Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Cannabaceae
Marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) has been used for medical purposes for over 12,000 years. Ancient historical pharmaceutical texts dating back some 2,000 years detail the wide variety of uses for this plant that grows throughout the world. Medical uses of cannabis are only now being rediscovered after some eighty years of prohibition in the United States. Canada and Western Europe are advancing quickly in the provision of laws to allow for medical cannabis and new classes of pharmaceuticals based on cannabinoids.
Marijuana(Cannabis sativa) is used for medicinal purposes to those who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses. Cannabis plants as a physician-recommended drug or herbal therapy. It is used as a hard drug. It is used in Supportive Care for Cancer Patients.
The medical uses of marijuana:
Stimulate appetite and alleviate cachexia
Control nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy
Neurological and movement disorders
Decrease intraocular pressure
Analgesia
Today, adjunctive therapy with cannabis is helping patients to cope with the symptoms of diseases and disorders from MS and chronic pain to arthritis and bi-polar disease. The list keeps growing as more research is conducted. Adjunctive therapy means an “additional” or ancillary therapy. Cannabis is not intended to replace primary medical treatments but to compliment them.
Some anticancer drugs cause nausea and vomiting because they affect parts of the brain that control vomiting and/or irritate the stomach lining. The severity of these symptoms depends on several factors, including the chemotherapeutic agent(s) used, the dose, the schedule, and the patient's reaction to the drug(s). The management of nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy is an important part of care for cancer patients whenever it occurs. Although patients usually receive antiemetics, drugs that help control nausea and vomiting, there is no single best approach to reducing these symptoms in all patients. Doctors must tailor antiemetic therapy to meet each individual's needs, taking into account the type of anticancer drugs being administered; the patient's general condition, age, and related factors; and, of course, the extent to which the antiemetic is helpful. There has been much interest in the use of marijuana to treat a number of medical problems, including chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients. Two forms of marijuana have been used: compounds related to the active chemical constituent of marijuana taken by mouth and marijuana cigarettes.
Anorexia, the loss of appetite or desire to eat, is the most common symptom in cancer patients. It may occur early in the disease process or later, in cases where the cancer progresses. Cachexia is a wasting condition in which the patient has weakness and a marked and progressive loss of body weight, fat, and muscle. Anorexia and cachexia frequently occur together, but cachexia may occur in patients who are eating an adequate diet but have malabsorption of nutrients. Maintenance of body weight and adequate nutritional status can help patients feel and look better, and maintain or improve their performance status. It may also help them better tolerate cancer therapy. There are a variety of options for supportive nutritional care of cancer patients, including changes in diet and consumption of foods, enteral or parenteral feeding (delivery of nutrients by tube), and the use of drugs. An NCI-supported study to evaluate the effects of THC and megestrol acetate (a synthetic female hormone) used alone and in combination for treatment-related and cancer-related anorexia and cachexia completed patient accrual earlier this year.
Patients with a history of substance abuse or mental illness require a close consultation with and supervision by a psychiatrist experienced in cannabis therapy. Cannabis has been used by many to actually treat addiction to harder drugs.
