With 31 states (plus Gaun, Potranco, and Washington DC) recognizing the legality of marijuana
as a medical treatment research into its vast uses is becoming more common. Marijuana
shows a lot of potential as a treatment for a variety of symptoms and ailments. In fact, recent
testing shows Alzheimer’s stopped by marijuana treatment. That being said marijuana and
cannabis related extracts are still relatively new as a treatment so more uses are being
discovered every day and testing is ongoing.  

medical marijuana Testing currently shows marijuana can be used to treat many different symptoms that reduce your quality of life. Senior care directories such as the ALC www.assistedlivingcenter.com have also started looking into the effectiveness of marijuana as an Alzheimer’s treatment.

Here is a further look a marijuana’s use as a medical treatment and the positive effects it has shown as an Alzheimer’s treatment in particular.  

Symptoms Treatable By Marijuana And Current Medical Testing Results

  • Cancer Treatment Induced Nausea: the chemotherapy treatments used in cancer
    recovery often cause nausea in patients. Cannabis has shown to be an effective
    treatment and better than some currently prescribed methods. Side effects should be
    carefully monitored however.
  • Reduction In Appetite: many people suffer from appetite reduction due to illness or as
    a side effect of a prescription drug regimen. As increased hunger is a common effect of
    marijuana use it shows potential as a treatment for conditions where the appetite has
    been suppressed. Current medical studies are not high quality though and lack in size to
    come to a decisive conclusion.   
  • PTSD: the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms with medical marijuana
    is showing positive results in medical trials. At this time there’s simply not enough data to
    come out a concise conclusion, but current results are promising.   
  • Pain Reduction: as a pain treatment medical marijuana has shown effective results in
    the treatment of long-term pain caused by peripheral neuropathy. However, the pain
    relief is noted to be somewhat limited and works best as part of a larger treatment
    program. It is also noted to be a safe treatment and likely less dangerous than opiods inmedical marijuana
    terms of side effects and long term addiction.  
  • Multiple Sclerosis (MS): as a treatment for MS and other nerve related ailments current results are still not clearly defined. However, current trials show that medical cannabis may reduce the muscle spasticity that is common with neurological ailments and
    conditions. 

Naturally, as with any medical treatment side effects should be carefully considered. As medical marijuana is still a new treatment more data will be required. However, at this stage collected
information shows side effects to be relatively mild. These include increased hunger, possible dizziness, tiredness, psychoactive effects, and an increased heart rate. It is noted that side effects decrease once tolerance is built up by a user.

Marijuana and Alzheimer’s Treatment

Marijuana as a treatment for Alzheimer’s shows many positive results. When added to a
patient’s existing medical regimen the following results have been observed.

  • The THC in cannabis has been found to reduce amyloid beta protein build up. This
    plaque buildup is a sign of the progression of Alzheimer’s and the advancement of its
    symptoms. THC blocks the enzyme that causes amyloid beta protein build-up which in
    turn stops it from damaging nerve cells.
  • Medical cannabis can help reduce many of the associated side effects Alzheimer’s
    causes in patients. These include insomnia, aggression, depression, and anxiety. Such
    symptoms greatly affect your quality of life and even reducing the side effects
    Alzheimer’s can greatly help those coping with the condition.
  • While still in early in study some research shows that Cannabidiol (CBD) may help in the
    treatment of the cognitive deficits Alzheimer’s causes. Most impressively CBD has
    shown that it not only prevents such cognitive decline but may in fact help reverse
    existing symptoms and stimulate recovery.   

Final Thoughts and Considerations

As a medical treatment marijuana/cannabis appears to be a worthwhile addition to existing
medical treatment regimens and prescriptions. That being said more data is required as long-
term results, small sample groups, biases, and other issues affect current trials. This is to be
expected as newer treatment methods require prolonged testing to build up repeatable results
and come to accepted and repeatable outcomes. Current results (new as they are) show a great
deal of potential as an effective treatment.