Did you know that Medical Marijuana is now available in 25 states and Washington DC? Washington state and Colorado have legalized marijuana for all uses, including recreational. Cannabis or marijuana has a history in medicine going back in many cultures for thousands of years.Currently its use in medicine is still controversial in our culture.In clinical tests, there has been some evidence that it can be useful in treating nausea and vomiting, improving appetite, and treating those with chronic pain and muscle spasms.
The US FDA has not approved the use of marijuana as medicine. Medical marijuana means using the plant or its extracts to treat illness, disease and their symptoms. Scientific study of the cannabinoids in marijuana has led to FDA approved medications that contain cannabinoid chemicals in pill form.
Cannabinoids are chemicals related to THC, the main mind-altering ingredient of marijuana. Besides THC the marijuana plant also contains more than 100 other cannabinoids. Cannabis can be used medically through several different methods which can include eating edible baked goods, vaporizing or smoking, capsules or lozenges, dermal patches and sprays. CBD (cannabidiol) is peeking interest and showing promise in treating childhood disorders and scientists have been specially breeding cannabis plants for CBD oil for treatment purposes. The CBD oil can be used in most states legally as it does not contain the chemicals that cause intoxication.
More than 45% of adults in America have reported using marijuana in their lifetime. The American criminal laws are unique when it comes to marijuana policy. No other law is enforced so widely and harshly, but is deemed totally unnecessary by a large portion of the population. There are more than one million prisoners incarcerated across America for violations of marijuana laws. Polls in the US show that about 80% of the population supports the medical use of marijuana.
A couple of noted physicians are quoted below on their perspectives on the medical use of marijuana.
Joycelyn Elders, MD, the former US Surgeon General published a report in 2004 that says: "The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS – or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day."
And, then of course you have the other side from former Senator Bill Frist, MD who says, "Although I understand many believe marijuana is the most effective drug in combating their medical ailments, I would caution against this assumption due to the lack of consistent, repeatable scientific data available to provide marijuana's medical benefits. Based on current evidence, I believe that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that there are less dangerous medicines offering the same relief from pain and other medical symptoms."
On the Health Risks of smoking marijuana the two sides state:
Lester Grinspoon, MD and Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School states: "There is very little evidence that smoking marijuana as a means of taking it represents a significant health risk. Although cannabis has been smoked widely in Western countries for more than four decades, there have been no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana. I suspect that a day's breathing in any city with poor air quality poses more of a threat than inhaling a day's dose – which for many ailments is just a portion of a joint – of marijuana."
The "British Lung Foundation" published their results in 2002 and state: "3-4 cannabis cigarettes a day are associated with the same evidence of acute and chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage to the bronchial mucosa as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day. Cannabis smoking is likely to weaken the immune system. Infections of the lung are due to a combination of smoking-related damage to the cells lining the bronchial passage and impairment of the principal immune cells in the small air sacs caused by cannabis."
Obviously there is no standard answer. More research will be necessary to document the effects of the use of medical marijuana. Policy changes have been made in recent years to facilitate this research.
Mary Crawford, HealthCare Employment Network
