Doesn’t marijuana help with some diseases?
- Cancer and HIV/AIDS – The pill form of the active chemical in marijuana (dronabinol) can be helpful for the nausea associated with chemotherapy or the wasting disease that appears with AIDS, but many other medicines that have been tested as safe and more effective are preferred by oncologists. Smoked marijuana has been proven to damage the immune system, cause premalignant cellular changes in the lungs and impair lung function, leaving immune-suppressed patients more vulnerable to infection.
- Multiple sclerosis – Patients in various stages of the disease may perceive that their spasticity is partially relieved, but studies show that spasticity is made worse, not better.
- Chronic pain – Not in its raw form with accompanying undesirable side effects, but there are hopeful studies in animals that suggest a molecule similar to the cannabinoids in marijuana could be isolated and used in pain relief. The lead researcher cautions: “It is a big step to go from a successful animal model to treating humans in pain.”
- Glaucoma – Smoked marijuana has never been shown to be better or even just as good as existing drugs for relieving eye pressure, and its use brings with it many more side effects than the approved medicines.