Marijuana, or the female cannabis plant, has been used by humans since a long time ago. An archeological dig of a grave of a shaman in Central Asia uncovered 2 pounds of cannabis 2700 years old! Cannabis is even found in written and pictorial evidence through many cultures, indicating that it was widely accepted throughout history.
Drug classification halts use
Federal prohibitions against cannabis for therapeutic and recreational use were imposed by the Congress in 1937. Later, its organic compounds – cannabinoids, were classified as Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The classification put cannabis under the same roof as heroin and it was stated that it has high potential for abuse and no currently accepted use in medicine, as well as a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. On the other hand, cocaine and methamphetamine are illegal for recreational use, but are Schedule II drugs, meaning they can be used under doctor supervision. Schedule III and IV drugs include anabolic steroids and Valium, while Schedule V are analgesics with codeine.
In support of therapeutic use
Even today, lawmakers are using the dated classification for cannabis. But, even 75 years after prohibition, researchers are still studying its therapeutic abilities. There have been over 20000 studies and papers on the cannabis plant and its use, yet a third of that is published in the last 4 years. A quick search on PubMed Central (the US library of peer-reviewed scientific research) finds 2100 studies since 2011.
Modern culture is finally catching up on the knowledge of our ancestors. Public opinion is changing, and along with relaxed state legislation, marijuana is starting to get used for a variety of medical issues. In the moment, marijuana for medical purposes is legally present in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
While the debate is heated on both sides, there’s a strong and growing trend of acceptance of marijuana use and it’s related to the growing scientific evidence.
Joycelyn Elders, MD, former US Surgeon General, in 2004 wrote an article named “Myths about medical marijuana” published in the Providence Journal, in which she states that the evidence for marijuana is overwhelming when it’s used to relieve some types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms of serious illnesses or the heavy drugs used to cure them. She continues to say that this is done with remarkable safety, and that marijuana is less toxic than many other drugs used in treatment of some illnesses.
Ray Cavanaugh, MD, National Director of the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis (AAMC), in 2002 wrote this in an article named “The Plight Of The Chronically Ill”, on the AMC website:
“Many of the chronically ill have successfully sought relief with the use of medical cannabis, an age-old remedy that now shows real scientific efficacy. Hundreds of thousands of the sick have replaced disabling narcotics and other psychotropic medications with nontoxic and benign cannabis. The anecdotal evidence is overwhelming. Folks with spinal injuries able to give up their walkers, AIDS patients able to gain weight and keep their medications down, cancer patients finding relief from the terrible nausea of chemotherapy, chronic pain patients once again functional with their consciousness restored from narcotic lethargy, and folks once disabled from crippling psychiatric disorders and addictions, returned to sanity and society with the assistance of a nontoxic herb with remarkable healing powers.”
The ANA (American Nurses Association) in 2004 wrote on the ANA website, recognizing that patients have safe access to marijuana or cannabis. They stated that it has it has been in use for centuries and has shown to be effective when treating illnesses or symptoms.
A research in 2010 on the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research announced findings from a placebo controlled trial on the medical utility of inhaled cannabis. It reported that marijuana should be the first line of treatment for patients suffering from many diseases, mainly neuropathy. The trial was conducted with the FDA gold standard clinical trial design.
Neuropathy is a type of pain usually related with HIV\AIDS, cancer and other conditions. The trial concluded that marijuana use was much better than other medications.
Scientists are continuing their studies on marijuana use. In Germany there have been near 40 controlled studies, with over 2500 subjects on marijuana use in medicinal purposes since 2005, all of them confirming the safety and efficacy of the plant. The FDA on the other hand, approves drugs with far less subjects or studies.
The studies are advancing too. Right now, they are slowly shifting towards modifying the disease rather than alleviate its symptoms. This stems from the evidence that marijuana has shown to slow the onset of Alzheimer’s, and also moderate autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis.
Cannabis and coconut oil
Instead of smoking and inhaling marijuana, there are pills infused in coconut oil, allowing them easy entry into the liver. Coconut oil is used because of its fatty acids which bind well with the cannabinoids. It also has health properties. Half of the fat in coconut oil is made from the lauric acid, a fat not found in nature. Lauric acid has been praised for its healing abilities and is present in mother’s milk. It can actually be found in just 3 sources: butterfat, palm kernel and coconut oil.
In the body, this acid is converted into monolaurin, which is a powerful antiviral, antibacterial and antiprotozoal substance. It’s a monoglyceride, meaning it can destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes or influenza.
Testimony – a success story
While many are still skeptic for marijuana use in medicine purposes, Stan and Barb Rutner are living proof of its properties.
Barb had two fights with breast cancer while Stan was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which disappeared after treatment. However, it reappeared in 2011, when cancerous nodes were found in Stan’s lungs, and later in his brain. A very tough situation. As he went through therapy, Stan and his family found a natural way of improving his quality of life – cannabis. He and Barb too tried it and it worked wonders.
The Rutner’s daughter Corrine and her husband researched a little and found that the cannabis pills infused with coconut oil were the best choice. After just two weeks, Stan stopped using the oxygen tank. Then he gained weight, and become stronger overall. After a few months, his brain cancer was gone!
They are now completely assured that cannabis is an anti-cancer miracle. According to John, the Rutner’s son-in-law, “There is no doubt in my mind that cannabis pulled my father-in-law out of the wasting stages of cancer and enabled him to gain strength and in turn fight this horrible cell malfunction with success. While many would say that the chemo and radiation could have played apart, he would never have lived long enough to find out without cannabis oil.”
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