Page 37 - Time Special Edition Alternative Medicine (January 2020)

Marijuana is still

classified as a Schedule I

drug in the United States.

But some researchers

who study the complex

chemistry of cannabis

argue that the label does

not match the science.

search on the health impacts of cannabis since 1999.
Its finding? Marijuana can bring about therapeu-
tic effects for a number of ailments, especially pain.
And the drug looks promising for more than just
pain. For adults with multiple-sclerosis- related
muscle spasms, the researchers noted, there was
substantial evidence that short-term use of man-
made cannabinoid-based medications lessened
symptoms. And for people with cancer, certain

oral cannabinoids were effective at preventing
chemotherapy-induced vomiting and nausea.
“No one has died from an overdose of cannabis,”
says Donald Abrams, a professor of clinical medi-

While he was co-owner of the cine at the University of California, San Francisco,
Northwest Patient Resource Center who has studied the health effects of marijuana and
medical-marijuana dispensary, Jake was on the committee that conducted the review.
Dimmock worked with flowering “There’s abundant evidence that it is a useful inter-
plants in a grow room in Seattle. vention for chronic pain, and we may see it’s useful

in harm reduction.”
Cannabis’s potential in reducing pain has led
some experts to recommend it as an alternative to
But this transformation has not been seamless. addictive painkillers, such as opioids. Since 1999,
Not all scientists can afford to do this research, which overdose deaths in the U.S. involving opioids (pre-
in addition to applying for approval requires special scription painkillers and heroin) have increased

security systems, safes and other expensive proto- sixfold. A 2015 analysis published in the Jour-
cols. Devinsky says his team still wants to know if nal of the American Medical Association reported
CBD is helpful for other people with epilepsy and a 30% or more reduction in pain from cannabi-
whether the types of compounds and oils that peo- noids, compared with a placebo. Studies suggest
ple are buying from state dispensaries are safe and that cannabinoids interact with receptors in pain
effective. Unfortunately, that type of research is im- centers in the brain and spinal cord and may have
possible under the current system. anti- inflammatory effects. States that have legal-

In the meantime, research is continuing to show ized medical marijuana have seen drops in opioid-
that medical cannabis has value. In January 2017, related deaths.
the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering What’s interesting is the effect that legal med-
and Medicine released a committee review of all re- ical marijuana has on doctors’ prescriptions. In a

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