Is Medical Marijuana, the new remedy for Inflammatory Diseases

Inflammation, a natural healing process that too often goes wrong

-Dr. W. Rivers

Inflammation is the process by which our body protects itself from bacterial and viral attacks by producing white blood cells (WBCs). It is a biological response to cellular damage caused due to infections like a toothache, ankle twisting, cuts due to shaving, etc. There are four main signs of inflammation- swelling, redness, pain, and warmth. Joint pain, redness, joint stiffness, swollen joints, loss of joint function, chills, fever, headaches, loss of energy or fatigue, muscle stiffness, loss of appetite are some of the other signs and symptoms.

Inflammation is a part of the autoimmune system of the human body since it is a reaction to illness or injury. Some inflammatory diseases like arthritis need medicines to boost the damaged autoimmune system to relieve pain. Other diseases that cause inflammation are Bronchitis — bronchial inflammation, Cystitis — bladder inflammation, Dermatitis — skin inflammation, Otitis media – infection of the middle ear.

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Persistence of inflammation for an extended period of time may eventually lead to a number of serious diseases and conditions, including Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and some types of cancer.

There are many lines of treatment for inflammatory conditions including surgery, medications, exercise, and diet.

Medical marijuana has been recently proposed as  another line of treatment for certain chronic inflammatory diseases. It contains cannabinoids, like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) abd cannabidiol (CBD), that have been reported to relieve chronic inflammation and curtail the pain associated with inflammatory-related diseases.

READ: Can Cannabis Help Relieve Chronic Inflammation?

History

Cannabis sativa has been known to be used for medicinal purposes for over 6,000 years. During ancient times, physicians relied on cannabis to treat a variety of ailments, including inflammatory diseases.

Research has suggested that CBD, the most abundant non-intoxicating constituent of the cannabis plant, exerts anti-inflammatory effects in various disease models.

Experts have explained that chronic inflammation is caused by abnormal behavior in the immune system and can lead to tissue, joint, and organ damage. Marijuana appears to acts as a powerful drug at reducing chronic inflammation associated with a variety of diseases.

Studies also show it can alleviate pain and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis in humans. Researchers have suggested that CBD does not work like typical pain medicines affecting the central nervous system, rather, it works at the neuro-synapse.

Dr. M. Rajesh explains, “Our results suggest that CBD, which has recently been approved for the treatment of inflammation, pain, and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis in humans, may have significant therapeutic benefits against diabetic complications and atherosclerosis.”

READ: 12 Ways Cannabis Helps Multiple Sclerosis

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Benefits of Medical Marijuana

If conventional pharmacological solutions are ineffective in reducing pain, medical marijuana may be an option to help treat symptoms.

The emphasis now is on evolving attitudes to explore how cannabis can be used to treat and reduce the severity of symptoms associated with inflammatory diseases like atherosclerosis, the chronic inflammatory disease and a major risk factor of heart attacks and strokes, and at reducing airway inflammation related to the flu virus. Cannabinoids have demonstrated success at reducing atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaque builds up inside the arteries and is linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Katz, a pioneering Israeli researcher said,

“Nowadays, cannabis is mostly known for its psychotropic effects and its ability to relieve pain, even though there is evidence of cannabis use for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis centuries ago. The pharmacological therapy in autoimmune diseases is mainly based on immunosuppression of different axes of the immune system while many of the drugs have major side effects. “

Another study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has found that medical cannabis can be used to decrease the intensity of pain associated with arthritis and improve sleep. It also offers a new therapeutic strategy to address inflammatory bowel diseases as well.

Cannabis is being used to address a range of issues including fibromyalgia, endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, and most other conditions where the final common pathway is chronic pain. In particular, medical marijuana may ease the pain of multiple sclerosis, and nerve pain in general. It may lessen the tremors in Parkinson’s disease.

READ: How to Make Small Batch Cannabis Oil

Conclusion

Cannabis has become a big focus for the medical community. Further research is needed as more patients are starting to use marijuana as a medicine.

Cannabis is not a cure for anything, but it may help address some of the issues that accompany inflammatory diseases. Patients should consult their licensed health care providers before adding cannabis to their healthcare routine.

READ: How to Use Marijuana: Methods of Cannabis Consumption

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How Stress Damages the Body

Stress causes inflammation.  Inflammation damages the body.  Low-levels of chronic inflammation–or chronic stress–drastically increases our risk for many diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s.

Not only does research show that low doses of marijuana lowers stress, but marijuana also fights inflammation.

READ More: How Cannabis Reduces Inflammation

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Foods Can Fight Inflammation

There are foods that are high in antioxidants.  Antioxidants fight inflammation by removing the free radicals that cause cell damage.  Cannabis is a powerful antioxidant.  Aside from the anti-inflammatory of marijuana oil, these weed cookies contain a variety of other foods that have anti-inflammatory power.

I’m always looking for ways to incorporate anti-inflammatory foods into my diet.  These cannabis cookies are ideal because they’re loaded with anti-inflammatory foods like oats, ginger, cranberries and dark chocolate.  But the real stress-busting power in these weed cookies comes from cannabis.

Weed Cookies Fight Inflammation & Are Also Delicious

Maybe a little too delicious.  Use caution!  Don’t be tempted into eating more than one of these weed cookies until you’ve determined how strong they are.  I nearly had a green-out when I made these.

Cranberry, Cannabis & Chocolate-Chip Weed Cookies

Weed Cookie Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cannabis infused coconut oil (Tutorial: How to Make Cannabis Oil)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup oat flour (I make my own by running oats through my Nutri-bullet)
• 1 1/2 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Weed Cookie Directions:

• Cream together brown sugar and coconut oil
• Mix in egg & vanilla
• Add dry ingredients until combined
• Fold in dried cranberries & dark chocolate chips
• CHILL dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or your cookies will be flat)
• Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to brown (the center may still appear moist)

Makes 24 weed cookies

Weed Cookie Dosing:

How strong your weed cookies are, depends on how strong your cannabis oil is.  For this recipe, one teaspoon of cannabis oil was equivalent to one dose.  There are 24 teaspoons in a half cup. So in this version, one of these weed cookies was equal to one dose.  If your oil is stronger, your cookies will be stronger.

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