14 DAY TRIAL // According to a recent investigation whose findings were published in today's issue of the journal Neurology, medical marijuana can prove a valuable tool when it comes to treating some of the symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis, otherwise known as MS.
Thus, evidence indicates that, when administered in the form of pills or oral sprays, medical marijuana can help reduce both stiffness and muscle spasms in the case of multiple sclerosis patients.
Besides, it appears that, when given marijuana in the form of pills and oral sprays, multiple sclerosis patients experience less pain as a result of muscle spasms, less painful burning and numbness, and their bladder ceases to be overactive.
The trouble is that, although it can provide some relief, the use of medical marijuana to treat multiple sclerosis patients can foster some rather unpleasant side effects. Specifically, scientists claim that the use of this drug can affect both thinking and memory.
“It's important to note that medical marijuana can worsen thinking and memory problems, and this is a concern, since many people with MS suffer from these problems already due to the disease itself,” explained Dr. Barbara Koppel, as cited by Live Science.
The researchers saying that medical marijuana administered as pills or oral sprays can treat certain multiple sclerosis symptoms base their claims on information collected while reviewing the findings of over 30 studies on this drug, the same source informs.
These studies focused on assessing how people diagnosed with various conditions responded to treatment with medical marijuana, and comparing these patients' responses to the ones documented in the case of folks administered placebo.
The side effects associated with medical marijuana use as part of these over 30 investigations included nausea, weakness, mood changes, sometimes suicidal thoughts and hallucinations. What's more, it appears that one patient passed away during a seizure, possibly because of the treatment they were on.
Although medical marijuana might bring some comfort to multiple sclerosis patients, it appears that it has little or no effect when it comes to treating folks suffering either with Parkinson's disease or with other neurological disorders.
Researchers say that, all things considered, it might not be such a bad idea for the scientific community to continue experimenting with and studying medical marijuana and the like. “Cannabinoids should be studied as other drugs are, to determine their efficacy and, when evidence is available, should be prescribed as other drugs are,” they wrote in their paper in the journal Neurology.