Are Marijuana and marijuana as effective as prescription drugs?
The usage of marijuana for medical as well as recreational purposes is rising across the world. The health benefits that could be derived from marijuana are getting more widely known and people are beginning to make use of it instead of prescription medications.
It is important to determine if medical cannabis is safe and effective, as more states legalize marijuana and more people choose to use cannabis instead of pharmaceutical drugs.
Read on to learn everything we know (and don't know) about Missouri medical marijuana and cannabis before abandoning the prescriptions you've been given and buying at a budtender.
What exactly is marijuana, and how does it work?
Marijuana is produced from the Cannabis sativa genus that also contains hemp. Marijuana includes a variety of cannabinoids, the most important ones are:
THC: THC is a psychoactive compound that affects the brain, causing euphoria.
CBD does not cause high, but it does offer a range of health benefits.
Hemp contains extremely small amounts of THC and is now legal in the United States under the 2018 Farm Bill. Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance by the federal government. However, the state laws differ. The term medical cannabis refers to the products produced from hemp or marijuana that contain different amounts of THC and/or CBD.
What cannabis-based therapies have been accepted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)?
Three FDA-approved drugs now comprise CBD and THC. These are only approved for a handful of medical conditions, including severe seizures as well as severe vomiting due to chemotherapy or considerable weight loss due to HIV/AIDS.
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Epidiolex is a CBD derived from a plant that is approved to treat severe seizure disorders, including Lennox-Gastaut disorder and Dravet syndrome.
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Dronabinol (Marinol) is an artificial THC that is used to treat nausea, vomiting and weight loss caused by chemotherapy or HIV.
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Nabilone (Cesamet) Cesamet (Nabilone): This synthetic THC is also used for nausea, vomiting, and nausea related to chemotherapy and weight loss.
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Another alternative is the nabiximols (Sativex) This is an oral spray that has both THC as well as CBD. It's used to treat muscle spasms and joint pain due to multiple sclerosis. It's not licensed to be used in the United States at this time However, it's available in Canada, Mexico, and a few European countries.
What are the conditions that marijuana can be used for?
Most commonly, marijuana products are utilized to treat anxiety, chronic pain and various mental disorders. The people who make use of marijuana as a substitute for prescription drugs have been observed to use marijuana instead of:
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The most popular narcotic pain relievers are hydrocodone, oxycodone, and hydrocodone.
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Anxiety medicine such as Clonazepam or lorazepam may be employed to help with anxiety.
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Sertraline, Trazodone, and bupropion are antidepressants.
Many people are using marijuana to treat a range of illnesses, including:
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Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease
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Anorexia nervosa is one of the forms of anorexia.
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Epilepsy
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a kind of multiple sclerosis, is a degenerative disease that affects people.
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Crohn's disease, a chronic digestive disorder that can impact the digestive system, is commonly referred to as
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Glaucoma
A large number of people are trying to test it while the scientific community catches up on safety and efficacy. It turns out that not everyone requires a prescription for cannabis. According to one survey, nearly 40% of those who took cannabis stopped using prescription medications. Why? There are many reasons for this:
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They may have greater faith in medical marijuana.
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It is possible that it will have more efficacy than their medications.
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They may be able to manage the negative effects of cannabis more effectively.
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It's possible that they think it's safer.
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It's possible they believe it is less addicting.
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It is possible that they will discover that cannabis is easier to procure and more readily accessible.
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They might be able to purchase cannabis at a lower cost.
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They might not be able to access conventional medical treatment.
Is marijuana capable of curing depression?
There is some evidence the marijuana's CBD component might be beneficial for depression. This could be linked to changes in serotonin levels in the brain. The majority of trials involved animals. Further research is required to determine the best dose, strain and formulation for humans.
However, caution must be exercised because, while marijuana might temporarily ease depression symptoms, it's likely that it will cause more depression over time.
Does it really exist that marijuana might be able to lower anxiety levels?
Marijuana, specifically CBD is widely employed to treat anxiety. CBD could help alleviate anxiety symptoms in the short term as evidenced by research particularly for social anxiety and public speaking.
Marijuana may, in some circumstances, aid in the reduction of dependence on prescription medicines such as benzodiazepines. A study revealed that more than 50% of patients who tried medical cannabis stopped using the benzodiazepines following their being started.
The research on this subject is limited. Be aware that the THC ingredient in marijuana could make anxiety worse. It's possible that marijuana could cause anxiety and mood shifts.
Can marijuana aid in treating eating disorders?
Studies have shown that cannabis can help with anorexia and eating disorders in general. Dronabinol has been proven to assist in weight gain and body dissatisfaction in one study. While dronabinol is not approved for the treatment of food-related issues but marijuana's THC could theoretically cause similar effects.
Marijuana use, on the contrary, can cause some eating disorders. The appetite can be increased with marijuana, and this can lead to binge-eating disorders or bulimia sufferers who are experiencing a binge purge.
Is marijuana treatment for insomnia?
Many suffer from insomnia, and a lot of them take cannabis to get a better night's sleep. A substantial proportion of persons who took cannabis medicinally for sleeping were able to stop the use of prescribed sleep aids as per a study.
The research on the effectiveness of marijuana in aiding sleep is not conclusive. Marijuana may aid sleep and lower the amount of time people wake up at night. It could aid in the reduction of nightmares in patients suffering from PTSD.
We're aware, however, that it can cause eye movements to slow down and can cause sleep disruptions and poor quality.
Does marijuana aid in the treatment of pain?
Marijuana could be effective in treating pain in certain instances. People often use cannabis products to replace opioids. Although it is not recommended for acute pain such as after surgery, research has shown that cannabis can help with chronic pain, especially nerve pain.
One study discovered that half of the people who had become addicted to opioids for chronic pain could stop taking them and that a third could reduce their usage. In states that have legalized medical cannabis, the use of prescription opioids has diminished.
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