The journey towards acceptance of medical marijuana wasn’t easy, or fast at all. On the contrary. In fact, it appears to be like it has taken years, or even decades for the world to recognize its benefits.
Numerous doctors, who were skeptical at first, suddenly started to realize that this plant is in fact very beneficial and is not solely capable of offering relief to patients, but in some instances, to completely resolve a particular health issue.
Of course, it’s completely understandable why a plethora of physicians needed proof for that, but now that they have it, it seems as if medical marijuana has finally received the recognition it deserves.
Dr. Sue Sisley & Medical Marijuana
As I stated in the beginning, many doctors are now embracing medical marijuana as a potential solution to a variety of health issues. One of them is the psychiatrist, Dr. Sue Sisley who works with veterans who are dealing with PTSD.
I recently came across an article where she discusses her journey toward the acceptance of this plant. Just like many others, she wasn’t sure that it is as effective as many stated it is. But since she noticed that most of her patients are feeling even worse after taking several medications to treat different problems that are related to post-traumatic stress disorder, she concluded that something must be done about it.
After talking to a couple of her patients, she noticed that some of them were starting to feel much better. Namely, a lot of them were a lot more present and when she asked them what caused this improvement, she uncovered that all of them were using marijuana.
This was for sure a turn she didn’t expect. That’s probably one of the major reasons why these days, she is giving her all (just like many other of her colleagues) to get CBD flowers approved by the FDA.
Medical Marijuana Cards In The USA
What do we know about it? It represents a state-issued identification card that allows people (who have a physician’s recommendation in their possession) to acquire, cultivate, or own cannabis in order to improve their well-being.
Even though marijuana is illegal on the federal level, twenty-nine states, along with Washington D.C. permit the use of medical marijuana if you suffer from specific health conditions. But first, it would be advisable to check to see if your state allows it so you can get your medical marijuana card.
There are a number of states that have legalized medical marijuana, such as Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Alaska, Delaware, California, etc. However, if you want to know how to get a medical marijuana card in Virginia or in any other state where it’s approved, I would advise you to conduct thorough research so you could provide yourself with some useful information. From what I know, in order to request it, you must register with the Board of Pharmacy.
Bear in mind that you are still obligated to showcase the written certification, as well as a government-issued ID if you want to purchase medical marijuana from Virginia dispensaries. Now, the question is, what medical conditions qualify for the medical use of cannabis?
If you suffer from any of the following medical conditions, then you are allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes:
- Cancer
- HIV Positive
- AIDS
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C
- Crohn’s Disease
- IBD
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
- Agitation of Alzheimer’s Disease
- PTSD
- Nail Patella
- OCD
- Arthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Colitis
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Autism
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Chronic Pain
- Cerebral Palsy
- Cancer
Lots Of People Turn To Medical Marijuana
As more and more countries around the world legalize this plant, it appears to be that a lot of patients are turning to it with the goal to alleviate or even completely get rid of certain health conditions.
What may come as a surprise to some of you (who are still too skeptical about it) is the fact that a lot of these people are either employing medical marijuana as a supplement and some of them have even stopped using prescription drugs and have completely turned to medical cannabis instead.
At least that’s what a researcher from the University of Michigan has concluded. In addition, a recent study (conducted by Daniel Kruger of the U-M Institute for Social Research) has shown that forty-four percent of people who utilize medical marijuana have completely eliminated pharmaceutical drugs they’ve employed or they’ve drastically reduced the dosage in favour of medical marijuana.
And all of this comes as no surprise since a vast majority of these individuals realized that precisely this plant is helping them relieve pain, depression, insomnia, back issues, headaches, and many other health-related problems.
How Does Marijuana Work?
It’s safe to say that our brains are actually “prepared” to respond to cannabis due to the fact that there are specific chemicals in our bodies that “behave” like THC (which represents the psychoactive substance that can be found in marijuana), along with other compounds in marijuana, known as cannabinoids.
Furthermore, cannabinoids that are produced by our bodies or ingested through cannabis react with different receptors in our brains, known as the endocannabinoid system which is linked with memory, appetite, mood, and pain sensation.
So far, scientists have uncovered more than one hundred cannabinoids, however, the pharmacology of most of them still needs to be properly researched.
Are There Any Marijuana-Related Concerns?
Although some people claim that there are, the truth is, there isn’t any proof that shows that there are any long-term damaging effects on people. Of course, this doesn’t apply to kids and adolescents, due to the fact that their brains are still developing.
Namely, one study has shown that people who were using marijuana constantly as teenagers had lower IQs in comparison to their peers, however, since the sample size was pretty small, this doesn’t prove anything.
There’s no denying that there are certain conditions and illnesses for which medical marijuana can be utilized effectively and it’s good that a lot of doctors and their patients have finally concluded that.
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