Is medical marijuana reliable and effective? 

For decades, scientists and advocates have studied and argued over the possible therapeutic benefits of marijuana and its constituents. In certain preparations, THC has shown to provide therapeutic effects. The FDA has approved two THC-based drugs, dronabinol (Marinol®) and nabilone (Cesamet®), both of which are taken orally and are used to relieve nausea in cancer chemotherapy patients and to increase appetite in AIDS patients, respectively. 

There are also a number of other cbd for low back pain that have received regulatory approval or are now in clinical testing. For the treatment of spasticity and neuropathic pain associated with multiple sclerosis, the mouth spray nabiximols (Sativex®) combines THC with another component present in marijuana called cannabidiol (CBD). 

For the treatment of Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, two kinds of severe pediatric epilepsy, the FDA also approved a liquid medicine containing CBD called Epidiolex®. Patients are receiving it in a consistent dosage form and via a repeatable route of delivery to maximize the likelihood that they will get the desired effects. In contrast to THC, CBD has no intoxicating effects. 

These drugs contain refined compounds derived from or based on those in the cannabis plant and are generally considered more therapeutically promising than using the complete cannabis plant or its crude extracts by researchers. There are many obstacles that must be overcome in order to develop medications from botanical sources like the marijuana plant. It can be challenging to formulate a product with exact and consistent amounts of the hundreds of active compounds that may be present in botanicals. The negative consequences of smoking marijuana and the cognitive impairment caused by THC are only two of the many issues that arise when cannabis is used medicinally. But an increasing number of states have authorized the medical use and distribution of marijuana and its derivatives for a wide variety of ailments. 

Concerns concerning the long-term effects of "medical marijuana" use in vulnerable populations, such as the elderly or those with preexisting conditions like cancer, AIDS, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, or neurological disorders, are another issue. More study is needed to discover if those whose health has been affected by disease or its treatment (such as chemotherapy) are more likely to experience negative health effects as a result of marijuana usage. 

Effects of Medical Marijuana Laws on Opioid Prescriptions 

A new study stresses the need of investigating the link between medical marijuana laws and opioid overdose deaths, but warns against making any hasty conclusions. Initial studies revealed a possible link between the availability of medical marijuana and the rate of deaths caused by opioid painkiller overdoses. In particular, a 2014 study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) indicated that between 1999 and 2010, the fatality rate from opioid analgesic overdoses was lower in states with medical cannabis legislation than in areas without such laws.