Medical Marijuana with Cancer Patients and Pain

Medical Marijuana with Cancer Patients and Pain

Introduction

Development in research in every field will ultimately result in the introduction of many new techniques and methodologies. These new techniques however may have both positive and negative impact. The same principles are applied to the field of medicines. One of the most updated and newly introduced adition in the field of medicine is the usage of Complementary and Alternate Medicine (CAM) where it is used in the pursuit of both health and well-being. Many CAM therapies are commonly used by the patients to minimize or prevent the symptoms. One of the most practiced therapies in the recent times is the use of what is known as Medical Marijuana by the cancer patients to reduce the pain and other symptoms.

Discussion

Medical Marijuana is also sometimes referred to as Medical cannabis. These can simply be defined as the specific portions of herb cannabis that are utilized by patients in the form of a physician-recommended herbal therapy or medicine.

Description of CAM Therapy

Marijuana is a combination of shredded and dried, flowers, seeds, stems, and leaves of a hemp plant. The basic active ingredient of marijuana is the THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabino). Marijuana and other components extracted from the plant are known as cannabinoids (Stafford, 1992).

In United States of America, this is a legal medicine recommend by doctors for the cure of various conditions and chronic diseases that includes anxiety, loss of appetite, chronic pain, nausea, arthritis, and most importantly cancer (heretohelp.bc.ca).

Indication of why a Person should Use this CAM

There are number of reasons why the doctors have started to recommend medical Marijuana to the patients. First, marijuana has proven to be useful in decreasing the pain in many pain-related illnesses that includes Parkinson's, Crohn's Disease, multiple sclerosis, other post-traumatic stress disorders and chronic pain diseases. In addition, the use of marijuana has been known to inhibit the growth of cancer cells (www.cancer.gov). Smoking marijuana may provide relaxation to an individual that are experiencing severe pain as a result of different diseases.

In addition, the use of marijuana has also been known to reduce and control the prevalence of brain tumor (Salazar, et Al, 2009). Furthermore, women can use marijuana after the doctor's advice. Many researches propose that marijuana is also helpful in controlling breast cancer. It is important to note that the marijuana medicines are typically utilized when the first-line treatments ...