Medical cannabis
Medical marijuana, aka medical cannabis, is cannabis and cannabinoids that are given by doctors to their patients.[1][2] The use of marijuana as a medicine has not been tested much because it can be difficult to get enough of it to test and because of other governmental regulations.[3]
Medical cannabis can help with nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy. It can improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS. It can reduce chronic pain and muscle spasms.[4]
Short-term use makes it more likely that there will be side effects. Common side effects include feeling tired, dizziness and hallucinations.[5] Long-term effects of marijuana are not clear. Concerns include memory problems, risk of addiction and children taking it by accident.
The Cannabis plant has been used as medicine for thousands of years in many cultures. Its current use is controversial.
Medical marijuana can be given in different ways. They include vaporizing, smoking dried buds, eating foods that have cannabis in them, taking capsules or using lozenges.
Recreational use of marijuana is illegal in most parts of the world. The medical use of cannabis is legal in some countries, including the Czech Republic, Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. Australia is working to pass a law that will allow the use of marijuana for medical and scientific purposes.[6]
In the United States, federal law says all use of marijuana is illegal. But more than 30 states[clarification needed] and the District of Columbia no longer arrest people for having medical marijuana, as long as they follow a state's medical marijuana rules.
Medical Cannabis Media
Cannabis as illustrated in Köhler's Book of Medicinal Plants, 1897
1.5 gms of pressed cannabis Indica trichomes from the Goo strain made by ice-extraction method.
Illustrating various forms of medicinal cannabis
- The Three Cultivars of the Cannabis Plant.png
Evolution of cultivated cannabis strains. The cultivar, Cannabis ruderalis, still grows wild today.
- Map-of-world-medical-cannabis-laws.svg
Map showing legal status of medical cannabis across the world.* Legal as authorized by a physician*
- Discount Medical Marijuana - 2.jpg
- Drug bottle containing cannabis.jpg
Cannabis indica fluid extract, American Druggists Syndicate, pre-1937
- CannabisAmericana JLHopkins B.jpg
An advertisement for cannabis americana distributed by a pharmacist in New York in 1917
- PEbers c41-bc.jpg
The Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) from Ancient Egypt has a prescription for medical marijuana applied directly for inflammation.
References
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ "Marijuana as Medicine". The National Institute on Drug Abuse. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ↑ "Release the Strains". Nature Lexicon's. Retrieved May 4, 2017.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ "Cannabinoids for Medical Use". JAMA Network. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ↑ Australia to Give Green Light to Medical Cannabis (Report). CNN. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.