What is Medical Cannabis?

Medical cannabis is use of the whole, unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts for the purpose of treating the symptoms of a variety of illnesses and other health conditions.

Is Medical Cannabis FDA Approved?

Cannabis as a medicine has not been approved or recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, there are currently two medications derived from the marijuana plant that have been approved by the FDA. The organization has agreed with the results of a scientific study of cannabinoids, which are the chemicals in marijuana. Two medications in pill form containing cannabinoid chemicals have been FDA-approved. Due to the many medical benefits that marijuana has proven to provide, it is reasonable to expect that the FDA will approve more in the future. At this point, there haven’t been a sufficient number of large-scale clinical trials conducted by the FDA to prove that benefits of medical marijuana outweigh risks.

What are cannabinoids?

Cannabinoids are a group of active compounds in marijuana. They are the component of marijuana responsible for users “getting high.” Cannabinoids are also the reason medical cannabis is effective at treating a range of symptom-related physical ailments.

The human brain also creates naturally occurring cannabinoids that are very similar to cannabis. In addition, throughout our body in other organs besides the brain, we have cannabinoid receptors that are activated by the cannabinoid in marijuana.

What physical ailments does medical marijuana effectively treat?

The following are among the conditions that can be relieved or improved with medical marijuana:

  • Cancer
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Chronic seizures
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Glaucoma
  • Epilepsy
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Terminal illnesses

As evidence has continued to mount up that medical cannabis provides numerous health benefits, it makes less and less sense that it isn’t legalized throughout the U.S.