Is Marijuana a Natural Health Miracle?

Is marijuana a natural health miracle? The list of benefits continues to grow.

Last month, New Jersey passed a bill allowing chronically ill patients to alleviate their pain legally by smoking marijuana. If anything, New Jersey is beginning to show some common sense.

There is an extensive list of health benefits of taking marijuana. A recent study done by The Scripps Research Institute shows that THC, the chemical responsible for marijuana's "high," can help slow the process of Alzheimer's disease. Other studies show that THC is an effective treatment for nausea, beneficial for patients such as those undergoing chemotherapy. Marijuana also acts as a pain reliever and is often used by patients with multiple sclerosis and glaucoma. Additionally, as Hunter Johnson, 21, points out, when you take Marijuana, "you sleep good, have a good appetite."

Any negative impact of the drug comes from the actual smoke, not the cannabis that produces the benefits. But even the smoke has an advantage. The delivery of marijuana through smoke makes the effects felt by patients within minutes, which is ideal for the treatment of pain or nausea. But smoking marijuana isn't the only way of ingesting it. Read more

Cannabis Mouth Spray Gives Pain Relief for Cancer Victims

Cannabis or medical marijuana can successfully treat a myriad of conditions and diseases without the typical side effects that prescription pharmaceuticals may have. One new use is a cannabis mouth spray that reduces pain in cancer patients who were not helped by morphine or other pain relievers.

Cancer patients who used a cannabis mouth spray had their pain levels reduced by a third, researchers said today.

The cannabis-based spray, like a mouth freshener, was used on 177 patients by researchers from Edinburgh University.

They found that it reduced pain levels by 30 per cent in a group of cancer patients, all in the Edinburgh area, who had not been helped by morphine or other medicines.

The spray was developed so that it did not affect the mental state of patients in the way that using cannabis would. Read more

THC in Marijuana Kills Brain Cancer Cells

New research suggests that the active ingredient in marijuana kill brain cancer cells. Of course, experts issued the obligatory warning not to smoke pot to fight brain cancer, but some patients are doing it anyway.

New research out of Spain suggests that THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- appears to prompt the death of brain cancer cells.

The finding is based on work with mice designed to carry human cancer tumors, as well as from an analysis of THC's impact on tumor cells extracted from two patients coping with a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Read more

Another Healthful Attribute of Marijuana Discovered

Researchers have discovered another healthful attribute of marijuana: it reduces tumors.

The active ingredient in marijuana appears to reduce tumour growth, according to a Spanish study published on Wednesday.

The researchers showed giving THC to mice with cancer decreased tumour growth and killed cells off in a process called autophagy. Read more

Marijuana for Memory

Is there anything that marijuana isn't good for? scientists are finding new evidence that specific elements in marijuana can be good for the aging brain by reducing inflammation and possibly even stimulating the formation of new brain cells.

It's not as dangerous as scientists think it should be, and it can even be considered medicine. Also, it may affect different people in different ways.

The more researchers study the effects of marijuana, the more evidence scientists find that specific elements in it can be good for the aging brain by reducing inflammation and possibly even stimulating the formation of new brain cells. Development of a legal drug that contains certain properties similar to those in marijuana might help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Though the exact cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown, chronic inflammation in the brain is believed to contribute to memory impairment. Read more

Chemicals in Marijuana May Fight MRSA

Here's another medical use of marijuana that the federal governments prevents Americans from benefiting from because of the so-called War on Drugs. A new study shows that cannabinoids may be useful against drug-resistant staph infections.

Chemicals in marijuana may be useful in fighting MRSA, a kind of staph bacterium that is resistant to certain antibiotics.

Researchers in Italy and the U.K. tested five major marijuana chemicals called cannabinoids on different strains of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). All five showed germ-killing activity against the MRSA strains in lab tests. Some synthetic cannabinoids also showed germ-killing capability. The scientists note the cannabinoids kill bacteria in a different way than traditional antibiotics, meaning they might be able to bypass bacterial resistance.

At least two of the cannabinoids don't have mood-altering effects, so there could be a way to use these substances without creating the high of marijuana. Read more

Cannabis Compound Halts Cancer

A compound found in cannabis may stop brain cancer and breast cancer from spreading throughout the body.

The California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute team are hopeful that cannabidiol or CBD could be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy.

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Maria Leadbeater of Breast Cancer Care said: "Many people experience side-effects while having chemotherapy, such as nausea and an increased risk of infection, which can take both a physical and emotional toll.

"Any drug that has fewer side-effects will, of course, be of great interest." Read more

Cannabis is turning out to be the aspirin of the 21st century--a wonder drug capable of alleviating a wide variety of ailments.

Marijuana Is GOOD for Children

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann interviews a pediatrician from the University of Southern California who explains how medical cannabis can be used to treat ADD in children.