Every year, the issue of the widespread legalization of medical marijuana excites society. Someone thinks that it is necessary to do this, someone thinks that it can lead to the distribution of illegal substances. However, it should be noted that today there are already special centers specializing in pensacola medical marijuana.
Addiction and cannabis withdrawal syndrome
People who take cannabidiol will never become addicted because it has no psychoactive effect. For the same reason, there are no withdrawal symptoms. In patients who simply smoke marijuana, in most cases dependence also does not develop. The probability of dependence is not very high and amounts to 9-10% (for alcohol – 15%, for nicotine – 32%).
There is a withdrawal syndrome, clinically insignificant – sometimes there is insomnia, irritability. It has nothing to do with, say, an opioid or alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Treatment is not required, everything goes by itself.
Cannabis – application technology
One of the uses of marijuana is smoking. Smoking itself is problematic because it can cause side effects ranging from coughing to lung cancer. The biggest problem: if any substance is used by smoking, it cannot automatically be called a medicine. For any drug, it must be possible to dose. In addition, different substances are smoked, we do not know exactly their concentration.
There is a vaporizer device. It heats the cannabis leaves to a certain temperature, and each inhalation will give a strictly defined amount of the substance. This method of use brings cannabis closer to medicine.
There are several types of cannabis preparations. Some of them are synthetic. Synthetic drugs are allowed for the treatment of:
- vomiting;
- nausea;
- appetite stimulation.
Synthetic molecules like THC are as effective as plant extracts.
The drug is also available in the form of a regular nasal spray. It is used to relieve pain and spasms associated with multiple sclerosis.
Should scientists be allowed to do research?
Cannabinoids are promising medicines. Certainly, research needs to be continued. However, the medical use of cannabis should be based on the rules of evidence-based medicine, and not on the decisions of governments, courts or demonstrations of marijuana lovers.
The moment has surely come when it is worth moving cannabis from list 1 (these are substances that are dangerous to use and have no medical properties, such as amphetamines) to list 2. There is strong evidence in science for the medical use of cannabis, so it does not make sense to be on this list. It would give researchers a free hand and help them gain more access to cannabis products, especially those with high concentrations of cannabidiol.
When discussing the medical use of cannabis, there is a lot of noise: let’s treat cancer with cannabis, let’s not do chemotherapy, and everyone will start smoking marijuana. There is no evidence for any of this. Politicians make decisions instead of specialists. People engaged with various non-governmental movements make important decisions that they do not understand at all, just to console someone’s political desires.
This question should be left to professionals, doctors, researchers to get an answer based on science, not ideology or political considerations. However, even today, we can say that medical marijuana helps people in cases where nothing helps.
