Medicine with Cannabis vs. Cannabis as Medicine
Medical Cannabis
Medical cannabis is basically not a new phenomenon. Cannabis has been used for medical purposes only since time immemorial. Early medical journals in both Chinese and Hindi talk about medical cannabis - and we go back thousands of years. Cannabis was described as an anti-inflammatory, sedative, analgesic, and antispasmodic. In Europe, it took a little longer before we opened our eyes to medical cannabis. During Napoleon's time, cannabis was also used as a painkiller, sedative, and to relieve cramps. Today, medical cannabis is still used for all these purposes.
If you are to believe the many stories that are found everywhere online, there are almost no limits to what cannabis is good for. There are stories of people who have self-medicated with cannabis oil for everything from insomnia to epilepsy, back problems, toothache, chronic pain, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, dementia, anxiety, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, menstrual cramps, Parkinson's, Tourettes, schizophrenia and countless forms of cancer - Read more about cannabis and cancer here.
It will be really exciting to follow the development in the coming years. In fact, around the world, there is already a lot of research on medical cannabis that supports much of the benefits we mentioned above.
Medicine with Cannabis vs. Cannabis as Medicine
When talking about medical cannabis, it is important to distinguish between the two concepts, namely medication with cannabis and cannabis as medicine. In the following paragraph, we will examine the difference between the two concepts and gain some insight into what is happening on the political scene in connection with medical cannabis.
Medicine with Cannabis
There is no doubt that the cannabis plant contains a number of active chemical substances that when ingested affect certain receptors in the body that are directly linked to the endocannabinoid system in humans - and animals for that matter - and can thus be used to strengthen the immune system and create or restore balance in the body. These imbalances can range from major or minor ailments to chronic and serious illnesses.
Medical cannabis can be used for so many different medical purposes that it may seem almost too good to be true. The results should not be forgotten either. The pharmaceutical industry has known about it for a long time, but perhaps because it is not possible to patent a plant, it is not until relatively recently that medical cannabis has appeared on the forefront. Within the EU, there is currently a limited supply of medical cannabis in the form of prescription drugs manufactured in laboratories. The medicine is mainly prescribed for cancer patients as an analgesic and to prevent vomiting, while other preparations are intended for MS patients who experience significantly fewer and milder seizures after consuming cannabis. This type of medical cannabis (or medication with cannabis) contains either natural active ingredients from the cannabis plant or - all too often - artificial cannabis-like substances. Why would it be necessary to produce something similar to substances that already exist in nature? For many, there is a conspiracy theory about just this. It is no secret that we here at higherhempcbd prefer the natural product now that it is available. Not least to prevent unnecessary content and additives that could potentially cause serious side effects. In the following sections, you can read about the use of natural cannabis for medicinal purposes.
Cannabis as Medicine
Above, we examined the brief use of drugs with cannabis. Now let's look at the real thing, that is, the use of natural cannabis as medicine. The cannabis plant has been used as a medicine around the world for centuries. In ancient magazines from China and India, there are descriptions of how cannabis even then was used medicinally as a sedative, as a painkiller, and to fight inflammation in the body due to the plant's powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
Today, cannabis is used for medical purposes to treat and relieve everything from cancer to toothache, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Tourettes, psoriasis and other skin diseases, Parkinson's, Lyme disease, insomnia, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, back problems, arthritis, dementia, anxiety, ADHD, eating disorders, depression, schizophrenia, Crohn's disease, alcoholism, menstrual pain and chronic pain in all forms. The list is far from complete and in fact, only the imagination sets the limits for how the cannabinoids in cannabis affect certain receptors in the body that communicate with the endocannabinoid system, which is directly linked to regulating appetite, the experience of pain, and the immune and central nervous systems.
Cannabis and Cancer
It is of course impossible to claim that cannabis can cure cancer and we will also stay away from it, but you can read on and evaluate what you think about the research results.
Cancer is a generic term for any cell present in the body that grows uncontrolled and thus puts its "host" in danger through its spread. The body has, so to speak, lost control of the cell division that has taken place. In 1970, the first official studies in the use of cannabis to treat cancer came and today research is a big part of this in very many places in the world. Several laboratory studies document a positive effect of medical cannabis on cancer. In some studies, cannabinoids have been shown to stop the cancer cells' ability to divide and multiply, and some studies have also shown that cannabinoids could also cause certain cancer cells to commit some form of suicide. In addition, they can prevent metastases from occurring.
Some research also suggests that there may be major benefits to combining chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and medical cannabis. Cannabis is not only known to be analgesic, antiemetic, and appetite-regulating; there also seem to be other positive effects of the combination. Unfortunately, if cytotoxic drugs and radiation do not stop attacking surrounding healthy cells to fight the cancer cells, inflammation is likely to occur in the body. CBD oil is also known for its strong anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects and can therefore help fight the inflammation in the body that normally occurs with conventional cancer treatment.
There are a variety of different types of cancer and just because cannabis has a beneficial effect on one type of cancer, the results cannot necessarily be transferred directly to another type of cancer. It is, therefore, necessary to research each individual cancer area to determine if cannabis can and should be used in treatment.
