Marijuana in the Treatment of Diseases - Essay Example

?Marijuana in the treatment of diseases One of the topics that have acquired immense debate in the past few decades is the legalization of marijuana.Some people suggest that marijuana should be legalized to discourage the illegal use of the drug and destroy the underground channels and illegal business while other people advocate its illegalization to protect the society from its estimated damage. Owing to the recreational benefits of marijuana, two of the United States Washington and Colorado have legislated to legalize it. Although the use of marijuana as a recreation is controversial, yet people frequently argue for the legalization of marijuana specially after considering the medical benefits of it. While the legalization of marijuana has been frequently debated on from a sociological and cultural point of view, the status of marijuana because of its medical benefits has not acquired as much attention. Marijuana is the name of the illicit drug that is used most commonly in the US (Buddy). When marijuana is smoked, it starts affecting the users nearly instantly and its effect can last for up to three hours and when marijuana is consumed in food, the effects take a little longer to show up but also last longer in such cases. Research in the recent years has led to the creation of knowledge that advocates the suitability of marijuana for the treatment of a vast range of medical issues. This paper explores the medical benefits of marijuana. (Fiz et al) carried out a detailed research to draw a comparison between the effects of the use of cannabis on the patients of fibromyalgia (FM). The purpose of the research carried out by (Fiz et al.) was the description of different patterns of use of cannabis and its effects on patients of FM. The researchers compared the quality of life of patients of FM that took cannabis with those who did not take it. To achieve this, they recorded the information about medicinal cannabis on a questionnaire and also used visual analogue scales for the perceived advantages of cannabis on different sorts of symptoms. Both types of patients completed the questionnaire and other tools given to them for the purpose of research. The research included equal number of both types of patients; there were 28 patients of FM with cannabis use and an equal number of non-user patients. Both groups had same clinical and demographic variables. The duration of drug intake varied in the cannabis using patients and the route of administration was also different among different patients. Different patients used different amounts of cannabis and also with different frequencies. It was found that after 2 hours had passed since the use of cannabis, patients experienced a statistically significant decline in stiffness as well as pain. Their level of relaxation was enhanced. They were more solemn and were feeling well. Cannabis using patients of FM showed significantly higher score of mental health component summary compared to the patients of FM that did not use cannabis. As a result of this research, it can be concluded that the use of cannabis is linked with advantages on few symptoms of FM. More research needs to be done to explore the benefits of use of cannabis in the patients of FM and also the involvement in cannabinoid system in this condition’s pathophysiology. Research upon the therapeutic possibilities of marijuana started around the 1960s with the Psychiatrist Tod H. Mikuriya who believed in the tendency of marijuana to treat over 200 ailments. These ailments included but were not limited to insomnia, stuttering, writer’s cramp, and premenstrual syndrome. Marijuana has been known to be particularly useful for the treatment of side effects including vomiting, chemotherapy, and nausea. Besides, use of marijuana helps increase appetite, improves sleep, and relieves pain so as to give the patients instant relief. All of these effects of the use of marijuana, directly or indirectly, help relieve the depression of the users and improve their quality of life in general. Marijuana is found to be effective in preventing blinding from glaucoma. It is effective in treating as well as preventing a range of diseases of eye including glaucoma. It is a condition that puts pressure on the eyeball thus causing harm to the optic nerve which can result in loss of vision. It is a very painful condition that causes a lot of damage to the eyesight. The National Eye Institute says that the pressure on the eyeball is reduced with the use of marijuana. The National Eye Institute mentioned that research carried out in the start of the 1970s led to the finding that people with glaucoma as well as others with normal pressure in the eye that smoked marijuana experienced lowered intraocular pressure (Astaiza). Drugs that are smoked generally gather a lot of criticism for damaging the lungs. Although marijuana also causes some harm to the lungs, the damage caused is lesser as compared to what is caused because of smoking cigarettes. Although there exists research that suggests that the risk of development of head or neck cancer is three times in the smokers of marijuana compared to that in the non-smokers, yet no further analysis could be done to confirm the results of this research (Buddy). Since the smoke of marijuana consists of three times as much tar as contained in the smoke of tobacco and the percentage of carcinogens is 50 per cent more, it seems logical to think that smoking marijuana increases the risk for lung cancer. However, this conclusion could not as yet be definitely proven by the researchers because the research so far has not been adjusted for the smoking of tobacco and a range of other factors that can play a role in the increased risk of lung cancer. In addition to this, studies that have drawn upon a link between the smoking of marijuana and lung cancer have traditionally remained limited by the small size of sample and selection bias (Buddy). On the other hand, research in the recent years has led to this finding that the function of lungs is not impaired with the use of marijuana (Astaiza). In fact, marijuana is believed to enhance the capacity of the lungs. When the risk factors of the disease of heart were searched for in the function of the lungs over a period of two decades, the smokers of tobacco were found to lose lung function over the passage of time while the users of marijuana’s lung capacity was found to be increased (Astaiza). Enhancement in the capacity of the lungs with the use of marijuana can be attributed to the deep breaths that the users take as they inhale the drug. One of the most important medical uses of marijuana is in the treatment of different sorts of cancer. A research published in 2003 in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics found the ability of marijuana to prevent epileptic seizures. In this research, marijuana was given by Robert J. DeLorenzio to epileptic rats as extract as well as in synthetic form. As a result of being given marijuana, the rats were rid of their seizures for a period of ten hours. Cannabidiol is a chemical in marijuana that stops cancer from propagating. It was found a result of a research carried out by the California Pacific Medical Center in 2007 that cannabidiol stops cancer from spreading by turning the Id-1 gene off (Astaiza). Treatment of the breast cancer cells with marijuana led to a decrease in the expression of the Id-1 gene and made the spreaders less aggressive. Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol is marijuana’s active ingredient that acts on the receptors of cannabinoid on the nerve cells and influences their activity. There are some areas in the brain that have abundant of cannabinoid receptors while other brain areas have no receptors. When marijuana is consumed in a high dosage particularly in food rather than as a drug for smoking, users can experience impaired memory. While this is one of the effects of marijuana that is used as an evidence to criticize the drug, yet this effect of marijuana is not supported by a lot of research. Besides, impairment of memory can be good for relief from depression in certain cases. According to the results of a latest research, people that used marijuana were found to have smaller waists and lower insulin resistance levels which is a diabetes precursor as compared to the people that never used marijuana (Pittman). However, these findings are not sufficient to suggest that marijuana helps reduce weight. According to Dr. Murray Mittleman who was involved in the research, “These are preliminary findings…It looks like there may be some favorable effects on blood sugar control, however a lot more needs to be done to have definitive answers on the risks and potential benefits of marijuana usage…It's possible that people who choose to smoke marijuana have other characteristics that differ (from non-marijuana smokers)” (Mittleman cited in Pittman). Effects of the use of cannabid in rats suggests that it influences metabolism. Marijuana has a range of medical uses. For many years, the topic of legalization of marijuana has been debated heavily in different countries across the world in general and in the US in particular, yet the medical effects of the use of marijuana have not been paid much attention. Research carried out over the past few decades has led created knowledge that speaks of numerous medical uses of marijuana. Ranging from its good effects on eyes through relieving pressure to treating cancer, marijuana has medical benefits for a variety of conditions and diseases. While smoking cigarette can be dangerous for the lungs and may be the cause of lungs cancer, smoking marijuana has the positive effect on lungs in that it enhances the capacity of the lungs. The ingredients and the kinds of effects marijuana has on the body make it very different from the conventional drugs and thus marijuana should not be taken like them as such. Marijuana does not only help relieve pain, but it is also very effective in enhancing mood and relieving depression. In fact, the medical benefits of marijuana are just too abundant to render the illegalization of marijuana a well-informed decision. Research and arguments that are raised against marijuana for any purpose do not have objective reasons or data to support their claims. If the aforementioned benefits of the use of marijuana have to be nullified, it has to be done through credible research that challenges and targets the claims raised by the proponents of marijuana. Works Cited: Astaiza, Randy. “All The Reasons Pot Is Good For You.” Business Insider. 8 Nov. 2012. Web. 5 Aug. 2013. . Fiz, Jimena; Duran, Marta; Capella, Dolors; Carbonell, Jordi, and Farre, Magi. "Cannabis Use in Patients with Fibromyalgia: Effect on Symptoms Relief and Health-Related Quality of Life." PLoS ONE. 6.4 e18440. Pittman, Genevra. “Is marijuana good for your health? New study shows benefits.” Denverpost.com. 23 May 2013. Web. 5 Aug. 2013. T, Buddy. “The Health Effects of Marijuana.” About.com Alcoholism. N.p., 05 Mar. 2011. Web. 01 Aug. 2013. Read More