What diseases does Cannabis help with?
Did you know that Cannabis has been in use for its remedial health benefits for thousands of years? However, only recently, there has been a lot of debate on the use and cultivation of Cannabis as there has been a rise in the legalization of the use of Cannabis and the sale of cannabis-based products, including edibles, oils, sprays, vape liquids etc. Especially in countries where Cannabis is legal, like Canada, the mail order marijuana business has been thriving.
While there seems to be a division in terms of the perceived benefits of medical marijuana or Cannabis, their use seems to be on the rise in recent years.
In this section, we have provided a brief account of diseases for which Cannabis has proven to be helpful based on scientific evidence.
Cancer
According to multiple clinical studies on oral use of cannabinoids, it has been found that Cannabis can help treat nausea and vomiting, which are common side effects of chemotherapy. Some studies have also revealed supporting evidence for the use of Cannabis through smoking for the management of nausea and vomiting.
Recently, some research has unearthed the impact of Cannabis on the growth of cancer cells and inhibiting or slowing down the disease spread within the body. However, more research is required to confirm and consolidate the findings.
Epilepsy
Cannabis can also help with epilepsy by reducing epileptic seizure episodes in patients. CBD-based drugs are being used to help epilepsy patients to keep their symptoms in check and control their seizures.
Multiple sclerosis
Patients with multiple sclerosis suffer from periodic muscular spasms and pain episodes, which largely impact the quality of their life and deteriorate it. Cannabis can help provide relief from the pain and thus keep the disease-related issues in check.
Parkinson’s disease
Cannabis can also help relieve symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease and helps the progression of the disease by preventing the symptoms from getting nerves. It can help regulate their motor skills by controlling their tremors and generally improving their quality of life by suppressing symptoms.
Digestive health issues
Cannabis can help with the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease by controlling the inflammation of the intestines, managing diarrhea and reducing abdominal discomfort and pain.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is one of the diseases for which the use of Cannabis is most common. A THC-based medicine termed Marinol is considered to effectively lower the IOP (intraocular pressure) and inhibit the progression of the disease.
Arthritis
Cannabis or medical marijuana has a profound impact on chronic pain. Patients with arthritis can greatly benefit from the use of Cannabis as it can help relieve the pain and inflammation in joints.
PTSD
Cannabis can be quite useful in alleviating stress and anxiety in individuals to help them deal with trauma-induced anxiety or situational discomfort that triggers the fight or flight response in individuals. Therefore, they are helpful for people who have PTSD to help them improve their mental state and bring relief.
In addition to the diseases mentioned above, patients with insomnia can also benefit from the use of Cannabis to increase their REM sleep, improve their overall sleep quality, and prevent the detrimental impact of insomnia on health. Moreover, since cannabis help in resolving health issues like pain, indigestion, lack of appetite and vomiting, etc., individuals generally feel an improvement in their well-being, which can help improve their sleep.