Readers Write: Will marijuana be like aspirin?

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Internal Medicine in January 2019 said “that U.S. doctors have long advised adults who haven’t had a heart attack or stroke but are at high risk for these events do take a daily aspirin pill as a primary prevention strategy.

Even though there’s clear evidence aspirin works for this purpose, many physicians and patients have been reluctant to follow the recommendations because of the risk of rare but potentially fatal internal bleeding.

Already, guidelines on aspirin for primary prevention of heart disease in the U.S., Europe, and Australia have incorporated a need to balance the potential benefits against the risk of bleeding.

For elderly people, who have a greater risk of bleeding than younger adults, the risk may be too great to recommend aspirin.

And we are only talking about good old aspirin.

Medical marijuana uses the marijuana plant or chemicals in it. It’s basically the same product as recreational marijuana but it is taken for medical purposes, to treat disease or conditions.

The marijuana plant contains more than 100 different chemicals called cannabinoids. Each one has a different effect on the body. THC and cannabidiol are the main chemicals used in medicine. THC also produces the “high” people feel when they smoke marijuana or eat foods containing it.

The FDA has approved two man-made cannabinoid medicines, Marinol and Syndros (dronabinol). This is used to treat nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy. Epidiolex was approved in 2018 for treating seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy.

To get medical marijuana, you need a written recommendation from a licensed doctor in states where that is legal. Not every doctor is willing to recommend medical marijuana for their patients.

You must have a condition that qualifies for medical marijuana use. Each state has their own lists of qualifying conditions. Your state may also require you to get a medical marijuana card. Once you have that card, you can buy medical marijuana at a store called a dispensary.

Today, according to WebMD, marijuana is used to treat the following conditions among others: Alzheimer’s disease, appetite loss, cancer, Crohn’s disease, anorexia, epilepsy, glaucoma, PTSD, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, nausea, cachexia and others, but it has not been proven to help many of these conditions, with few exceptions.

Bonn-Miller says, “The greatest amount of evidence for the therapeutic effects of cannabis relate to its ability to reduce chronic pain, nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, and spasticity, tight or stiff muscles, from multiple sclerosis.

Side effects that have been reported include: bloodshot eyes, depression, dizziness, fast heartbeat, hallucinations, and low blood pressure. The drug can also affect judgment and coordination which could lead to accidents and injuries.

When used surfing the teenage years when the brain is still developing, marijuana might affect IQ and mental function.

I am writing an article about marijuana and comparing it to aspirin.  It seems that aspirin is useful for everything that ails you from blood thinner, to pain from menstrual cramps and everything in between. It may not be a good example but when approved, aspirin or other drugs generally receive approval for particular indications.

Now along comes marijuana and its use in medical conditions is seen by some to be useful in certain conditions and some states decide to legalize it and make lots of money from taxes collected by its use.

What started off as just a few medical indications now has a huge number according to what I read in a report issued by the New York State Department of Health. Under the Compassionate Care Act two-year report ranging from ALS to PTSD and everything in between from cancer to MS.

It seems to me that what was initially limited to a few illness now has so many disease states associated with it, that it may not be too difficult to have a physician prescribe marijuana for a host of issues that may be questionable even if the process seems okay.

We know how many people die each year from too much NSAIDs (Advil like drugs) OTC. Is marijuana ultimately going to end up being the go-to drug for many small or innocuous complains people show up at the doctor’s office for?

Remember, the government okayed Advil at 200 mg strength but most people understand two Advil equals one prescription strength ibuprofen.

On July 7, 2014, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law the Compassionate Care Act to establish a comprehensive medical marijuana program. 18 months later, the first New Yorkers obtained medical marijuana.

The program continues to oversee the manufacture and sale of medical marijuana to ensure that is dispensed and administered in a manner that protects public health and safety.

The World Health Organization, in a report written by Bertha K. Madras, a professor of psychobiology at the Department of Psychiatry in the Harvard Medical School, entitled “An Update of Cannabis and Its Medical Use,” is as follows.

First a disclaimer from the World Health Organization. The professor uses the term cannabis which is defined as the “flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant.” She also uses the term cannabis instead of marijuana unless there is a specific need to refer to its as in “medicinal marijuana.”

The report says “the movement to revive cannabis as a medicine is driven by multiple factors, many beyond the domain of science.

One propellant of the movement is the inadequate relief of current approaches for individuals harboring a number of debilitating chronic diseases or symptoms, including multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and chronic pain.”

More than half of the U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana in some form, and more are considering bills to do the same.

The FDA has only approved it for the treatment of two rare and severe forms of epilepsy. Under current U.S. law, marijuana is in a listing known as a Schedule I, with such other drugs as heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

These drugs are easy to be abused and generally lacking in medical value. WebMD, in an article reviewed by Neil Lava, the FDA considered reclassifying marijuana as a schedule II drug like Ritalin or Oxycodone, but decided to keep it as a schedule I drug but did agree to support additional research on marijuana and make the process easier for the organization

Bertram Drachtman

Great Neck

 

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