“Pop this pill.” Says the Doctor-man. “Oh, that’s a nasty side-effect, take this one to counteract that one.” This is the state of today’s medical industry. Though modern medicine has helped many lives, there’s countless others who are put in a state of pharmacological addiction for simple problems such as stress or depression. Beyond this many pills for more serious conditions come with a litany of terrible side effects that can be as bad if not worse than the original malady. This is where the push for more traditional medicines we see today has come from. Leading the ranks in the “natural” cures section of this societal discussion is, of course, Cannabis. Used for thousands of years, since the days of recorded history, mankind has found medicinal uses of Cannabis. Now, with the illegality of Cannabis prominent in today’s culture many have forgotten that this is a rather beneficial substance for many people. Luckily, modern research is catching up once again to the forgotten lessons of the past. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits Medicinal Cannabis can offer patients.
First, the endocannabinoid system. This was a discovery made nearly 20 years ago, which has helped the push forward the Medicinal Cannabis discussion greatly. This is a part of our brain that reacts specifically to over 60 different chemicals found inside of Cannabis. The most important of these chemicals for researched are Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). These two substances are at the helm of all Cannabis research, and for good reason; they have been proven time and time again to be effective against a large number of illnesses that even the most modern of medicines cannot combat effectively. The hope by the pharmaceutical companies is to be able to find the correct combinations of chemicals inside of Cannabis, and market them as pills. Though, this is a good effort and will help tremendously for many patients; there’s plenty of evidence that Cannabis itself is enough.
Back in Ancient Egypt as well as Greece, notations have been found from physicians of the time describing the benefits of Cannabis on eye pain. We know now what they were talking about. In the 1970’s a study conducted by the US government on Cannabis use has been shown to help reduce symptoms of Glaucoma sufferers by lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) in all patients, including those without Glaucoma. By lowering the IOP in Glaucoma patients the gradual degradation of their optic nerves can be halted or at least slowed to an extent, meaning an extension to their quality of life by maintaining vision and being rid of pain.
A more modern discovery has been made about the effect of THC on the brains of rats and then patients who suffer from epileptic seizures. In many cases THC’s effect on the patient’s brain chemistry has been enough to totally rid the sufferer of seizures entirely for up to 10 hours per dosing. In the cases where seizures were still present, the frequency and severity of these events were always lessened. THC works by binding to cells inside the previously mentioned endocannabinoid system, specifically the part that controls relaxation and excitability.
Another form of seizure, a much more dangerous form known as Dravet’s syndrome, has been shown to be greatly relieved by Cannabis as well. Sufferers of this disease can have hundreds of seizures per week, and modern medicinal practice really doesn’t have much to offer these patients. Luckily, once again, Cannabis has shown great promise for relief in these patients. The chemical at work here is CBD, which works by quieting down the over-active sections of these person’s brains bringing their seizures down to manageable levels.
Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the formation of substances known as Amyloid plaques in the brain. Their formation slowly kills off brain cells, leading the patient deeper and deeper into the throes of the disease. Cannabis has been shown to slow this process to a crawl, and even help the brains repair process. Breakthroughs such as this with Cannabis could be a great relief not only to the patient, but also the families who only wish for their loved ones to maintain a state of lucidity in their twilight years.
Cancer sufferers, too, may gain some benefits from Cannabis in multiple ways. The first, is the pain and nausea reductions provided by Cannabis that is well-documented and has been known for centuries. Those going through chemotherapy for their cancer treatment are helped by Cannabis; not only does it help the pain and nausea, but it also helps reduce anxiety and keep their spirits up both of which are incredible important for cancer treatment. Besides this, though, another exciting realization has occurred and that is that many aggressive forms of metastatic cancers can be slowed or even completely halted by the addition of Cannabis into the system. Cannabis works to turn off a gene, known as ID-1, which is responsible in cancer cells for their non-stop growth. Non-cancerous cells do not have this gene mutation, which means they don’t keep growing and spread around the body. Breast cancer cells treated with Cannabis were shown the be less aggressive and the frequency of ID-1 gene expression was decreased significantly.
As modern pharmaceutical research pushes diligently onwards towards the future, they must be sure to not ignore the lessons of the past. Cannabis has been used for millennia, and for good reason. Our brains are wired to accept these chemicals, and we must understand what they can do for us as a society before we allow the ostracization of a simple plant by our governments that could possible help many of use leave longer and more productive lives. It offers a world of relief for many patients and sufferers of various illnesses for the severe to the mundane. Simple pain to anxiety to terrible medical issues like we discussed in this article. Cannabis has always been a part of human society, we must not let that change.