Below are specific studies showing the medical benefits of cannabis use.
Just a few of the conditions known to be helped by cannabis:
ADD/ ADHD
ALS/ Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis/Parkinson's Disease
ALZHEIMER'S
ANTI-BACTERIAL PROPERTIES
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
PROPERTIES
ANTI-OXIDANT
PROPERTIES
ANOREXIA
(APPETITE STIMULANT)
ANXIETY
AND ANTI-PSYCHOTIC
APPETITE
STIMULANT
ARTHRITIS
ASTHMA
ATHEROSCLEROSIS
AUTISM
BIPOLAR DISORDER
BLOOD PRESSURE
BRAIN
CELLS- see NEURONS
BRAIN-
PHYSICAL EFFECTS
CANCERS (SUCH AS: BREAST, CERVICAL, COLORECTAL, GLIOMA/ BRAIN, LEUKEMIA, LUNG, LYMPHOMA, MELANOMA, ORAL, PANCREATIC
PROSTATE, SKIN, TESTICULAR)
CHRONIC CYSTITIS
CROHN'S/IBS/ULCERATIVE
COLITIS
CPOD
DEPRESSION
DIABETES
DYSTONIA
EPILEPSY
FIBROMYALGIA
GLAUCOMA/ VISION
HEART DISEASE/
CARDIOVASCULAR
HEPATITIS
HERPES
HIV / AIDS
HUNTINGTON'S
DISEASE
LUPUS
MIGRAINE/
HEADACHE
MS/ MULTIPLE
SCLEROSIS
MRSA
NAUSEA
NEUROPATHIC
PAIN
OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE
DISORDERAA
OSTEOPOROSIS/ BONES
PAIN
PANCREATITIS
PARKINSON'S
DISEASE
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS
DISORDER
SCHIZOPHRENIA/ MENTAL DISORDERS
SICKLE CELL DISEASE
SLEEP MODULATION
SPASTICITY
SPINAL CORD
INJURY
STROKE
TOURETTE'S SYNDROME
Science:
Cannabis improves symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease in an open clinical study
At
a Department of Gastroenterology belonging to Tel Aviv University, Israel, 13
patients inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were included in a pilot prospective
study to investigate the effects of a treatment with inhaled cannabis. Several
parameters were assessed before treatment and after three months of treatment
including the Harvey-Bradshaw index, which provides information on disease
activity in Crohn's disease, including general well-being, abdominal pain,
number of liquid stools and complications. After 3 months' treatment, patients
reported improvement in general health perception, social functioning, ability
to work, physical pain and depression. A schematic scale of health perception
showed an improved average score from 4.1 to 7. Patients had an average weight
gain of 4.3 kg and an average rise in BMI (body mass index) of 1.4. The average
Harvey-Bradshaw index was reduced from 11.36 to 5.72.
Authors concluded
that "three months' treatment with inhaled cannabis improves quality of life
measurements, disease activity index, and causes weight gain and rise in BMI in
long-standing IBD patients."
(Source: Lahat A, Lang A, Ben-Horin S. Impact of
Cannabis Treatment on the Quality of Life, Weight and Clinical Disease Activity
in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: A Pilot Prospective Study.
Digestion. 2011;85(1):1-8.)
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A recent clinical trial demonstrates a synergistic analgesic effect among cannabinoids and conventional
opioids. The research included 21 chronic pain patients, who were taking either
long-acting morphine or Oxycontin twice a day. Adding marijuana to these
painkillers reduced patients' pain by an average of 27% and did not
significantly affect blood levels of the prescription drugs.
Read more:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/12/could-medical-marijuana-reduce-patients-need-for-opioid-painkillers/#ixzz1gVZVZSrI
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New study shows medical marijuana laws reduce traffic deaths:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/uocd-ssm112911.php
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Crohn's Patients Who Use Cannabis Report Fewer Surgeries,
Are Less Likely To Use Prescription Drugs
"All patients stated that consuming cannabis had a positive effect on their
disease activity"
Tel Aviv, Israel:
Cannabis use is associated with a reduction in Crohn's disease (CD) activity and
disease-related surgeries, according to the results of a retrospective
observational study
published in the August issue of theJournal of the Israeli Medical
Association.
Investigators at the Meir Medical Center, Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology assessed 'disease
activity, use of medication, need for surgery, and hospitalization' before and after cannabis use in 30 patients with CD.
Authors reported, "All patients stated that consuming cannabis had a positive effect on their disease activity" and documented "significant improvement" in 21
subjects.
Specifically, researchers found that subjects who consumed cannabis "significantly reduced" their need for other medications. Participants in the trial also reported requiring fewer surgeries following their use of cannabis.
"Fifteen of the patients had 19 surgeries during an average period of nine years before cannabis use, but only two required surgery during an average period of three years of cannabis use," authors reported.
They concluded: "The results indicate that cannabis may have a positive effect on disease activity, as reflected by a reduction in disease activity index and in
the need for other drugs and surgery. Prospective placebo-controlled studies are warranted to fully evaluate the efficacy and side effects of cannabis in
CD."
Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis are inflammatory bowel diseases. According to survey datapublished earlier this year in theEuropean Journal of Gastroenterology and
Hepatology, an estimated one-third of patients with colitis and one-half of subjects with CD acknowledge having used cannabis to mitigate their disease
symptoms.
Full text of the study, "Treatment of Crohn's
disease with cannabis: an observational study," appears in the Journal of the
Israeli Medical Association. The study also appears online here:http://www.ima.org.il/imaj/ar11aug-01.pdf.