By: Johnathon Giles
In today’s day and time, our views differ tremendously from what they did a short time ago.
As a nation, we were taught to believe that Cannabis was a drug that was harmful and had absolutely no benefits to our health; when in reality, it can be quite beneficial in helping many people with many disorders and diseases.
With the internet as a powerful tool of information and more people beginning to see the vast health benefits Marijuana offers, I believe the government won’t be able to keep the charade up much longer…and with twenty-six states and the District of Columbia currently having laws legalizing Marijuana in some form, the future looks bright.
The plant’s main rise to the light has been due to its incredible medicinal properties. The list of stuff it treats is continuing to grow larger as new studies become available; besides, even with its limited research, Cannabis has already proved its worth in the medical field.
Marijuana has been stated to treat:
Alzheimer’s
“Although other studies have offered evidence that cannabinoids might be neuroprotective against the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, we believe our study is the first to demonstrate that cannabinoids affect both inflammation and amyloid beta accumulation in nerve cells,” says Salk Professor David Schubert
Anorexia
(This one may be self-explanatory to most but I’ll go ahead and elaborate.)
Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that can have severe effects. Usually, with someone suffering from the disorder, they refuse to eat or eat very little which causes them to lose weight at an unhealthy rate. A side effect of Cannabis is a thing we like to call “The Munchies” where you have an uncontrollable urge to eat junk food, and no matter how much you eat, the hunger doesn’t seem to go away.
Can you see how Marijuana could treat Anorexia?
ADHD
There are three types of ADHD:
Predominantly Inattentive ADHD, better known as ADD is where it’s hard to focus on anything except enjoyable things.
Predominantly Hyperactive- Impulse ADHD, someone with this type wouldn’t have trouble focusing, they instead have trouble sitting still or staying quiet.
The last type is Combined ADHD which is the more common form, where they show both hyperactivity and inattention.
Many people with these disorders medicate with Marijuana. It allows them to calm down and focus more attentively.
Bipolar Disorder
People who suffer from this condition suffer unsympathetic highs, lows, and even changes in sleep, energy level, thinking, and behavior.
Marijuana helps balance out the patient and stabilize their moods, working much better than the common pharmaceutical treatment known as Lithium that (like most other pharmaceutical drugs) has an extensive list of side effects.
Cancer (Adrenal Cortical, Endometrial, Prostate, Testicular, and Uterine)
“More recently, scientists reported that THC and other cannabinoids such as CBD slow growth and cause death in certain types of cancer cells growing in laboratory dishes. Some animal studies also suggest certain cannabinoids may slow growth and reduce the spread of some forms of cancer.” According to Cancer.org
Not to mention that the medicine helps with nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy treatments cancer patients are receiving and gives them their appetite back.
That may seem like a lot for one plant to help, but the list actually goes on a lot further.
Marijuana is seen as a miracle to so many families with children and other loved ones struggling with terrible conditions like listed above. Some people put their lives on hold, pick up everything and completely move across the country to have access to it so they can throw out the nasty pharmaceuticals they’ve been so reliant on previously that hasn’t done anything but cause harsh side effects.
Epilepsy is another debilitating disorder that Cannabis can treat, and with nearly three million Americans suffering from it, finding a treatment that doesn’t harm your body further is a dream come true to so many.
Since Charlotte Figi, a child from Colorado with Dravet Syndrome (A rare form that couldn’t be treated by any other medication) had her story told on CNN, people have realized how effective this treatment is.
She went from experiencing a painstaking 300 grand mal seizures a day, to two or three times a month, almost exclusively in her sleep.
This hit home for me especially, seeing this treatment work wonders for that child; yet it’s illegal and can’t be accessed by a lot of people suffering.
My daughter, for example, will be 5 in July and she was diagnosed with epilepsy at a very young age as well. Although less serious than Charlotte’s type, it’s still is a cause for concern as seizures increase the risk of heart disease and stroke among other complications. After diagnosed, she was put on a medication known as Trileptal. One that not only is ineffective in stopping her seizures, (it just slows them down,) has a long list of side effects with one of the more serious side effects being the increased chance of liver failure down the road.
Below, are some of the LESS serious side effects of Trileptal as well:
Headache, mental slowness, trouble concentrating, problems with speech, poor balance, dizziness, drowsiness, tired feeling, mild nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, diarrhea, blurred vision, tremors, and rashes.
It’s a hard thing to watch, being the father of such a bright little girl with an infectious amount of happiness have to go through this with a mediocre treatment with such an incredible medication available.
Instead of being able to treat her with medicinal Marijuana that helps treat multiple of her diagnoses without any bad side effects, I have to treat her with something that helps one thing but causes a list of other problems due to our state laws.
A small dose of CBD oil mixed in food has proven to be effective in treating epilepsy and is all it would take to change so many children’s lives, as it did with Charlotte’s success story.
It’s a sad sight, seeing so many suffering people in this country. They’re tired of taking 15 different medications to treat one illness when they know Cannabis alone could help them, and they are right.
At least the era of making nature illegal is almost at its end, and one day soon we may all be reaping marijuana’s many benefits; medicinal and economical.
