Possible Medical Uses of Marijuana

Various societies have used cannabis to treat a variety of illnesses over the centuries, and Western medicine has recently begun to investigate cannabis as well. According to the Relman Report, there are two reasons for medical interest: The first is that cannabis exerts its effects "through mechanisms that differ from those of other available drugs," and secondly "since cannabis often works as an additive with other drugs, it is possible that cannabis could be combined with other drugs to achieve a therapeutic goal, but with each drug being used at a lower dose than would be required i either were used alone. As a result, fewer side effects would be expected t occur."

Some of the experimentation has been promising, but some has been a dismal failure.
Some of the areas of the therapeutic potential of cannabis include:

Glaucoma: Smoking marijuana reduces intraocular pressure in many patients, but the effect is temporary (only as long as three or four hours), and many patients don't like the side effect of intoxication. Some research is continuing with the thought of isolating Delta 8-THC and making a topical ointment that would have the therapeutic effect without the intoxication.

Chemotherapy: Vomiting and nausea which accompanies chemotherrapy treatment in cancer patients is so awful that some patients discontinue treatment. Cannabis has been found to be an anti-emetic (anti-vomiting) agent, and Delta 9-THC has been made available through the Food and Drug Administration for this purpose in most states. Again, the intoxicating effects are sometimes disorienting, and the treatment is seen as worse than the disease. Some research is going on in an attempt to isolate certain cannabinoids which would produce the anti-emetic action without side effects

In some cancer patients cannabis has been shown to be an appetite stmulant, but here too, side effects have kept many patients from continuing its use.

Anticonvulsant: Human and animal studies have shown that Cannabis can be useful in blocking certain types of seizures - notably certain types of epileptic seizures - and research is being done in this area.

Muscle Relaxant: Petro and Ellenberger have demonstrated that cannabis is effective in relieving muscle spasm or spasticity, though there seems to be no evidence of continuing research in this promising field.

Asthma Relief: While marijuana works as a bronchodilator and was thought at one time to be of possible use in this area, it is no longer considered viable because of the tolerance that develops to the smoke. Some work is being done on isolating compounds which might be effective and not require smoking.

Analgesic Action: While some studies have shown cannabis to be effective in blocking certain types of pain, none show it more effective than what is already on the market. No further research is currently being done in this area.

Alcoholism: While at one time it was thought that cannabis might be effective in treating alcoholism, it has now been shown that cannabis and alcohol have an addictive effect on each other and produce undesirable effects in this area.

Opiate Withdrawal: Here too, cannabis was at one time thought to be an effective tool. Now, however, it has been shown to not aid the withdrawing addict and to possibly reduce mental toughness, actually leading to continuing addiction and relapse.

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