Cannabis Is Medicine
Cannabis is and will forever be medicine. No law can change that fact. It was medicine before this country (America) and it will be around long after you and I are dead. Man cannot change this plants reason for existence and no legislation can strip away its magical medicinal properties and natural healing abilities.
What is medical cannabis?
Medical cannabis refers to the use of the Cannabis sativa plant as a physician-recommended herbal therapy as well as synthetic THC and cannabinoids. So far, the medical use of cannabis is legal only in a limited number of territories, including Canada, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, and some U.S. states. This usage generally requires a prescription, and distribution is usually done within a framework defined by local laws.
Personally my interest in medical cannabis started with suffering from Migraine. And of course, living in california - which provoked me to get this web site going.
So I started digging around and educating myself about cannabis used as medicine…
In China cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for 4,000 years. Cannabis is also mentioned in The Divine Farmer’s Herb-Root Classic, an ancient Chinese pharmacopoeia attributed to Emperor Shennong. Even ancient Egyptian papyri dating 1,550 B.C. describe medical marijuana. Surviving texts from ancient India confirm that cannabis’ psychoactive properties were recognized, and doctors used it for a variety of illnesses and ailments. These included insomnia, headaches, a whole host of gastrointestinal disorders, and pain: cannabis was frequently used to relieve the pain of childbirth.
Ah so immediately upon reading about the origins of medical cannabis, I learn that it is used for “headaches” - perfect! Exactly what I have… I keep reading…
In the medieval Islamic world, Arabic physicians discovered the diuretic, antiemetic, antiepileptic, anti-inflammatory, pain killing and antipyretic properties of cannabis sativa, and used it extensively as medication from the 8th to 18th centuries.
Now it is getting good - I know as a sufferer of Migraines (Migraineur) there is more to it than just being a “headache” - it is actually the inflammation of blood vessels in the head that cause the pain. So not only has cannabis been used as medicine for 4,000 years - it is known to cure inflammation. Now I am all ears on the subject… Enough with the old stuff, what about modern medicine?
Cannabis as a medicine became common throughout much of the world by the 19th century. It was used as the primary pain reliever until the invention of aspirin. Modern medical and scientific inquiry began with doctors like O’Shaughnessy and Moreau de Tours, who used it to treat melancholia and migraines, and as a sleeping aid, analgesic and anticonvulsant. Then in 1937 came the famous Marijuana Tax Act in the United States which made marijuana illegal.
Wow, I found the info I had been looking for all along and I now knew that I was correct all these years in my belief that my marijuana use had been the one thing that helped me manage my entire life because I couldn’t go a day or two without experiencing intense nausea, pain, extreme light and sound sensitivity and more from Migraines. It really affected my work - even my relationship! So now I had the medical world on my side… specifically that the inflammation and pain from Migraine had in fact been historically proven to be thwarted or at least relieved partially by use of medical cannabis.
In 1972 Tod H. Mikuriya, M.D. reignited the debate concerning marijuana as medicine when he published “Marijuana Medical Papers . “High intraocular pressure causes blindness in glaucoma patients, so many believed that using the drug could prevent blindness in patients. Many Vietnam War veterans also believed that the drug prevented muscle spasms caused by battle-induced spinal injuries. Later medical use has focused primarily on its role in preventing the wasting syndromes and chronic loss of appetite associated with chemotherapy and AIDS, along with a variety of rare muscular and skeletal disorders. Less commonly, cannabis has been used in the treatment of alcoholism and addiction to other drugs such as heroin and the prevention of migraines.
And there it is again, no matter how much you read about medical cannabis you keep finding bits of info regarding how effective it is regarding migraine. Not only does it help once you get one, marijuana will in fact help prevent them from occurring in the first place, and this is exactly what I had been saying for years to my family and friends.
So after my initial research into “medical cannabis” I have been reading as much as I can on the subject and trying to help spread the word about using cannabis as a way to naturally, safely, and effectively treat Migraines.
I then educated myself on Dr. Ethan Russo and his studies in the “migraines and marijuana” department.
In the 1990’s, Dr Ethan Russo spent two months in Peru’s remote Manu National Park, researching use of medicinal plants by members of the Machiguenga tribes. “Sometimes they crush leaves or flowers which they drip into their eyes to treat migraine or enhance their hunting prowess.”
Who is Dr. Ethan Russo and why should I listen to what he has to say regarding migraines and cannabis?
Aside from being an ethnobotanist who has just written a book about the medicinal uses of psychotropic herbs, Russo attended medical school in France and the United States, and now has two decades experience as a pioneering neurologist helping children and adult patients in Missoula, Montana. He specializes in child neurology, migraines and chronic pain.
Although the doctor’s home state of Montana is not a state that has legalized medical marijuana, Russo has risked personal and professional harm by discussing medical marijuana with patients where he thinks it pertinent.
“My opinion about the efficacy and relative safety of cannabis is widely known, since I’ve made no secret of my feelings the last few years,” says Russo.
“Cannabis is the single most versatile herbal remedy, and the most useful plant on Earth,” Russo says with a smile.
And to show how this fight needs to be fought by those who put medicinal marijuana and patients first, I will end on Dr Russos best quote…
I abstain from using a good medicine so that one day, perhaps, everybody can use the good medicine.”
Thank you doctor, thank you for your research which opened my eyes and will hopefully help others along the way. I know cannabis is my medicine and it works great, and has helped me live a better life.
“Cannabis was a standard treatment for migraines from the mid-19th century until it was outlawed in the early 20th century in the USA. It has been reported to help people through an attack by relieving the nausea and dulling the head pain, as well as possibly preventing the headache completely when used as soon as possible after the onset of pre-migraine symptoms, such as aura. There is some indication that semi-regular use may reduce the frequency of attacks. Further studies are being conducted. Some migraine sufferers report that cannabis decreases throbbing and pain, especially if smoked.”
As usual, I always encourage the use of a vaporizer over traditionally “smoking” the plant, but hey - it’s a free country - inhale it how you want to. =)