Medical Marijuana
Marijuana has many great benefits in helping alleviate pain and discomfort that come with certain medical conditions. The plant has actually been used as medicine for years, and this has been traced back over four thousand years to ancient India, among other ancient civilizations.
Medical marijuana is also a very hot topic in many states when it comes to the legalization of the plant for medicinal usage. It was actually legal in the United States until 1937 and it was still allowed for medicinal usage until 1942. So far in the United States there have been 12 states that have legalized medical marijuana, but there are still some problems since state legislation is not always recognized by the federal government. The states that have legalized some medicinal usage of the plant include Alaska, Maine, Oregon, California, Montana, Rhode Island, Colorado, Nevada, Vermont, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Washington. A couple of these states will even allow people to grown their own marijuana for medical purposes, but there is also a pill made from THC that doctors in these states can prescribe.
One of the most well-known uses for marijuana as a medicine is for cancer patients, since it helps with the nausea that come along with chemotherapy, and it also helps to stimulate a patient's appetite. The same thing is true for HIV patients who get nauseous and lose their appetites due to the prescriptions they must take to live with HIV. For patients with multiple sclerosis, it helps to ease muscle spasms and pain that the disease causes, and sometimes it also helps with tremors associated with MS. Another purpose for medical marijuana is for patients with glaucoma, where it helps to reduce pain and also decrease interlobular pressure; it can sometimes even prevent the disease from becoming worse. There have been cases where it has helped individuals with epilepsy, helping them avoid seizures and the potential complications that can result from seizures. Chronic pain is another thing that marijuana can relieve. New studies indicate that it may be useful for the relief of arthritis as well.
As with any medicine, a doctor's supervision is crucial to getting the best medical care. Medical marijuana can obviously only be used in certain states due to legal reasons; in some cases, concurrent diseases may mean that medical marijuana is not the best choice. Talk with your doctor if you think that medical marijuana might help you manage nausea or pain from HIV, cancer, or other illnesses.
Disclaimer: Cliff Schaffer does not personally endorse or support any of the comments made within the writings of this article. |
