https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3691841/

Data suggests cannabis may dampen the strength or emotional impact of traumatic memories through synergistic mechanisms that might make it easier for people with PTSD to rest or sleep and to feel less anxious and less involved with flashback memories. Cannabidiol reduces anxiety in patients with generalized social anxiety disorder.

BIPOLAR DISORDER

https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-illnesses/bipolar-disorder#CoOccurring

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/bipolar-disorder/anxious-bipolar-patient

The authors present case histories indicating that a number of patients find cannabis (marihuana) useful in the treatment of their bipolar disorder. Some used it to treat mania, depression, or both. They stated that it was more effective than conventional drugs, or helped relieve the side effects of those drugs. One woman found that cannabis curbed her manic rages; she and her husband have worked to make it legally available as a medicine. Others described the use of cannabis as a supplement to lithium (allowing reduced consumption) or for relief of lithium’s side effects.

INSOMNIA

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16800716

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-brain-food/201904/marijuana-insomnia

“Nearly half (45%) reported relief from insomnia. ”

DEPRESSION

https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/problems/depression-and-trauma.asp

“Daily users reported less depressed mood and more positive affect than non-users.”

ATTENTION DEFECIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23561240

http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/26114394

By the end of the study, those who received cannabis treatment showed improvements in symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. They also scored higher on measures of cognitive performance and emotional stability.

CHRONIC PAIN

https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Symptoms-Diagnosis/MS-Symptoms/Pain

https://www.msif.org/about-ms/symptoms-of-ms/pain/

“Almost all respondents (97%) used medical cannabis primarily for relief of chronic pain.”

LOW BACK PAIN

https://www.msif.org/about-ms/symptoms-of-ms/pain/

Both preclinical and clinical data suggest that cannabinoids, derived from the Cannabis sativa plant, may be used to control symptoms such as spasticity and chronic pain. Inhaled cannabis significantly reduces objective measures of pain intensity compared to placebo in patients with MS.

ABDOMINAL PAIN

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/crohns-disease/basics/symptoms/con-20032061

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193087/

” A substantial proportion of patients perceived cannabis as effective for relief of abdominal pain”

MIGRAINES

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3883008/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26749285

“The frequency of migraine headache was decreased with medical marijuana use.”

MUSCLE SPASMS

https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Symptoms-Diagnosis/MS-Symptoms/Spasticity

https://www.mstrust.org.uk/a-z/spasticity-and-spasms

There is evidence that the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 may be involved in the control of spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Further evidence and data confirms the efficacy of cannabinoids in reducing spasticity in patients with MS, suggesting a higher sensitivity and specificity of the stretch reflex compared with other measures. As an objective and quantitative measure of spasticity, the stretch reflex is particularly useful to assess the effects of cannabinoids on spinal excitability. Further evidence and data suggests cannabis is reported to decrease spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis and was significant improvement in patient ratings of spasticity compared to placebo. These positive findings in a treatment failure population suggest a role for THC in the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis says a marijuana doctor associated with the NHSOF MD group.

FIBROMYALGIA

http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/similarities-fibromyalgia-multiple-sclerosis.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24977967

“RESEARCH HAS CONFIRMED THAT UNDERLYING ENDOCANNABINOID DEFICIENCIES INDEED PLAY A ROLE IN …FIBROMYALGIA…AND A GROWING LIST OF OTHER MEDICAL CONDITIONS”

DIABETIC PAIN NEUROPATHY

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/autoimmune-diseases#2

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5152762/

“Numerous randomized clinical trials have demonstrated safety and efficacy for Sativex in central and peripheral neuropathic pain, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer pain.”

ARTHRITIS

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Symptoms-Diagnosis/MS-Symptoms/Pain

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22530636

“Cannabinoids produce their effects via several cannabinoid receptors and it is important to identify the key cannabinoids and their receptors that are involved in chondroprotection”

OSTEOARTHRITIS

 https://www.cancercenter.com/cancer-types/bone-cancer/symptoms

https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/cancer/bone-cancer-symptoms-when-aches-and-pains-are-more-than-arthritis/

This review summarizes the promising results that have been recently obtained in support of the therapeutic value of cannabinoids for osteoarthritis management.

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/autoimmune-diseases#2

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4937922/

“addition of Aja (a synthetic cannabinoid) reduced the secretion of il-6 from activated cells, suggesting that Aja may have a value for treatment of joint inflammation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus”

OSTEOPEROSIS

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3783531/

https://www.cancer.net/coping-with-cancer/physical-emotional-and-social-effects-cancer/managing-physical-side-effects/osteoporosis

The cannabinoids found in cannabis have therapeutic potential against osteoporosis because of their interaction with the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptor

IBS

https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/what-is-ibs/similarities-differences-between-ibd-ibs/

https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/crohns-disease-treatment-management/crohns-ibs/

Study results indicate that cannabis may have a positive effect on disease activity, as reflected by a reduction in disease activity index and in the need for other drugs and surgery. Preclinical studies demonstrate that activation of the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors exert biological functions on the gastrointestinal tract. A randomized placebo-controlled trial, inhaled cannabis was reported to decrease Crohn’s disease symptoms in subjects with a treatment-resistant form of the disease. Nearly half of the patients in the trial achieved disease remission as reported by a group of Orlando medical marijuana Doctors.

Ulcerative Colitis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21795981

https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/pathogenesis-of-ulcerative-colitis-and-crohns-disease-2155-9899.1000253.php?aid=30487

Beneficial effect of the non-psychotropic plant cannabinoid on experimental inflammatory bowel disease.

MUSCLAR DYSTROPHY

http://www.differencebetween.net/science/health/difference-between-als-and-muscular-dystrophy/

https://www.medicalmarijuana.com/medical-marijuana-treatments-cannabis-uses/muscular-dystrophy-cannabinoids-symptom-relief/

marijuana has been found to be the most effective and rapid mechanism for relaying the active compounds to the brain, thereby allowing the sufferer to feel immediate relief from pain as well as offering better control over medication levels.

LUPUS

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24238696

http://www.neurologyadvisor.com/multiple-sclerosis/genetic-variant-link-found-for-ms-system-lupus/article/653285/

 ” addition of Aja (a synthetic cannabinoid) reduced the secretion of il-6 from activated cells, suggesting that Aja may have a value for treatment of joint inflammation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus”

SCOLIOSIS

http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/84/12/1400

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fc4c/fdf7a43aed6c3cb978178ccf21c895814f95.pdf

“CANNABINOIDS…. CAN PLAY A PROTECTIVE ROLE IN AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS”

AUTISM

Autism is a debilitating condition with symptoms that include anxiety, panic attacks, disruptive and violent behaviors, insomnia, and irritability (comparable to what is seen in PTSD), and a decreased ability to communicate (comparable to what is seen in Parkinson’s Disease and ALS)

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/symptoms

https://scienceofparkinsons.com/2016/05/22/the-autistic-spectrum-and-parkinsons-disease/

“in one case study, a boy with autism was treated with daily dronabinol [synthetic THC] for six months and was noted to have improvement in hyperactivity, irritability, lethargy, stereotyped behaviors and speech”

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

DYSTONIA

Dystonia and Parkinson’s Disease are comparable in that they are both debilitating movement disorders.

http://www.pmdi.org/movement-disorders.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dystonia/symptoms-causes/syc-20350480

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3793381

The post Conditions That Qualify For Florida Medical Marijuana Card appeared first on NHSOF MD.

A massive new report released in January by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine helps sum up exactly what we know — and, perhaps more important, what we don’t know — about the science of weed. One of weed’s active ingredients, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, interacts with our brain’s reward system, the part that has been primed to respond to things that make us feel good, like eating and sex.

When overexcited by drugs, the reward system creates feelings of euphoria. This is also why some studies have suggested that excessive marijuana use can be a problem in some people — the more often you trigger that euphoria, the less you may feel during other rewarding experiences. Within a few minutes of inhaling marijuana, your heart rate can increase by between 20 and 50 beats a minute. This can last anywhere from 20 minutes to three hours, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The new report found insufficient evidence to support or refute the idea that cannabis might increase the overall risk of a heart attack. The same report, however, also found some limited evidence that smoking could be a trigger for a heart attack. Pot also contains cannabidiol, or CBD — and this chemical, while not responsible for getting you high, is thought to be responsible for many of marijuana’s therapeutic effects such as pain relief or potentially treating certain kinds of childhood epilepsy.

The new report also found conclusive or substantial evidence — the most definitive levels — that cannabis can be an effective treatment for chronic pain, which could have to do with both CBD and THC. Pain is also “by far the most common” reason people request medical marijuana, according to the report. One of the ways scientists think it may help with pain is by reducing inflammation, a component of painful illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis.

A preliminary 2005 study of 58 patients with RA, roughly half of whom were given a placebo and roughly half of whom were given a cannabis-based medicine called Sativex, found “statistically significant improvements in pain on movement, pain at rest, quality of sleep” for patients on Sativex. Other studies testing both other cannabinoid products and inhaled marijuana have shown similar pain-relieving effects, according to the report.

⇒Related Article Content: Florida Medical Marijuana

Some people with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis could also benefit from marijuana use, studies suggest.A 2014 paper, for example, describes two studies of people with chronic Crohn’s in which half were given the drug and half were given a placebo. That study showed a decrease in symptoms in 10 of 11 subjects using cannabis, compared with just four of 10 on the  lacebo. But when the researchers did a follow-up reports using low-dose CBD, they saw no effect in the patients.

A drug called Epidiolex, which contains CBD, may be on its way to becoming the first of its kind to win approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of rare forms of childhood epilepsy.

The company that makes it, GW Pharma, is exploring CBD for its potential use in people with Dravet syndrome, a rare form of childhood-onset epilepsy that is associated with multiple types of seizures. In March, the company came out with phase three trial data that showed the drug had some positive results. Researchers say that, for now, we need more research before we’ll know whether cannabis can help with these diseases.

It may throw off your balance, as it influences activity in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, two brain areas that help regulate balance, coordination, reaction time, and posture.

Feeling as if time is sped up or slowed down is one of the most commonly reported effects of using marijuana. A 2012 paper sought to draw some more solid conclusions from some of the studies on those anecdotal reports, but it was unable to do so.

⇒Related Article Content:  Qualify For A Medical Marijuana Card In Florida

“Even though 70% of time estimation studies report overestimation, the findings of time production and time reproduction studies remain inconclusive,” the paper said.

In a 1998 study that used magnetic resonance imaging to focus on the brains of volunteers on THC, the authors noted that many had altered blood flow to the cerebellum, which most likely play a role in our sense of time.

Limitations on what sort of marijuana research is allowed make it particularly difficult to study this sort of effect.

A case of the munchies is no figment of the imagination — both casual and heavy marijuana users tend to overeat when they smoke.

Marijuana may effectively flip a circuit in the brain that is normally responsible for quelling the appetite, triggering us to eat instead, according to a recent study of mice.

It all comes down to a special group of cells in the brain that are normally activated after we have eaten a big meal to tell us we’ve had enough. The psychoactive ingredient in weed appears to activate just one component of those appetite-suppressing cells, making us feel hungry rather than satisfied.

Many doctors say that weed can mess with your memory by changing the way your brain processes information, but scientists still aren’t sure exactly how this happens. Still, several studies suggest that weed interferes with short-term memory, and researchers tend to see more of these effects in inexperienced or infrequent users than in heavy, frequent users.

Importantly, in most cases, saying cannabis is connected to an increased risk doesn’t mean marijuana use caused that risk. Scientists can’t say for sure whether marijuana causes depression or depressed people are simply more likely to smoke. But one study from the Netherlands suggests that smoking weed could raise the risk of depression for young people who already have a special serotonin gene that could make them more vulnerable to depression. Those findings are bolstered by which found moderate evidence that cannabis use was linked to a small increased risk of depression. Get a Florida medical marijuana card.

The post Effects of Marijuana on the Body and the Brain appeared first on NHSOF MD.