Five uses for medical marijuana

Proponents of medical marijuana have rolled out any number of useful applications from curing cancer to easing boredom. Here are five trial-proven uses for medi-pot:

Chronic pain: In a 2010 study by the Canadian Medical Association Journal, 21 volunteers were tested with three different strengths of cannabis. Subjects smoked a random strain of pot for two months, three times a day in five-day stretches. The upshot of the experiment: The stronger the pot, the more their pain was reduced.

Muscle tension and spasm: A 2004 study by the American Cancer Society found that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who used a liquid extract containing THC and cannabidiol experienced a decrease in muscle spasms and shaking.

Nausea and vomiting: In trials by the National Cancer Institute, two FDA-approved cannabis-based drugs—dronabinol and nabilone—helped reduce chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting in cancer patients.

Loss of appetite: A clinical trial by the National Cancer Institute found that patients with HIV/AIDS and weight loss who took dronabinol (delta-9-THC) had increased appetite and stopped losing weight compared with patients who took a placebo.

Insomnia: According to the National Cancer Institute, studies testing the effectiveness of cannabis show that patients who ingested a cannabis-plant extract spray reported more restful sleep.

Source: Discovery Fit & Health website