As long as cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug there will be limitations on the progress of studies. But the potential payoffs for the effective treatment of disease will spur innovation and the further quest for knowledge of the true therapeutic uses of cannabis medicines.
The information gained from clinical trials as well as research on the application of various combinations and dosages of cannabinoids is showing the promise as well as the shortcomings of cannabis therapies.
While I have extensive clinical experience in the use of cannabis medicines for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases, disorders, syndromes and conditions, I still find it can be an ongoing process to determine the most effective cannabis therapy for each individual patient.
Of particular interest and activity in my practice are neurological conditions brought on or unresolved by traditional pharmaceuticals.
Most recently we are seeing significant progress in cannabis therapies for neuropathic pain, neuroprotection, seizure conditions and acetylcholine deficiencies.
The majority of neuropathic pain patient patients I am treating are female patients who have been given Paclitaxel or Taxol for breast cancer. They are generally experiencing unbearable neuropathic pain along with several co-conditions brought on by the pain and stress. In many cases their cancer is managed or in remission, but their pain and related issues remained unresolved. Most have been prescribed Gabapentin or Neurontin at the onset of pain. CBD has been shown to prevent and reduce or relieve Taxol induced neuropathic pain and many patients respond positively to CBD therapy. We certainly need additional research on chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain and CBD, but in the meantime it has been proven that CBD is extremely safe and offers many other benefits to these patients, including calming effects, and relief of anxiety and insomnia.
As a neuroprotectant, CBD is being used to by the Israeli Defense Forces to limit neurological damage following head trauma. It is also effective in limiting damage following vascular events, such as stroke and myocardial infarction and in the treatment of neuro-degenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Since CBD is essentially non-psychoactive, therapies can be administered at higher dosages without motor impairment or toxicity that may be associated with higher doses of THC.
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