-counter pain medications. It also opens the door for people suffering from complications with their kidneys, ulcers, or Gastroesophageal reflux diseases. Prescription painkillers can also have a large number of unfavorable side effects that can lead to serious health complications, such as liver damage, severe headaches, and bleeding gums. The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre established that patients with chronic pain who used cannabis daily for one year, when carefully monitored, did not experience an increase in serious adverse events compared to patients who did not use cannabis (Ware et al., 2015).

Relief for Cancer Patients

Marijuana is effective in alleviating nausea and vomiting post-chemotherapy for many of the world’s cancer patients. According to the British Journal of Pharmacology, studies have indicated that cannabinoids are useful in treating the challenging symptoms of nausea and anticipatory nausea in chemotherapy patients, and they are more effective than the orthodox pharmaceutical drugs available in today’s pharmaceutical market (Parker et al., 2011). This opens new avenues for supportive care in oncology, providing a natural alternative to synthetic drugs.

As seen from the essay, medical marijuana is an effective method in treating non-curable diseases, offers safer solutions than other medications prescribed to treat the same symptoms, and can be used in alleviating nausea and vomiting post-chemotherapy for many of the world’s cancer patients.

References

Devinsky, O., Cross, J. H., Laux, L., Marsh, E., Miller, I., Nabbout, R., ... & Wright, S. (2016). Trial of cannabidiol for drug-resistant seizures in the Dravet syndrome. The New England Journal of Medicine, 375(14), 1407-1417.

Grinspoon, P. (2020). Medical marijuana. Harvard Health Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu

Parker, L. A., Rock, E. M., & Limebeer, C. L. (2011). Regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids. British Journal of Pharmacology, 163(7), 1411-1422.

Ware, M. A., Wang, T., Shapiro, S., Robinson, A., Ducruet, T., Huynh, T., ... & Collet, J. P. (2015). Cannabis for the management of pain: assessment of safety study (COMPASS). The Journal of Pain, 16(12), 1233-1242.