Pain management
Palliative Care Cannabinoids v. Opioids
Some of which have independently profound analgesic properties, also seem to have a positive impact on some other pain medications. Chronic pain patients using long-acting oxycodone or long-actint morphine who inhales baporized herbal cannabis experienced a significant decrease in pain - far more than with the opioids alone. Donald l. Abrams, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said "cannabis has the potential to relieve pain and decrease use of opioids, which, unline cannabis are associated with major side effects"
Patients using medicinal cannabis to control chronic pain report 64% reduction in their use of traditional presciption pain medications (such as opioids) fewer side effects from their medications, and improved quality of life.
Medicinal cannabis for pain management is gaining wide acceptance among the scientific and medical communities in light of the need to identify safe and efficacious alternatives to opioid medications; the use of the latter is highly associated with side effects and an elevated addiction potential - it is generally recognized that the United States is currently living an "opioid epidemic".
Pain Management
Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system that results in tremor, slowed movement, and muscle rigidity. Cannabis provides symptomatic relief in patients with parkinson's disease, according to The Journal Clinical Neuropharmacology. There are a million Americans with Parkinson's, with 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
Cancer & Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a broad range treatment whose patient population is not nationally tabulated. Estimated annual population: 1 million. Since the 1970s, it has been well documented that cannabonoids are effective against chemotherapy related nausea and vomiting
Arthritis
In 2006, the first-ever controlled trial where natural cannabis extracts tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis, found that cannabis significantly reduced inflammation, pain on movement, pain at rest and increased quality of sleep, with no serious adverse effects. Other data shows cannabinoids can stem the progression of arthritis. According The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 52.5 million Americans have arthritis.
HIV/AIDS
The medical marijuana movement owes a debt to the AIDS community. As with chemotherapy patients, AIDS patients often struggle with appetite loss, nausea and maintaining a healthy weight. Over the past 20 years, more than 500,000 Americans have died for the HIV retrovirus. Cannabis is used by more than 60% of the survivors to manage appetite and anxiety.
Ailments Hypertension
One-third of American adults have hypertension. High blood pressure greatly increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. Recent medical research indicates that the body's cannabinoid receptors help regulate blood pressure.
Glaucoma
It is well documented that cannabinoids lower intraocular pressure, the source for the second leading cause of blindness, which currently has no cure.