Marijuana; So Many Uses

We are all familiar with the Marijuana plant but because of its use as a recreational drug, no one can fully appreciate the many purposes associated with this plant. It was not until recently that scientists began to admit that this plant indeed has a place in the medical community because of its unique properties.

Anyone who has tried to grow the plant knows that it is easy to grow; it is frost tolerant, requires no pesticides or herbicides, and can reach heights of twenty feet at maturity. One acre will produce as much paper as two to four acres of trees.

Marijuana seeds can be used to make a gluten free, vegan milk. That’s right; hemp milk is organic and filled with vitamins and minerals. Shelled marijuana seeds combined with water in a blender and perhaps a little vanilla flavoring or honey to suit your taste will produce organic milk.

The Marijuana plant can be used to make clothing, food products, crafts, jewelry, handbags, personal care items, various fabrics (linen, silk, canvas, cotton, twills), rope, guitar straps, yarn, sweaters, furniture, towels and so much more.

Marijuana has been hotly debated as a treatment for various diseases. Cancer has plagued man, beast, and even plants since the beginning of time. Cancer is the presence of abnormal cell growth. These cells may grow in the form of a tumor. The medical term is neoplasm. Although your doctor may discover a neoplasm, it may not necessarily be cancer. In this instance, it is called a benign tumor. If the cells are cancerous then the tumor is malignant. It also depends on when the tumor is discovered and where it is located in the body as to whether or not it is operable.

If the tumor is malignant these cells can spread to surrounding healthy tissue. This is called metastasis. This is the process whereby the cancer cells begin to invade, multiply and spread via the blood stream and lymph system. Your doctor will remove the cancerous tissue and recommend chemotherapy and radiation to stop the spread of the cancerous cells that remain in the outer regions of the healthy tissue.

There are many forms of cancer and it spreads through the body via the circulatory system; the bloodstream and the lymph nodes. Your treatment depends on what stage of cancer you are in at the time of diagnosis.

When lymph nodes are in a diseased state it is difficult for them to function, and that is why they enlarge with fluid, get backed up and are hard to the touch. The lymphatic system simultaneously carries nutrients to and filters waste products from blood cells. Lymph nodes are located under the arm pits, groin, neck, chest, and abdomen.

Cancer patients, after having been exposed to radiation or chemotherapy, suffer nausea and vomiting. In addition to the reaction of the after affects of treatment exposure, many of these patients are diagnosed with clinical depression. A study was conducted showing that cancer patients were losing weight as a result of chemotherapy treatment and not as a direct cause of the underlying cancer diagnosis. A clinical trial was started called the Marijuana Policy Project. Its primary focus was to reverse the weight loss and clinical depression in cancer patients and to assist AIDS patients.

The results of the study had unexpected results. A synthetic version of THC was administered to participants called “dronabinal”; the main psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. This drug relieved nausea and increased appetite. As an unexpected side effect, AIDS patients and cancer patients began to gain weight and the drug relieved nausea in them as well. The drug also showed remarkable ability to relieve pain associated with cancer.

Marijuana was also synthesized to assist multiple sclerosis patients. In its raw form, ingested or smoked it can only do more harm than good. (Please see my article on Marijuana and Multiple Sclerosis) However pharmaceutical companies have approved a drug called Sativex for Multiple Sclerosis which is made from THC. It is administered as an oral spray and alleviates neuropathic pain, spasticity, overactive bladder, and other symptoms. Diabetic patients also suffer from neuropathic pain and this treatment may be of benefit to them as well.

I was a multiple sclerosis and cancer patient, and I would have tried anything to have relieved the symptoms I was experiencing. There has got to be a better way!