5 Medical Cannabis Health Benefits Backed By Science

 Medical Marijuana in Florida is becoming more readily available each day and for a good reason: it’s giving people actual relief from debilitating medical conditions they are suffering from. With the help of a Florida Medical Marijuana Doctor, residents can apply for state approval to allow them to legally purchase medical cannabis products from a licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MMTC).

In Florida specifically, there is a list of approved medical conditions that make one eligible for a medical marijuana recommendation. While there are many different ones that have been approved and have anecdotal evidence to back the claims, science-based research is finally supporting a few of the approved conditions. Here are five medical cannabis health benefits backed by science.

Medical Marijuana Helps Curb Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain is one of the top reasons people are turning to medical marijuana.  Studies and observational reports have shown that over 80% of patients enrolled in clinical trials and/or with a medical cannabis card indicate “severe pain” as the reason for use.29 In addition, evidence proposes that some individuals with chronic pain are substituting the use of opiates with cannabis.

Cannabis is an effective option to treat pain based on its behavior with both CB1 and CB2 receptors. CB receptor agonists cause antinociceptive and antihyperalgesic effects by regulating inflammatory activity. In a recent review of current data on the health effects of cannabinoids, the National Academies of Sciences determined that adult chronic pain patients who were treated with cannabis were more likely to experience a clinically noteworthy decrease in pain symptoms. Studies also imply some efficacy for cancer-related pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, and other pain conditions.[5,6].

CBD and THC Help Prevent Cancer from Spreading

Several researchers have proposed that cannabinoids and endocannabinoids directly inhibit tumor growth both in vitro and in animal tumor models through many different pathways The inhibition of tumor growth and progression of several types of cancers have been demonstrated by natural and synthetic cannabinoids, endocannabinoids, endocannabinoid analogs, endocannabinoid transport inhibitors, and endocannabinoid degradation inhibitors. These include cancers such as glioma, glioblastoma, colon carcinoma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, and lymphoid tumors.

Additionally, cannabinoid receptor levels are a major determinant of the effects of endocannabinoids. CB1 receptors show an increase in expression when treated with agonists in several cancer cell lines; however, in normal tissue, these agonists decrease CB1 receptor expression. This difference could be a way by which normal cells are protected from the pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects of cannabinoid agonists. It has also been shown that THC induces apoptosis (the death of cells that occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism’s growth or development.) in several human cancer cell lines while sparing non-transformed cell lines.

Other preliminary studies on aggressive brain tumors in mice and cell cultures are demonstrating that both THC and CBD can slow, and even shrink tumors at the right dose. A study done in 2014 found that cannabis can significantly slow the growth of the type of brain tumor associated with 80% of malignant brain cancer in people.

Medical Marijuana Treats Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Studies are also suggesting that patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease and could benefit from marijuana use. In 2010, researchers at the University of Nottingham found that various cannabinoids interact with cells in the body that play an important role in gut function and immune responses.

The body makes compounds that are similar to THC that increases the permeability of the intestines, allowing bacteria in. The cannabinoids in marijuana block these compounds, making the intestinal cells bond together tighter and become less permeable. In more simple terms, cannabis helps block off bacteria and other compounds that cause inflammation in the intestines.

It Eliminates Nightmares

Studies have shown that marijuana disturbs sleep cycles by interrupting the later stages of REM sleep. Nightmares and other dreams occur during specific phases of the sleep cycle, so interrupting this REM sleep prevents dreams from happening. 

For those people suffering from chronic nightmares, especially those associated with PTSD, this can be helpful, perhaps in the short term. Nightmares and other dreams occur during those same stages of sleep. By interrupting REM sleep, many of those dreams may not occur. Research using a synthetic cannabinoid similar to THC showed a significant decrease in the number of nightmares in patients with PTSD.

Decreases Seizures for Epileptic Patients

Epilepsy is considered to be one of the most common non-communicable neurological diseases and approximately one-third of patients with epilepsy have seizures that are resistant to traditional antiepileptic medications. Studies have been done on cannabis’s potential to help manage seizures for years. 

In 1980, Cunha et al. conducted a double-blinded trial with 15 patients suffering from secondary generalized epilepsy. Out of those studied, eight were included in the treatment group and seven were included in the placebo group. Each patient in the treatment group received 200–300 mg of CBD daily for a period of 8 to 18 weeks. Four of the patients in the treatment group were seizure-free while three had partial improvement and the remaining one did not have any effect.

A few years ago, in 2017, Devinsky et al. conducted a study on 120 patients with epilepsy. Out of those patients, 61 were in the CBD group and 59 were given placebos over 14 weeks. Of those in the CBD group, 43% had a decrease in seizure frequency and 5% were completely seizure-free. 

Getting Approved for a Florida Medical Marijuana Card

If you have a qualifying condition and want to get your Florida Medical Marijuana Card, then the staff of the Dillon dispensaries encourages you to book a risk-free consultation with one of compassionate board-certified Marijuana Doctors today. In addition to those five, the following debilitating conditions will also pre-qualify you for a card: 

• Glaucoma
• HIV/AIDS
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)

• Medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to the others listed.
• A terminal condition diagnosed by a physician other than the qualified physician issuing the physician certification.
• Chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualifying medical condition and persists beyond the usual course of that qualifying medical condition.

Besides having one of these health concerns, a person must also meet the below-listed requirements.

• Be a permanent or seasonal Florida resident
• Be entered into the Medical Marijuana Use Registry
• Obtain a Medical Marijuana Use Registry Identification Card