What conditions can medical marijuana help treat? It’s a question that so many people have asked; it has become a topic of debate on whether states should legalize marijuana for recreational or medicinal use. Medical marijuana is used to treat various ailments affecting you or someone you know at a basic level and is an excellent alternative treatment for both debilitating and chronic illnesses.
Patients suffering from pain or an inflammatory disease have found that the use of marijuana can help treat their condition. With more and more states legalizing the use of medical marijuana, more people are becoming familiar with the cannabis plant and all that it has to offer. Medical marijuana is legal in 29 states and the District of Columbia, with more states legalizing it every year. As more and more states legalize medical marijuana, more research is being conducted to understand better the potential benefits and drawbacks of using it to treat certain health conditions. Due to the popularity of medical marijuana, you need to take a minute and look into what health conditions medical marijuana doctors at DigiDrs can help treat through the use of medical marijuana.
Medical cannabis is a form of alternative medicine that has been used for thousands of years. It is used to treat pain, help with insomnia, stress, and anxiety, and help manage multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease symptoms. Medical cannabis is most effective in treating chronic pain, cancer pain, muscle spasms, and symptoms associated with Multiple Sclerosis. Presently, there aren’t any therapeutic uses for recreational cannabis. Medical marijuana can be used in many forms, including oils, pills, topical treatments, and dried leaves smoked or ingested.
While medical marijuana can help treat a range of conditions, there are some for which it is better suited than others. Before you pursue medical marijuana as a treatment option, it’s essential to learn about the conditions for using it safely and effectively.
Here are some common health conditions that are treated with medical marijuana:
- Crohn’s disease: is characterized by inflammation in the digestive tract lining. Symptoms include abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, blood in your stool, and mouth sores.
- Cancer: Medical marijuana has been shown to relieve symptoms of cancer and side effects associated with cancer treatment, such as nausea and vomiting (from chemotherapy), pain, and loss of appetite. It may also have anti-cancer properties by preventing the spread of cancer cells and inhibiting tumor growth.
- Chronic pain. It is the most common use of medical marijuana in the United States. Marijuana appears to ease certain types of chronic pain that are often resistant to other treatments, such as nerve pain caused by HIV or cancer drugs.
- Anxiety. While marijuana can cause anxiety in some people, it may also help others. Some research shows it may reduce stress in people with social anxiety disorder.
- Nausea and vomiting. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two drugs with THC that treat nausea caused by chemotherapy and increase appetite in patients with severe weight loss from HIV/AIDS.
- Muscle spasms, such as in multiple sclerosis. Marijuana may ease painful symptoms of multiple sclerosis cases, such as muscle stiffness and spasms, pain, and frequent urination. In a randomized controlled trial with 30 patients, researchers at the University of California San Diego gave patients either an oral cannabinoid or placebo and then tested their ability to move around using a walking test called the timed 25-foot walk test. Patients who received cannabinoids could perform this task twice as fast as those who received placebos.
- Insomnia. A small amount of evidence from studies in humans suggests that compounds in marijuana may help with insomnia.
Medical marijuana can treat several conditions, ranging from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) to glaucoma. In addition, findings suggest that medical marijuana will likely affect any number of other ailments and diseases. With all of these possible uses, medical marijuana could soon become the preferred medication for many people—providing that it is legal to use within their state. While the effectiveness of treatment varies from case to case, scientific research has shown that marijuana isn’t as damaging as it was once believed to be. Despite this, access gets often limited by legal barriers. Still, as more studies emerge and more countries change their laws, we may see the increasing use of marijuana as an alternative treatment in mainstream medicine.
