Marijuana has been used as an effective medicine for thousands of years. Across the world, various ancient cultures — including Chinese, Greek, Arab, and Native American — have relied on marijuana (cannabis) for many of the same reasons we use it today. When used properly, marijuana is an excellent medicine for reducing the nausea associated with various medical conditions and treatments, chronic pain and swelling, and even interocular pressure in glaucoma patients. These benefits have been documented the world over for many centuries and are not disputed, even by critics of medical marijuana.
Marijuana was introduced into the modern western world by the Irish physician William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, who, as a physician in Calcutta in the 1830′s, experimented with medical marijuana for the treatment of muscle spasms, stomach cramps, and other ailments, including general pain. The results of Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s experiments were unequivocal, and by the end of the 19th century, medical marijuana was one of the primary pain relievers used in the western hemisphere.
Other medicines, such as aspirin, were developed for the treatment of mild to moderate pain and marijuana use dropped. Cultural tides shifted, as well, with marijuana becoming viewed as a recreational drug favored by minorities, and it was banned by the federal government in 1937. (The Marijuana Tax Act)
Doctors began experimenting with marijuana again in the 1970′s when it was discovered that marijuana caused a significant reduction in interocular pressure — or the internal pressure within the eye. This condition, known as glaucoma, caused blindness in patients unable to reduce their pressure. Several doctors postulated that the use of marijuana would also reduce blindness. Again, the experiments proved successful.
Throughout the 1970′s and 1980′s, the health departments of several states experiments with marijuana. Finally, in 2003, the US Health and Human Services Department filed for, and received, a patent for the use of cannabinoids — the active ingredients unique to marijuana — as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. The federal government had found cannabinoids were effective at treating ischemic, age-related, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases, as well as limiting neurological damage to patients who had suffered strokes, trauma, or had been diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Today fourteen states and the District of Columbia permit marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes. While regulations vary significantly from state to state, doctors throughout the nation are taking a fresh look at marijuana as medicine.
What makes marijuana medical grade?
Medical marijuana refers to the use of the Cannabis plant as a physician-recommended herbal therapy as well as synthetic THC and cannabinoids. A quick check of Wikipedia for Medical Cannabis provides an excellent description of medical cannabis, and provides a general history of cannabis as medicine including an immense amount of supporting documentation.
Cannabis as a medicine became common throughout much of the world by the 19th century. It was used as the primary pain reliever until the invention of aspirin. Modern medical and scientific inquiry began with doctors like William Brooke O’Shaughnessy and Moreau de Tours, who used it to treat melancholia and migraines, and as a sleeping aid, analgesic and anticonvulsant.
Cannabidiol, also known as “CBD”, is a major constituent of medical cannabis. CBD represents up to 40% of extracts of the medical cannabis plant. Cannabidiol relieves convulsion, inflammation, anxiety, nausea, and inhibits cancer cell growth. Recent studies have shown Cannabidiol to be as effective as atypical antipsychotics in treating schizophrenia. In November 2007 it was reported that CBD reduces growth of aggressive human breast cancer cells in vitro and reduces their invasiveness. It thus represents the first non-toxic exogenous agent that can lead to down-regulation of tumor aggressiveness. It is also a neuroprotective antioxidant.
The fact is, all marijuana can be considered medical-grade, meaning it has some therapeutic effect. If you are consuming marijuana to alleviate a medical condition, or the treatment of that condition, you are using marijuana medicinally, hence medical marijuana. Many believe medical marijuana has to be of a minimum potency or that it should be grown organically, but those are strictly personal preferences. Marijuana only needs to be consumed by a person to treat a medical condition to be considered medical marijuana.
Marijuana strength, or potency, is different from strain to strain with lower strengths starting at 2 – 3% THC, and strong strains with a THC potency level of up to 30%. Stronger cannabis does mean less has to be consumed per dose so if the patient smokes, stronger may be better in terms of their overall health. Organically grown marijuana, free of chemicals, fertilizers, pests and their excretions, is also a better treatment option for patients. Purity and lack of contaminants, including molds, chemicals, fertilizers or anything in your grow environment including pests and their excretions, are important considerations that patients must weigh. Lower strength strains can be processed to make a hash or extract to lessen the amount needed per dose and are a very useful way other then smoking to get your medical relief.
If you don’t know where it was grown or who grew it, the marijuana you’re consuming could be contaminated by anything. Commercial-grade (street) cannabis is often transported across the border in garbage trucks, used hazardous waste containers, and is often coated, wrapped or covered with any number of chemicals to hide the scent from dogs and devices. It has also been reported that some street dealers are adding lead to bags of marijuana so they weighed more. Perhaps the biggest concern for a marijuana consumer is improperly processed marijuana. Marijuana not properly harvested and dried not only adds weight but also molds easily. Contaminants are dangerous enough for healthy people but they can be deadly for the sick.
