Which Diseases Does MMJ Treat?

Thirty years ago, scientists in Siberia discovered the mummy of a woman who had been buried with leavings of cannabis pollen. They concluded that she died of breast cancer, and that she used the weed to treat it. Their find proved humans have been consuming medical pot for at least 2,500 years.

A lot has changed in the meantime, including our understanding of marijuana and its role in treating disease. But what exactly do we know about MMJ? Which conditions does it treat best? Here is a completely non-exclusive list of diseases that are known to respond to cannabis.

HIV/AIDS

HIV is much more survivable than it used to be. In the early years of the AIDS crisis, a diagnosis was a death sentence. Now, patients routinely live full lives on a complex regimen of medications, including weed. Among its benefits, it increases appetite (the “munchies”) and fights the wasting often associated with this disease.

Cancer

Doctors have been using pot to alleviate the side effects of cancer therapies for decades. Radiation and chemotherapy frequently cause intense nausea, vomiting, and pain, all treatable with marijuana. But we now also know that weed may kill off tumor cells, meaning it could play a key role in defeating some forms of cancer entirely.

Multiple Sclerosis

MS is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease, and though there is no cure, cannabis is one of several medications that can make a critical difference in reducing symptoms. The drug helps ease the pain and muscle spasms that define the disorder, and is covered by MMJ in most states that allow the drug.

Seizure Disorders

Medicinal cannabis has a strong track record in treating certain forms of intractable epilepsy. For reasons that still aren’t clear, a chemical in marijuana known as CBD can dramatically reduce the number and severity of convulsions patients experience. It’s especially useful for children with treatment-resistant epilepsy, a fact that has spurred medical weed laws in more than a dozen states.

Chronic Pain

Pain is the No. 1 reason Americans use pot as medicine. There’s still plenty of debate over just how effective this form of treatment is, but millions of patients swear by it. States have been slow to add chronic pain to their lists of qualifying conditions, but the science behind pot as a painkiller is growing stronger.

Crohn’s Disease

Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes discomfort, pain, and digestive problems. For some patients these symptoms can be disabling. Researchers have established that marijuana is effective in improving appetite, fighting insomnia, and even sending Crohn’s into remission. What’s more, it does this with only limited side effects.

Tourette’s Syndrome

Several mental illnesses are thought to respond to MMJ, including anxiety, mood disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. But the drug is particularly helpful in treating Tourette’s syndrome, a neuropsychiatric disease typified by physical tics and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Repeated studes have shown weed can reduce these symptoms without serious adverse effects.

Which Diseases Does MMJ Treat?