Cannabis offers promise as a therapeutic for a variety of medical issues and studies highlight the potential of marijuana in several treatments. And now there’s a certain type of epilepsy where there’s actually an FDA approved use.
So you can talk about the degree of evidence for various sorts of maladies which include pain, epilepsy and various others. And you can point to the fact that there are FDA authorized cannabinoid medicines.
First FDA Approved Cannabinoid
As far back as the 1980s, the Federal Drug Administration accepted a kind of THC – the chemical that makes you high – they approved the THC for nausea or vomiting and also appetite stimulation connected with some conditions. So that was a rather big deal.
Essentially, the FDA is saying that this chemical from the cannabis plant, even though the marijuana plant is illegal at the national level, this substance we are approving can be used as medicine.
And after that, another pharmaceutical-based off of THC was likewise developed and is currently available as an approved drug for those same conditions as the initial one.
Global Use of Marijuana Chemicals in Medicine
And you have to remember that while THC in general is not an FDA approved substance in the United States, there are other countries where approvals exist at the national level. For example, there are some countries in Europe as well as Israel and also Canada where combinations of THC and cannabidiol have been approved for certain sorts of chronic pain along with multiple sclerosis.
In Canada, citizens can apply for an ACMPR license in order to grow their own medical marijuana in amounts dictated by a doctor’s prescription. And there’s states in the US now that allow consumption of both medical and recreational cannabis. The trend is expanding worldwide.
Recent FDA Actions on Cannabis Derived Chemicals
So getting back to the research, there’s a good deal of evidence supporting therapeutic uses for THC. Outside of THC, in 2018, cannabidiol (CBD) that’s made according to a proprietary method, was additionally FDA approved for a certain type of seizure disorder most widespread in pediatric populaces.
That was really eye-opening since it was the first time in two decades that the FDA approved a cannabinoid, and also it was the very first time that CBD was accepted by the FDA for a medical indication. And maybe it’s just due to popular demand and general acceptance because one out of five US citizens is already a CBD user. But still, the FDA only accepted this one indication.
It was also noteworthy since the CBD there was extracted from the marijuana plant. It had not been synthesized in the laboratory. So it was a large step forward and the FDA made this action only recently in the past two years.
CBD Research
The other medical uses for CBD that may be valuable are for are stress and anxiety, although effective dosages for those indications are extremely high – ten to fifteen times higher than generally recommended dosage levels.
There has also been research on CBD for treating schizophrenia and additionally some studies considering CBD for certain substance abuse problems. So there have been some rather rigorous studies so far.
Right now research areas picking up quite a degree of interest relate to age-related disorders such as Parkinson’s disease as well as Alzheimer’s. Likewise sleep and pain are focal points of interest as well. Thus far, there have only been two peer reviewed research studies looking at CBD for treating pain. So these are areas that could still use additional research.
THC and CBD for Enhanced Cognitive Function
Looking at potential neurological effects, there may be benefits to mind health and wellness since these chemicals are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and they do various other things to protect the brain. More studies are required in this area too regarding efficacy and dosages.
In animal literature, there’s a lot of compelling information for both CBD and, perhaps surprisingly, THC, that both of these chemicals can either stop neurotoxic effects or decrease neurotoxic effects that go along with aging.
On this topic, there was really intriguing research a couple of years ago that compared young adolescent mice to older mice. Both mice age groups were given THC and what took place in the adolescent mice was their memory was significantly impaired, their learning was significantly impaired and the THC had a really adverse impact.
But when that very same dosage of THC was provided to the older mice, they actually had improved cognition and memory and learning. These older mice were already showing some cognitive decline and memory issues, so the THC helped in their case.
It was a really interesting research study that showed how THC can have different effects on mice depending upon their age. Studies like this have not yet been done on people because there’s a great deal of regulatory and other considerations, but this mice study is one example of research that’s been done in this area.
Conclusion
This is an exciting time for researchers looking into therapeutic applications of cannabis and cannabis chemicals. Peer-reviewed research shows the promise of medical marijuana and more and more jurisdictions around the world are making it legal for people to grow and use marijuana for their medical treatment.
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