Medicinal cannabis items are legal, high-quality medications that are prescribed by a doctor to patients. Medical cannabis, which is derived from cannabis plants, can be used to treat the side effects of some treatments as well as the symptoms of a few different medical conditions. For decades, marijuana and its constituents’ potential medicinal properties have been the subject of research and heated debate. THC has been proven to provide medical benefits in specific compositions. For decades, marijuana and its constituents’ possible medicinal properties have been the topic of study and serious debate. Certain compositions of THC have been shown to have medicinal advantages.
Background of medicinal cannabis:
People have been vaping marijuana, or cannabis, to treat a variety of ailments for at least 3,000 years, as stated by the National Institutes of Health. There are various medicinal cannabis products that are used to treat various conditions.Cannabinoids are the active compounds in medicinal cannabis. Medical cannabis contains between 80 and 100 cannabinoids, and investigators are still conducting an investigation into the way they all work. Most medicinal cannabis products currently contain the cannabinoids cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)..
What conditions can cannabis be used to treat?
Although cannabis, and otherwise marijuana, has been used for a long time, there is still a lack of formal evidence for doctors to rely on when considering prescribing a medicinal cannabis drug to a patient.
According to some evidence, the following conditions may benefit from the use of specific medicinal cannabis products:
· Epilepsy
· Cancer symptoms such as nausea, body aches, loss of appetite, fever, etc.
· Cancer and tumors
· Symptoms of pains and illnesses when under nursing or hospice care
The Commonwealth Government has issued documents that summarize the evidence that medicinal cannabis may very well be useful in treating certain conditions.
Over the years, research has produced evidence indicating that cannabis may be beneficial in the treatment of certain illnesses:
Chronic pain
In 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conducted a massive evaluation of over 10,000 scientific research on the medicinal benefits and side effects of cannabis.The paper focused specifically on the use of medicinal cannabis to relieve chronic pain. More than 25 million individuals suffer from chronic pain, which is a primary cause of disability. In the United States.The study discovered that cannabis, or medications having cannabinoids or other substances that operate on the same brain pathways as cannabis, are efficient at treating chronic pain.
Depression, PTSD, and social anxiety
The review, which was featured in Clinical Psychology Review, examined all known scientific material on the use of cannabis for treating symptoms of mental illness. Its investigators discovered some evidence that cannabis can help with depression as well as post-traumatic stress disorder issues. In December 2020, a 150-person survey was done. MAPS compared patients with PTSD who used prescription cannabis to other PTSD patients who did not use cannabis to alleviate symptoms in that research. According to the research, cannabis users saw a higher reduction in the intensity of their PTSD symptoms after a year. Additionally, compared to individuals who did not use cannabis, they had 2.5 times more chances to no longer be clinically identified as PTSD patients.
Social anxiety:
Some reviews suggests that there exists some evidence that cannabis may improve symptoms of social anxiety, but this is opposed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study, which concluded that habitual cannabis users could be at higher risk of social anxiety.On the other hand, a study showed that 78.1-79.2% of individuals showed improvement in anxiety symptoms after the first two months of CBD administration.
Other conditions:
Patients, on the other hand, claim several CBD advantages, ranging from alleviating sleeplessness, anxiety, stiffness, and pain to addressing potentially life-threatening illnesses such as epilepsy. 70% of research participants were satisfied with CBD therapy, ranging from satisfactory to excellent. Only 9.9% of individuals reported negative side effects including drowsiness and weird dreams. Even fewer participants in the research (0.8%) experienced increasing symptoms.
Why medicinal cannabis is better:
It has no side-effects:
The medicinal component of various cannabis products which are prescribed by doctors –cannabinoids – is much safer than prescribed medicine as there are little to no side effects of it. With prescribed medicines, there is a chance that something could trigger an adverse allergic reaction since they have a lot of components in them but with medicinal cannabis, there is no such threat.
It is non-addictive:
The substance from the cannabis plant (which stands for cannabidiol) is the least contentious since this element of marijuana has minimal if any, intoxicating qualities. Marijuana has about 100 active ingredients. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the molecule that generates the “high” associated with marijuana ingestion. Because CBD-dominant strains contain little or no THC, patients report little to no change in awareness.
It is more affordable:
Medicinal cannabis is much more affordable than some high-end medications patients need to live, especially if they suffer from serious, life-threatening disorders. While there is a stark difference in prices between medicinal cannabis and recreational cannabis, with recreational cannabis being much cheaper than the other, medicinal cannabis is still a lot cheaper than many medicines patients are prescribed for their treatment. The budget of medicinal cannabis products may range from $50 to $1000 per patient every week, obviously, it depends on the ailment being treated, the specific product needed, as well as the prescribed amount.
How to get medicinal cannabis:
· Medicinal cannabis products are presently not subsidized by the Commonwealth Government forward through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which means that the health insurance of any patient will not cover it and the price for medical cannabis will be paid out of pocket completely.
· A clinical study may also be used to get medicinal cannabis. The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry records all clinical studies, including those involving medical cannabis (ANZCTR). The ANZCTR website allows you to search for suitable clinical trials.
It is available for everyone:
The thing about medical cannabis is that anyone can use it. Unlike how a specific medicine can only be used by specific people, medical cannabis is available for use for everyone. The reason is because of the overall safety of the use of medicinal cannabis. Since it does not have any side effects or euphoric properties, it is safe to be used by anyone. But precautions must always be undertaken.
Health effects of smoking medicinal cannabis:
It is advised that medicinal cannabis should only be used when advised by doctors since vaporizing medicinal cannabis (www.vaporizerchief.com) for the wrong ailment or for no reason is very harmful. Some argue that consumed cannabis should then be considered a therapy for a variety of medical ailments, including cancer. However, there are two key issues to consider.
· To begin with, smoking is a very hazardous method of consuming cannabis, mostly because cancer-causing chemicals are breathed straight into the lungs. Cannabis smoking is not encouraged by health authorities since it has at least 50 of the exact same carcinogens as cigarettes. Another argument that arises from this is that it is not as bad as cigarettes but then again, that does not mean it is completely safe.
· Second, the vast majority of pharmaceuticals are manufactured under tight circumstances. That way, doctors who prescribe them (as well as patients who use them) will know exactly what their medicinal products are made of. It is very important that the doctors are aware of what any medicine is made up of, what is in them, whether or not they have been tested, whether or not they are approved by the authorities and the government as well as the potential side effects the medicine will have on the patient. In this way, doctors can adjust the doses and the potency of medicine based on the patient.
· Cannabinoids affect the nerve pathways in the brain. If not used properly, they might become a trigger for people having other medical issues or even for certain underlying problems. It has been shown by various studies that cannabis affects the thinking, memory, and balance of users to varying degrees.
People’s opinion of medicinal cannabis:
According to Daniel Kruger of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, 44% of medical cannabis consumers discontinued using prescription medicine or used a lesser of one or both in preference of cannabis. People generally use medicinal marijuana to relieve pain, back discomfort, depression, and migraines. Almost a third of the study’s participants (30%) stated that their conventional health care physician was unaware that they used medicinal cannabis, showing gaps between both treatment systems.
The majority (78 percent) of the 392 valid replies indicated using marijuana to assist treat a medical or health problem. Users also trusted medical cannabis more than traditional health care, in particular, because they ranked marijuana higher than pharmaceutical medications in terms of effectiveness, complications, availability, and affordability
Bottom-line:
Having a cheap and effective alternative to high-priced medicine is great, but only as long as it is used with care and precaution. It must be remembered that excess of anything is bad and a little carelessness can lead to even bigger problems than ailments.