Talking to your doctor about medical cannabis is not always easy. If you are interested in using marijuana for medicinal purposes and wish to discuss the matter with your physician, check out the following tips: Be Serious – Do not try to use unnecessary justifications to get a recommendation so that you get high legally. Marijuana […]
Cannabis can treat a number of medical conditions, but by far the most common affliction listed on medical marijuana patient applications is pain. Of the 93,095 active patients on the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry, 86,317 — nearly 93 percent — listed severe pain as a qualifying condition, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health […]
In the push for cannabis legalization, the link between cannabis and schizophrenia sometimes enters the discussion. Many fear that cannabis increases risk for developing schizophrenia, while others declare its value in helping relieve symptoms of the condition. But what does the research say about the role of cannabis in developing—and potentially treating—schizophrenia? What Is Schizophrenia? […]
Dr. Janice Knox was several years into retirement in Oregon when she was asked to fill in at a “card mill” ― a facility where patients can be diagnosed with conditions that qualify them for a medical card to buy cannabis. This was a few years ago, and public sentiment about medical marijuana wasn’t quite […]
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is actively lobbying Congress to overturn existing law prohibiting federal interference in state medical-marijuana policy. As someone who believes in strong constitutional limits on federal power and the rights of patients to choose, I am deeply disappointed. And as a cancer survivor who wanted the choice for myself, I wonder: Does […]
The American Psychological Association has recently voiced their support for two bipartisan bills that would remove many of the impediments to cannabis research created by the federal prohibition of marijuana. “Major barriers to research are preventing scientists from pursuing the full range of research that is needed to understand the impacts of recreational and therapeutic […]
A recent study thought to be the first of its kind has found that regular cannabis use may make a person less prone to anxiety over time, even when sober. The study, published in the medical journal Psychopharmacology, found that people who use cannabis daily or almost daily had a blunted stress reaction when exposed […]
Earlier this year, singer and actress Olivia Newton-John, revealed that her breast cancer had returned more than 20 years after her original diagnosis. And in a recent interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes, she opened up about the details of her pain—and that she’s been using medical cannabis to deal with it. Originally diagnosed with breast […]
Salk Institute scientists have found preliminary evidence that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other compounds found in marijuana can promote the cellular removal of amyloid beta, a toxic protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease. While these exploratory studies were conducted in neurons grown in the laboratory, they may offer insight into the role of inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease […]
Despite cannabis’ history in folk pharmacopoeias, clinical studies of its medicinal impact remain limited in many areas. Based on some promising early results, researchers are now calling for a closer look at its applications for certain mental health conditions for which more ‘traditional’ treatments have come up short. According to recent studies, the cannabis-derived chemical […]
Up until about eight months ago, walking wasn’t an option for Enedina Stanger. For four years, Stanger was in a wheelchair, in constant pain from a joint condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, or EDS. “Every single joint was affected, they all (dislocated),” Stanger said. After years of missing out on motherhood, she said she finally […]
Ernestine Coon reclined in her hospital bed at The Connecticut Hospice with a colorful blanket covering her legs, watching seagulls soar over the water from her second-floor room. Longtime friends chatted with Coon as the slender, silver-haired grandmother prepared to do something she’d never done in her 70 years: Try marijuana. One year ago, Coon […]
Neuropathy is a generalized term which signifies exhibited symptoms of nerve damage in human beings—neuropathic pain is one of these symptoms. Neuropathy pain arises from a wide variety of sources that all stem from nerve injury, including: “diabetes mellitus…infections, alcoholism, traumatic injuries, autoimmune diseases, medications, infections, tumors, and inherited disorders”. Due to the aforementioned life […]
Medical cannabis consumers reported better “clinically meaningful” health outcomes than non-consumers, and epilepsy sufferers in particular reported health improvements after consuming medical cannabis, according to researchers here. In a survey-based study, users of medical cannabis reported experiencing statistically significant better overall quality of life (QoL), satisfaction with their health, less pain, less anxiety, less depression, […]
One forward-thinking senior living provider is taking an extra step to clear the air around marijuana use by educating its residents about the green, leafy plant—and by permitting its employees to use the drug recreationally. Colorado-based Balfour Senior Living plans to kick off a new “Cannabis 101” lecture series on August 8. The lectures, which […]
It’s become increasingly clear over the past decade that NFL players are at very high risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy. For many people familiar with the research that has been done to date, there’s not much question that this risk is real. That’s why the evidence in a new study published on Tuesday is […]
I wonder what my teenage pot parties would have been like if my friends and I had been consuming cannabis tea instead of smoking joints. I’m sure we’d still have been listening to The Grateful Dead and staring at LP covers (yes, that’s how far I go back). But perhaps we would have been a […]
Fibromyalgia is a chronic debilitating condition that includes symptoms of chronic diffuse pain, sleep disturbance, migraine headaches, fatigue, joint pain and irritable bowel-type symptoms. Patients may have all or just some of these symptoms. Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) is considered a subtype of fibromyalgia. It appears that all patients with these conditions suffer a heightened […]
Many cannabis consumers have experienced the infamous red eye. The eyes are often the most common giveaway after a serious session with a vaporizer. But how does cannabis affect overall eye health? Yet, while some may find the herb’s visible effects on the eyes to be burdensome, there are several surprising ways that cannabis supports […]
Microdosing is a term that seems to be on everyone’s tongue lately, and we’ve covered it extensively in this article. For sexual purposes, you might wonder why microdosing matters, and how to incorporate a microdosing practice into your sex and cannabis experience. For a bit of background, I chatted with Dr. Nick Karas, a sexologist […]
A study just out in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reports that cannabidiol, one of the active compounds in cannabis, reduces monthly convulsive seizure rates in children and young adults with Dravet syndrome by half. Dravet syndrome is an uncommon epilepsy condition that is traced to a genetic source in 8 out of […]
Despite your average Shaggy and Scooby-style stereotypes, researchers believe that cannabis could actually help to sharpen our minds later in life. Researchers at the University of Bonn and Hebrew University have discovered that low, regular doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the main active ingredients or cannabinoids found in marijuana, may help to keep our […]
Throughout the years, the image of the stoner has been associated to foods such as pizza and burgers. The increase in appetite, more popularly called the “munchies”, often hits pot users within a short time after consuming the plant. You would think that with all that eating, people who smoke weed would be in danger […]
Yuval Dal, an Israeli teenager, is luckier than most even though he suffers from Autism. He lives in a country that is quickly becoming the epicenter of cutting-edge research on medical cannabis: Israel. And the most trailblazing scientist conducting this research is also an Israeli, Raphael Mechoulam. In fact, Israel’s Department of Health has its […]
Cannabis is different to prescription medication: in many instances, a medical marijuana dosage is the responsibility of the patient, rather than the prescribing physician. As an MMJ patient, I was required to ‘titrate’ my cannabis dosage without the supervision of a doctor. This means I gradually increased the dosage of my medication until the optimal […]
With ever-increasing costs of conventional healthcare, and continuing issues with insurance coverage, alternative medicine is growing in popularity. Inasmuch as it is still officially denigrated, cannabis is about as “alternative” as it gets. This, despite no shortage of historic references to cannabis, or its extract marijuana (prepared from the dried and crushed flowers and leaves […]
Judging by the over half-million Google search results garnered by it, it’s no doubt that cannabis oil has become a popular topic as of late — especially as a potentially miraculous treatment for any number of devastating conditions like cancer. But what exactly is cannabis oil and are the claims about it too good to […]
Six days before Prince died, the iconic pop star was hospitalized after possibly overdosing on Percocet. His death on April 21 involved overdosing on another painkiller, fentanyl. Both are among the prescription opioids that alleviate the pain of millions of Americans every year—often at the price of their needing ever greater amounts and the risk […]
There is evidence that cannabis use can help those who suffer from high blood pressure, also called hypertension. Hypertension is extremely common; according to the CDC, about one in three adults in the US has it. Given this prevalence, finding ways to manage high blood pressure can help millions of people around the world. Here, […]
In states like California, getting access to medical marijuana is inexpensive and fast. In other states, getting qualified with a doctor could take months and cost hundreds of dollars. Worse still your doctor can’t tell you where to get it, how much you should take, or what strain of cannabis might work best for your […]
When patients with bowel problems ask about cannabis, gastroenterologists need to be prepared with the straight dope. “We get questions from … patients all the time” about medical marijuana, said Adam Cheifetz, MD, director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease [IBD] at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard […]
For new cannabis users there’s more ways to medicate than ever. Not that long ago, most people’s experience with cannabis was little more than asking a friend to get a nondescript bag of buds from that friend with a hookup. Now, there’s a wide range of products available from dried flower to transdermal patches to […]
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia affecting 5.2 million American, two thirds of whom are women. The progressive brain disorder leads to memory loss, seriously impairing a person’s ability to carry out even the most simple daily tasks. If you or someone you know is suffering from the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, […]