We have a riddle for you. In each of our hands, we have a different medication used for pain management, anti-anxiety, and several other medical conditions. One of these two medications is full of toxic chemicals that could potentially kill you, and come with a host of dangerous side effects and an established history habit-forming tendencies in patients who take them. The other medication we have is a plant-based natural substance that comes straight from Mother Nature, has a variety of medical benefits, is not linked to any negative side effects, and is not habit-forming. Which of these substances is more widely accepted the as a treatment option in the medical community?
Would you be surprised if we told you that the first medication we mentioned is prescribed to millions of Americans every single day, whereas the second medication we described (medical marijuana) has a exaggerated stigma that prevents patients who really could benefit from it from accessing it? We believe the more the public is educated on the treatment options that medical marijuana doctors can provide, the more the negative perception of it will fade away. One day, everyone with a medical condition that could be safely treated with marijuana will have access to it. Below, we’ve put together a list of medical conditions that medical marijuana doctors can effectively treat with cannabis.
Five Diseases and Conditions That Medical Marijuana Doctors Provide Treatment For
- ADD and Insomnia
ADD/ADHD and insomnia are marked by an inability to concentrate, hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, and other symptoms that prevent patients from having successful lives. People with ADHD struggle to forge relationships and function normally. Additionally, their overstimulated brains prevent them from sleeping normally, leading to insomnia. Conventional treatment for ADD and insomnia include stimulant drugs that have similar impact on the body to methamphetamines, and are highly addictive. However, studies show that cannabis has been effective for helping the human brain manage their dopamine levels, which is the chemical transmitter responsible for focusing and controlling the ability to wind down and sleep. Unlike the stimulant medication regularly used to treat conditions like ADD/ADHD and insomnia, cannabis does not come with a host of negative side effects. - Epilepsy
Epilepsy causes seizures in children and adults and can be debilitating to live with, sometimes leading to permanent brain damage or death. Unfortunately, there are very few medications that effectively treat and prevent seizures. Studies have shown that treatment from medical marijuana doctors could potentially have a substantial impact on the quality of life that epilepsy patients could enjoy. Cannabis seems to be more effective at preventing seizures, with fewer side effects and any current medical treatment, however it is not approved as a treatment option yet. - Cancer treatment
Studies have shown that use of THC (an ingredient derived from marijuana) has been linked to halting or preventing the growth of tumors. At this point, using medical marijuana as a treatment for cancer is still in the testing phase, but significant results have been demonstrated an animal studies. Treatment for cancer in humans is still at the beginning stages, with hopes of mainstream use soon. - Weight loss
While medical marijuana doctors are not approved to treat patients for weight loss yet, studies show that marijuana has a positive impact on the way the body metabolizes food, contributing to slower weight gain, or even weight loss, when coupled with healthy lifestyle changes. Although this is not a reason you can go get a prescription for marijuana (unless you live in an area that allows marijuana use without a prescription), it is a positive side effect of it. - Nausea relief
As we alluded to in the cancer section, patients who suffer from medical conditions that result in debilitating nausea find that marijuana has a profound impact on reducing the symptoms, which leads to better a appetite and healing. For example, chemotherapy is often linked to terrible nausea symptoms; marijuana medication has demonstrated the ability to have a better impact on relieving symptoms than conventional anti-nausea drugs.
Our list of medical conditions that could safely be treated with marijuana is just the tip of the ice berg. There are many more we didn’t mention, and the potential for other treatments that haven’t even been discovered yet are endless!
