The use of medical marijuana remains one of the most broadly discussed questions among pharmacologists, doctors, and legislators. Indeed, the drug is illegal in many countries, yet it has proven medical advantages for chronic pain management and addressing severe conditions such as epilepsy, cancer consequences, and immune deficiency (Hill, 2015). Cannabinoid pharmaceuticals can reduce anxiety, slow cancer tumor growth, relax muscles and help manage appetite; thus, they are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Kramer, 2015). However, the lack of proper patient education results in addictions and related crimes, enabling the regulators to intervene, making it more difficult for doctors to convince the necessity of including the drug in treatment. This paper aims to discuss that medical marijuana is helpful in the treatment and management of chronic pain conditions such as cancer and epilepsy.
Medical marijuana has a long history of use by healthcare providers due to its helpfulness in pain reduce and relatively small range of contraindications. As medicine evolved, cannabinoid pharmaceuticals prescription narrowed to the severest conditions’ management, such as chronic pain or palliative care practices. Marijuana-based medications, when used properly, have proved beneficial in pain management for central and peripheral neuropathic pain. Kramer (2015) states that “in a study that induced pain by injecting capsaicin intradermally, medium-dose marijuana decreased pain, whereas a higher dose increased pain” (p. 116). Moreover, medical marijuana helps kill cancer cells; thus, such drugs as dronabinol and nabilone are approved by FDA to ease the chemotherapy-induced consequences and slow the tumor expanse.
Another reason for medical marijuana to be approved by FDA and prescribed by physicians for pain management is that it helps treat epilepsy and reduces the chances of negative outcomes and conditions worsening. For example, recently developed adjunctive therapy with high concentration cannabidiol, known as Charlotte’s Web, helped a child significantly reduce the seizure frequency (Maa & Figi, 2014). The benefits of Cannabis sativa used in the case of childish epilepsy became widely discussed by patients, physicians, producers, and regulators because many states prohibit the substance use.
Medical marijuana is a Schedule I controlled drug, prescription of which the regulators govern to avoid addiction development; however, its pain management benefits are significant. Cannabinoid pharmaceuticals today are part of cancer treatment because they help address the chemotherapy consequences and reduce the risks of tumor growth. Medical marijuana also is an effective antiepileptic agent, yet its dosage must be carefully selected to make it beneficial.
References
Hill, K. P. (2015). Medical marijuana for treatment of chronic pain and other medical and psychiatric problems: a clinical review.Jama, 313(24), 2474-2483. Web.
Kramer, J. L. (2015). Medical marijuana for cancer. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 65(2), 109-122. Web.
Maa, E., & Figi, P. (2014). The case for medical marijuana in epilepsy. Epilepsia, 55(6), 783-786. Web.