Use of Marijuana in Medicine

The use of marijuana has been vilified and thus restricted for many a century from since the earliest recorded times of the fourteenth century Arabia. The restrictions on the drug spread and have been most profound in the early 20th century where many countries, especially those under the British rule criminalized even the handling and possession of the drug. It is not until recently in the mid-20th century onwards to the late 80s and 90s when solid scientific research established that the drug has medicinal value and could be beneficial even for commercial and economic reasons.  

Medicinal application of marijuana was discovered in the late 1970s and 1980s where the use of weed was applied to patients of AIDS in an effort to mitigate the effects of chemotherapy. In recent years, the use of marijuana for medical use has increased given researchers and experts have shed light to the public regarding the health utility of the drug. In addition, the general perception of populations throughout the world in regards to the use of marijuana has shifted into a more tolerating and accommodating. This is a direct culmination of many governments decriminalizing the drug.  

There are various different diseases and illnesses that can be palliated, or cured altogether by the regular consumption of prescription medicinal marijuana. Medical marijuana is mostly a prescription given that different patients have different needs and therefore the requirement for each varies depending on the content of cannabinoids present. In addition, psychological disorders such as stress, anxiety, depression, lack of appetite and insomnia have been shown to be mitigated or ceased completely from prescriptions of medical marijuana. The following are some of the diseases and conditions that can be treated using medical marijuana.  

  1. Alzheimer’s  

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the gradual decline in memory of people as a result of age. People suffering from Alzheimer’s have difficulty in remembering recent events yet with ease in recalling events that happened years ago. Alzheimer’s disease gets worse over time and is common in elderly people. The disease has proven to have traumatic effects on the relatives and kin of patients.  

Researchers have mentioned that smoking small quantities of marijuana over long periods of time has a significant impact in reducing the chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease. 

  1. Epilepsy 

Epilepsy is a group of disorders that cause a person to experience frequent seizures. There are medications prescribed to curb the seizures, among them medical marijuana. In specified quantities, marijuana has shown to effectively mitigate the effects of epilepsy and allied disorders. 

  1. PTSD, Sleep Disorders and Appetite Loss 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition characterized by failure to recover from witnessing or experiencing a terrifying event. In altering the occurrence of dreams during sleep, marijuana effectively curbs the occurrence of nightmares for victims of PTSD which goes a long way in reducing and aiding in the recovery of patients. Sleep disorder such as insomnia is effectively treated by the use of the Indica strain of medical marijuana. In addition, the lack of appetite is reduced given marijuana infuses in the consumers appetence and a feeling of hunger.  

Other uses are in the treatment of Glaucoma, Multiple Sclerosis and Nausea. It is also useful in pain alleviation.