Page 39 - Time Special Edition Alternative Medicine (January 2020)

The Facts

About Weed

Rx History

1500 B.C. Earliest written reference to marijuana
in Chinese pharmacopeia. The plant’s medicinal
uses were also extolled in records from ancient
India, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome.

1842 Irish physician William O’Shaughnessy’s
clinical studies of cannabis find it to be an
effective muscle relaxant and anticonvulsive.
1860 First U.S. government survey of the
cannabis medical literature reports that the plant
is helpful for pain, bronchitis, venereal disease
and postpartum depression.

1915 Canadian physician Sir William Osler, often
referred to as the “Father of Modern Medicine,”
calls cannabis “the most satisfactory remedy”
for migraines.

1996 California becomes the first state to
legalize cannabis for medical purposes.

By the Numbers

94% of Americans favor legalization of medical
marijuana.
23 conditions qualify for a medical- marijuana
card in Pennsylvania.
Under Study
92% of pediatric oncology providers surveyed
in Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington
said they would help children with cancer get Studies suggest that a compound in
medical marijuana. marijuana might slow the progression of

Alzheimer’s. Other research is looking into
whether marijuana might mitigate brain

damage from stroke or concussions.

Marijuana is often used to treat PTSD, but

not all experts feel that there is sufficient
evidence to support its use for this condition.
Further research is attempting to determine

whether it works and, if so, how.

$165 million was saved in Medicare Studies in Israel show promising results
prescriptions in 2013 by states that had
legalized medical marijuana. in using cannabidiol to treat children with
autism. Preliminary evidence suggests that
44% of patients with a severe type of epilepsy
were helped by a marijuana-based drug called it may help improve social interactions and
Epidiolex; the drug won FDA approval in 2018. reduce repetitive behaviors.