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Humans have used marijuana since the earliest times. The earliest known reference to cannabis was found written in Assyrian tablets of the 7th century BC. In England, around 1597, it was used to ease pain and to treat jaundice. The 1975 Marijuana and Health, Fifth Annual Report to the U.S. Congress stated that Cannabis is one of the ancient healing drugs. (Nat'l Institute on Drug Abuse, 117)
What does medical marijuana mean? "Medical marijuana" refers to the use of the drug Cannabis as an herbal therapy as prescribed by a licensed doctor to a qualifying patient to help treat his or her condition. A "qualifying patient" refers to the one that has been diagnosed by a licensed doctor as having a debilitating medical health condition.
Is Marijuana Medicine?
The ruins of the Nile civilization in Egypt have had indications that humans used marijuana as an aid to some health conditions. There were also evidences that the herb was used to aid childbirth. When chewed or smoked, marijuana influences the Autonomic Nervous System, wherein it expands the lungs, and relaxes the body. As tension is released by the action, mental pressure changes into a feeling of well-being.
Modern medical studies have found that the herb can help reduce pain, nausea and other symptoms associated with cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDS. It could reduce the neuropathic pain, which often fails to respond to conventional treatments. The medicinal use of marijuana can also lessen the side effects of drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. Except for the harms that are associated with smoking, the adverse effects of the use of marijuana are within the range of tolerable for other medications. (Source: "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, National Academy Press, 1999)
The Medicinal Properties of Marijuana
Marijuana is a powerful herb with a variety of effects, used more for its euphoric than its healing effects. The increase in the number of recreational users in the 70s lured scientists to study the health effects of marijuana, and while in the process, the medical uses of its components.
Out of the 60 known chemicals found in cannabis, the most active is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol is the component that causes one to feel the mild high feeling. THC is an FDA-approved drug referred to as dronabinol and marketed as Marinol. The Medical Research Council in Britain has begun cannabis THC trials for pain relief for after surgery and in multiple sclerosis.
The other known components are Cannabigerol or CBG, cannabichromene or CBC, cannabidiol or CBD, delta-8-THC, cannabicyclol or CBL, cannabinol or CBN, cannabitriol or CBT, cannabavarin or THCU. All are known to have psychoactive and pharmacological effects. CBD can reduce muscle spasms, relieve chronic pain, and can also ease the symptoms of Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neuropathic conditions.
The Benefits of Medical Marijuana
The modern day medical use of marijuana began with doctors like O'Shaughnessy and Moreau de Tours, who used cannabis as a sleeping aid, analgesic and anticonvulsant. Dr. William B. O'Shaughnessy also tried and tested the plant as a treatment for epilepsy, rabies, rheumatism, and tetanus.
Cannabis is known to be reasonably effective in combating pain of various causes. Many known doctors, including Queen Victoria's personal physician, J. R. Reynolds, admitted it to be the most useful drug in treating pain. One of the early proponents of Cannabis for the symptomatic and preventive treatment of headache, Hobart Hare, says, ". . . pain seems to be fading away in the distance, so that the pain becomes less and less."
Cannabis is also known to ease glaucoma intraocular pressure and pain and can slow down the degenerative process that leads to blindness. Cannabis may also prevent seizures in some patients with epilepsy. Researchers from the Max-Planck Institute in Munich studied mice, bred to suffer a key feature of epilepsy in humans, and found that natural cannabis-like substances in the brain can calm hyperactive brain cells.
Medical Marijuana May Reduce Cancer and Tumor Growth
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, can reduce tumor growth in lung cancer. This was observed by researchers at Harvard University, who tested the chemical in both lab and mice studies. How may THC work?
THC belongs to the family of compounds known as cannabinoids, which are closely related to pain-relieving molecules released by the human body. When ingested, cannabinoids activate specific receptors found throughout the body to produce pharmacologic effects, particularly in the central nervous system and the immune system.
Cannabinoids also appear to kill tumor cells. Several research groups found that marijuana's active ingredient could tweak receptors on the most common form of lung cancer and reduce cancer growth. In the Harvard study on THC, researchers injected for 3 weeks standard doses of the chemical into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells. They observed that tumors were reduced in size and weight by about 50 percent and about 60 percent reduction in cancer lesions on the lungs.
Is it High Time for a Medical Marijuana Bill?
Finally, a federal agency recognizes marijuana's medical benefits. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) website states that, "The potential benefits of medical marijuana use for cancer patients include antiemetic effects, appetite stimulation, pain relief, and improved sleep."
The benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people who are in pain may be enormous. DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young said in his fact-finding report, “Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. Marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care." (Source: Judge Young's Report, Ccguide.org)
Sources:
- Factbook: Medical Marijuana, Copyright © 2000-2005, Common Sense for Drug Policy
- Marijuana, Nida.nih.gov/PDF/InfoFacts/Marijuana.pdf
- Cannabis: The Scientific and Medical Evidence, by the House of Lords, Science and Technology Committee, 4 Nov 1998, Ukcia.org
- National Cancer Institute: PDQ® Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute, Cancer.gov
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