Marijuana as Medicine

If you told your Grandmother to smoke a joint for her glaucoma she would likely say "No Way!" That is probably because she grew up in the 1930's when everyone thought marijuana would turn you stark raving mad. And that was after marijuana and its derivatives were used in tinctures and tonics. Let me explain. In the 1800's tonics and medicines were widely available over the counter which often contained THC. They were for everything from migraines to stomach aches. After the marijuana tax act in 1937, marijuana was forgotten as anything medicinal.

What Grandma doesn't realize is that marijuana would reduce the ocular pressure inside her eyes. It is often used for this exact purpose. Marijuana has been used as a medicinal herb for over 12,000 years! Twelve of the fifty states has laws regulating the use of medical marijuana. California was the first state to legalize its use in 1996 along with Washington. The other states that followed are Oregon, Maine, Alaska, Nevada, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Montana, Rhode Island and New Mexico. All states have different laws concerning its use for medicinal purposes but, all have decriminalized it for patients with a prescription. There are clubs and buyers clubs that are licensed in these states for the sales of medical marijuana. They have restrictions and have a maximum amount they are allowed to have in their business. Many of these clubs are still raided by the DEA and people taken to jail. These laws are all local government laws. Marijuana is illegal in any use or form under federal law. For example, California has enacted proposition 215 which allows medical access to the herb, but federal officials have threatened prosecution to any doctors who prescribe it. Thus it is in a gray area of the law and will likely stay that way for some time to come.

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine conducted a report thats findings concluded " The accumulated data indicate a potential therapeutic value for cannabis drugs, particularly for symptoms such as pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."

If Grandma is still appalled by the idea, tell her that many people who have cancer find it very helpful with nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy and other drugs. Some anticancer drugs affect the parts of the brain that control vomiting. Other treatments irritate the lining of the stomach. Marijuana calms the stomach and gives back appetite. It has also been used for anorexic patients to help them eat more.Believe it or not has even been given to children with ADHD and ADD. AIDS is another disease that marijuana can calm the effects of. Some people find that instead of taking powerful man made drugs for the side effects of treatments for disease, they can ingest or smoke marijuana, and feel it more a natural approach. It is often ingested in teas or baked goods made with cannabis oils. Cannabis has been found effective for nerve pain when opiate drugs did nothing. And unlike with powerful prescriptions, some of these people say they don't feel high and out of it, they just feel better. Marijuana has been found very useful to people with the crippling disease, multiple sclerosis.

In 2003, Montel Williams told his audience that he uses marijuana to ease the symptoms of his multiple sclerosis. He has said he eats baked goods and smokes marijuana after being on the brink of suicide from the pain he suffers. He has spoken to the U.S. Congress about the valuable effects the herb has on patients with debilitating diseases and pain. Williams says he uses it for tremors, pain and depression in lieu of powerful, addictive narcotics often prescribed. Montel is a powerful activist in getting medical marijuana legalized everywhere in the U.S.

Some groups believe that the pharmaceutical companies are helping stop the decriminalization of medical marijuana. They want their drugs to be bought and used even though they know that a lot of their drugs are highly addictive and each only work for a few medical conditions. Marijuana is known to be helpful for hundreds and hundreds of symptoms and diseases. These companies have tried to duplicate the THC found in marijuana and have made synthetic THC. It is found in pill form known as marinol. Users say that the drug does not compare to the real thing and does not work as well as cannabis.

As the government tries to stop patients from exercising their right to choose what medicines they use, we are stopping the people of this free country from being well and living prosperously.