1. Appetite loss: A small 2011 study published in the Annals of Oncology found that THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, appears to help trigger the appetite of patients with advanced cancer
2. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Sufferers of IBD (including forms such as colitis and Crohn’s disease) experience inflammation of their digestive tracts and cannabis may help ease their symptoms, with various uncontrolled and observational studies showing improved sleep and appetite, reduced need for steroid treatments, and increased chance of remission.
3. Bladder cancer: An 11-year study of 83,000 people who smoked either pot or cigarettes or both revealed that marijuana decreased a person’s risk of bladder cancer.
4. Diabetes: University of Nebraska researchers found that current cannabis users had significantly healthier levels of insulin than nonusers — a key finding for diabetics, who need insulin to regulate their blood sugar.
5. Migraines: Though cannabis has been used, primarily orally, to treat migraine pain for “1,500 years,” Backes notes in his book, only recently did a study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, describe the hopeful connection between the plant and the “endocannabinoid” system, the center of the brain where pot works its magic.
6. Multiple Sclerosis: In April a review by the American Academy of Neurology found that certain forms of medical marijuana (spray, oral) helped treat symptoms of MS, including spasticity, pain and overactive bladder.
7. Nausea: It sounds counterintuitive, but pot works better than standard anti-nausea drugs in alleviating the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, according to a 2008 review of cannabinoid drugs synthesized in the lab published in the European Journal of Cancer Care.
8. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Recent clinical research supported a conclusion that smoking cannabis is associated with 75 percent reduction of PTSD symptom reduction in some patients, yet clinical trials are still needed.
9. Neuropathic pain: Burning sensations in the nerves are classic symptoms of this chronic pain syndrome and marijuana alleviates them more effectively than almost all other types of drug treatments, according to the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California.
10. Seizures: Though controlled-trial evidence is lacking and use for seizures is highly debated, a recent series of articles published in “Epilepsia” examines the hopeful experiences of some parents using medical marijuana, particularly cannabis oil, to treat severe forms of epilepsy, such as Dravet syndrome, in their children.
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