Medical marijuana refers to the use of entire or the fundamental extracts of marijuana to cure certain symptoms of some conditions and illness. Marijuana is a plant that has been used for many years to help address health issues such as weakness, female problems, pain, anxiety, and insomnia. Apart from relieving pain, AIDS and cancer patients use medical marijuana to cure nausea, and stimulate. Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved marijuana’s use for medicinal purposes, study of chemical components in marijuana known as cannabinoids has compelled FDA to approve two medications which contain cannabinoid chemicals.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse ( 2019 ), cannabinoids are related to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is an ingredient that makes individuals feel high. Essentially, this plant contains more than a hundred types of cannabinoids. However, only THC and CBD, the two key cannabinoids are of medical value. THC is used to increase appetite and minimize nausea. Additionally, THC decreases inflammation, pain as well as control muscle problems. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol, CBD does not make people feel high but help patients in minimizing inflammation and pain, managing epileptic seizures and possibly treat addictions and mental illness.
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As indicated by the American Cancer Society ( 2015 ), THC and CBD slow the development, decrease the spread of a certain form of cancer or even kill certain types of cancer cells. Some of the drugs that are used to control cancer include dronabinol and nabiximols. According to these studies, it has been found that nabiximols relieve cancer patients with pain more effectively as compared to other strong pain-relieving medicines. Even though cancer plays a significant role in slowing, killing or decreasing the spread of cancer, there is a need for more comprehensive scientific studies on cannabinoids for cancer patients for better and more effective therapies that can treat the detrimental side effects of cancer. Besides, society believes marijuana classification as a Schedule I should be lessened to allow more research about cannabinoids.
In Dr Sircus article, a summary of various scientific researches has been provided to sustain the belief that medical marijuana assists people in curing different kinds of cancer. In his article, Dr. Sircus ( 2017 ) posits that CBD which signifies the first nontoxic exogenous agent reduces the expression Id-1 in breast cancer cells that lead to tumor aggressiveness down-regulation. Concerning CBD and lung cancer, Dr Sircus stipulates that tetrahydrocannabinol slows tumor development, reduces the number of tumor and lung metastases severity. Likewise, Dr. Sircus has also discussed how CBD and pancreatic cancer can contribute to the apoptosis of pancreatic tumor cells. Apart from this type of cancer, Dr. Sircus also indicate the role of cannabinoids in the regulation of prostate cancer, colorectal carcinoma, and leukemia as well as lymphoma cells. Dr.Sircus has also indicated the number of ways and the various tissue cannabinoids exert their anti-cancer effects. According to Dr.Sircus, cannabinoids trigger the death of cells through apoptosis, obstructs cells from segmenting, prevent tumor development, and minimizes the spreading of cancer cells in the body and further exacerbates the internal waste disposal machine of the cell.
From the illustration in the articles, it is evident that medical marijuana could be useful in the treatment of some types of cancer. However, extensive scientific research needs to be conducted to determine the potential benefits as well as harms of medical marijuana. This can be achieved only if the American Cancer Society convinces the federal government to lift the restriction on medical marijuana research to permit the exploration of medical marijuana potential.
References
American Cancer Society (2015). Marijuana and Cancer. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/complementary-and-alternative-medicine/marijuana-and-cancer.html on 19 0ctober 201 9
Dr Sircus (2017). Cannabis Cures Cancer. Retrieved from
https://drsircus.com/medical-marijuana/cannabis-cures-cancer/ on 19 th October 2019
http://www.sfweekly.com/
National Institute on Drug Abuse (2019). Marijuana as Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine on 19 October 19, 2019
