MEDICINAL USE OF MARIJUANA

Medicinal use of marijuana



Medicinal use of marijuana

Medicinal use of marijuana

Some addictions nurses have thought of marijuana only as a drug associated with abuse and/or addiction. However, the drug has been documented as having medicinal value. This article examines the medicinal value of marijuana and the history of efforts to prohibit marijuana's use. The therapeutic properties of marijuana come from the numerous chemicals found in the leaves, buds, and resin of the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant, commonly called hemp, is also well known for the value of its fiber and pulp from the stalk as well as the highly nutritional seed oil. However, the fact remains that marijuana, like many other psychoactive drugs, does have medical value: the fact that some people may have an addiction problem should not prevent others from benefiting from its therapeutic potential. Studies have found opioids to be effective pain management agents, with an addiction rate of less that 1% in hospitalized patients treated for their pain (Randall, 2006).

Pharmacotherapy treatment through Marijuana

There is a noticeable lack of targeted treatment options for marijuana dependence, in particular pharmacologic approaches. This is the first study evaluating a targeted pharmacologic approach for marijuana dependence. The goals of the study were to determine if such patients would seek pharmacologic treatment, whether these patients could be retained in treatment using a design previously developed for cocaine-dependent patients, and especially whether divalproex sodium showed promise as a treatment agent for marijuana dependence (Randall, 1998). We found that marijuana-dependent patients will seek treatment, and such patients can be adequately maintained in a pharmacologic trial. Regardless of treatment group, patients reported a significant reduction in their frequency and amount of marijuana use as well as a reduction in irritability. Given the lack of proven effective treatments for marijuana dependence, pharmacotherapies ...