List of conditions that medical marijuana treats

• Cancer is the leading cause of deaths in Canada; it is responsible for 30% of all deaths. Cannabis does not cure cancer but can improve the quality of life for cancer survivors. Cannabis is well documented for addressing the side-effects of chemotherapy of which nausea is one of many. Cannabis is known to stimulate the appetite and thereby assist in the weight gain that can be necessary to a person receiving chemotherapy that has lost weight from the treatment.

• HIV/AIDS treatment has advanced and is enabling persons living with AIDS to do so for longer. However, the treatment that allows them to live longer has some un-pleasant side-effects. Here is where cannabis can be beneficial and help decrease the symptoms that are experienced.

• Arthritis or inflammation of the joint. The term arthritis is an umbrella term and shelters more than 100 types of arthritis. On-going pain that often is present with arthritis is the target of the cannabis plant. The plant has significant analgesic effects which help in suppressing the disease.

• Epilepsy a neurological condition that is characterized by seizures ranging from mild to severe. Marijuana treatment specifically CBD dominant products have been beneficial at reducing the severity and frequency of seizures in children and adults.

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease can bring with it some debilitating side effects. Depression and physical pain that accompanies IBD can be reduced, and health-care providers have credited cannabis with providing noticeable positive changes.

• Insomnia is a sleep disorder that cannabis can be effective in the treatment. Cannabis can induce drowsiness which can improve in the overall sleep pattern of an individual.

• Palliative Care and the use of cannabis can greatly ease pain and relief spiritual suffering that some dying persons experience.

• Multiple Sclerosis affects the spinal cord and the brain. Symptoms can include painful muscle spasms, and marijuana treatment has proven beneficial in reducing the spasticity and pain that some people who have MS experience daily.

• Spinal cord injuries can affect motor skills and sometimes the ability to use several parts of the body. Pain muscle spasm and depression have all been addressed and helped with medical marijuana use.

The benefits of marijuana are still growing. With legalization of cannabis on October 17, 2018, the doors have opened wider to allow human testing and studies on the use and health benefits of cannabis.

To date, it appears that the best documentation on marijuana use is for pain management. Medical marijuana uses include help in the reduction of opioids that are being prescribed by physicians for pain management. This type of pharmaceutical medication is dangerous. It is addictive and can lead to death.

Be smart and discuss with your health provider the addition of cannabis to your medical regime. If you have any of the above-mentioned medical conditions or diseases that medical marijuana can be of benefit to you have that discussion with your health provider.