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Uses of Cannabis
Cannabis sativa is a plant found throughout the world. It has many
uses and has been used for thousands of years for paper, fabric, food
and medicine. It is the medicinal use that we consider here. This is a
list of conditions that are considered helped by cannabis use:
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Chronic Pain
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Headache
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Gastrointestinal (Nausea, Anorexia, Abdominal pain, Irritable bowel
syndrome, Crohns disease, Ulcerative colitis, Chemotherapy)
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Chronic anxiety
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Depression
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Insomnia
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PTSD
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Seizure disorder
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Asthma
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Glaucoma
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Bipolar disorder
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ADD
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Multiple sclerosis (dysesthesia, muscle spasm)
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Severe dysmenorrhea
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Meniere’s ( vertigo, tinnitus)
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Restless leg syndrome
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Phantom limb pain
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OCD
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Parkinson’s
Cannabis is also useful
to control the side effects of cancer, hepatitis, and HIV medications.
Medications that produce symptoms of illness even while treating the disease are
difficult to take. Patients that are allowed to use cannabis during their
treatments are often more likely to stay on a higher level of functioning.
Studies have shown that patients on pain medication have been able to greatly
reduce the dose of pain medication by supplementing with cannabis.
Since SB420 was passed in January of 2004(see on this web site),
cannabis use is legal for qualified patients in California. This law is
important and gives vital needed details. I would encourage anyone interested in
medical marijuana to read this law. This state law has had a huge impact on the
lives of countless patients suffering needlessly where pharmaceutical
medications have failed and provided an option for those people who do not wish
to take the traditional medications because of side effects or general
preferences. Types of
Cannabis The cannabis plant is very versatile with many qualities that can be
enhanced or reduced by the growing conditions; light, nutrients, water. When it is grown for medicine, it is grown in a way that encourages
the plant to produce THC and cannabinoids. This is completely different that the
way it is grown for industrial properties. Industrial cannabis, or hemp, does
not contain any THC and does not produce any psychological effects if smoked.
Hemp grows very tall and stalky, with barely and leaves and no buds at all.
Cannabis grown for medicine contains 60 active chemicals. THC is the
most well-known because of the mental euphoria it produces. The 59 other
chemicals in the plant are the cannabinoids and cannabidiols. These molecules
are still being separated out and identified as to their individual properties.
Their potential for medicinal benefit is evident from many studies which show
that cannabis is effective as an anti-nausea agent. A recent study done in
Canada suggests that a certain cannabinoid stimulates the growth of adult
neurons in the hippocampal area of the brain! There are other studies which
suggest that cannabis may have anticancer potential by reportedly causing the
shrinkage of tumors in animal models. The true potential for all of the uses of
cannabis is sadly affected by the lack of clinical studies because of
restrictions on the use of the agent even for research purposes.
The cannabinoids are the chemicals in marijuana that can affect
neurological pain, appetite, nausea, sleep, musculoskeletal pain as well as
visceral pain. THC seems to be the most psychoactive component in the plant and
works in conjunction with the cannabinoids. Marinol is a synthetic form of THC
and has no cannabinoids in it at all which is part of the reason it is
ineffective in a great number of people. The
Cannabinoids are the chemicals in marijuana that can give some
individuals the benefits that they claim they feel from ingesting the plant.
Each person is different, and some people have receptors for certain
cannabinoids and not for others, while other people have different receptors
altogether. When the whole plant is ingested, all 60 chemicals are present and
that makes it pretty likely that every person who ingests that plant is going to
have at least one receptor hat binds with one of the 60 chemicals present. This
means that almost everyone is going to feel some effect from cannabis; it just
might not be the same effect as others feel.
Just as there are differences in people, there are differences in
plants as well. There are 2 different strains of the marijuana plant, one is
indica and the other is sativa. The differences in these two strains are in the
amount of THC contained. The indica strain of cannabis contains a lower amount of THC and a
higher amount of cannabinoids. Many feel that the effects felt from ingesting
this strain are more sedating, more relaxing, possibly better for pain and
sleep.
The sativa strain has a higher concentration of THC than indica. It
can produce an energetic “high” and consequently could have a stronger affect on
mood and the mental state. It is said that sativa is sometimes the one thing
that will motivate a depressed person to get out of the house and face the
world.
Indica and sativa are the two main strains and have been cross-bred to
produce multiple different hybrids. This enables patients to find a breed that
works well for their particular condition. Many patients find that using
different strains for different symptoms or different times of day effective.
For example, someone suffering from pain and depression may use sativa during
the day to help lift their mood but use an indica at night for pain relief and
sleep.
The above illustrates the fact that there is much to learn about the
effects and potential of cannabis as a therapeutic tool. Current ongoing research in other countries is a constant source of
new information and it seems that we know only the “tip of the
iceberg” of its nature.
 Vaporizing
Smoke from
marijuana contains many of the familiar bad things found in tobacco
smoke. Most people do not smoke the same amount of marijuana that a
cigarette smoker would of tobacco, so the total amount of smoke ingested
in a day is significantly less with marijuana. However, the inhalation
of tar and other compounds is associated with more cases of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, etc.
Smoke of any kind suppresses the natural defense system of the lungs.
The airways of the lung are lined with tissue that has microscopic
cilia, or little fingerlike extensions that ‘wave’ upwards from the
lungs to the mouth and nose. The purpose is to push mucus filled with
foreign toxins back up and out of the lungs to the mouth and nose where
they can be swallowed or sneezed out. These cilia stop working with any
kind of smoking, which means that the toxins (or organisms) trapped in
the mucus have no way of escaping the lung. This means that, bottom
line; smokers are at higher risk of chronic lung conditions, infections,
and cancer.
There are 2 conflicting studies about the smoking of cannabis, one done
at UCLA, the other at John Hopkins in Baltimore. One study does show an
increase in head and neck cancer risk from smoking marijuana, while the
other shows no increased risk at all. A recent study by Dr. Tashkin at
UCLA concluded that there is no increase in lung cancer risk from
exclusively smoking marijuana. Because of the uncertainty of the safety
of smoking cannabis at this time, some use a vaporizer in hopes of
avoiding exposure to the harmful tars and toxins emitted by regular
smoking.
The vaporizing method was invented in 1996 and requires no flame or
combustion thereby avoiding some of the carbon combustion that produces
tar and smoke. Proponents of marijuana devised a method by which the
cannabis plant can be heated to a temperature lower than that required
for combustion but not enough to change the beneficial chemicals from a
solid to a gas. There was a study done by Dale Gieringer in which he
analyzed the smoke from a joint in comparison to the gases released by
the vaporizer. He found that the vapors released by the vaporizer
contain only about 5 different compounds with THC being the most
abundant. The joint contains approximately 111 compounds, with various
tars and toxins being at the top of the list. The vaporizer allows the
inhalation of vapor that, per his account, has neither the harmful
hydroflourocarbons nor the tar that is produced as part of the smoke
with the burning of plant cellulose. If this is true, it means that the
lungs are not being exposed to the same tar or carcinogens and the
patient’s risk of developing any long term lung problems are probably
greatly reduced. Keep in mind that the vaporizers on the market
currently are not specifically tested as to their efficacy in reducing
tar emissions so one needs to exercise caution while evaluating them
Non-smoked
Cannabis Cannabis need not be smoked to be effective. As noted before in this
site, there are vaporizers available that apply indirect heat to the
plant material and reportedly release less of the toxins. The vaporizers
require no flame or combustion, thereby avoiding the carbon combustion
that produces smoke with tar. The vapors contain no tar, so are safer
for the lungs than smoke and a lot less smelly. Cannabis can also be eaten in foods or taken as an elixir. By ingesting
cannabis, there are slightly different effects, which may make it a
better method under certain situations and for certain individuals. It
tends to last longer but has a slower onset of action. Consequently, it
is also more difficult to gauge the appropriate dose that is needed
since the immediate feedback seen with inhalation is absent. The effect
will be a delayed one so it is easier to take more than is needed with
this method. Finally, elixirs, (the fat, oil and alcohol soluble
components of the plant) are used under the tongue in drops or added to
beverages, depending on the circumstances and the effect desired. The
different effects of marijuana ingested by mouth may be attributed to
metabolism of the cannabinoids and THC by the liver, thus producing an
altered molecule that is still active in the body and brain. This is not
to be confused with sublingual (under the tongue) administration which
absorbs directly into the blood stream via the oral mucosa.
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