Cosa succede se in viaggio all’estero ci ammaliamo o abbiamo bisogno di assistenza sanitaria? Un vademecum e una app ci informano sui nostri diritti
Quando si viaggia o ci si trasferisce per studio, lavoro o per una vacanza all’estero, è bene essere informati sui diritti e gli obblighi in vigore nel territorio in cui ci si sposta. In particolare, per quanto riguarda la salute, conoscere le linee guida dell’assistenza sanitaria in un Paese diverso dal nostro è una cosa necessaria. Su questo tema, per una maggiore diffusione dell’informazione in modo facile e veloce, il Ministero della Salute ha predisposto una guida interattiva, ora disponibile come APP ed una brochure distribuita nelle ASL, utile alle persone che si spostano per brevi periodi nei vari Paesi del mondo. Ad essere raccolte sono alcune informazioni sull’assistenza sanitaria all’estero che è bene conoscere e avere a portata di mano quando si viaggia oltre…
A Franklin Circuit Court judge on Tuesday asked attorneys for the state why Kentucky should not make medical marijuana available to patients who believe it might help them, given that “we’ve pretty much decriminalized” the drug around much of the nation and even in parts of the state.
Cari lettori, secondo un recente studio che ha seguito più di 1.000 pazienti per circa un decennio, il rischio di sviluppare un cancro nelle persone con sclerosi multipla che hanno utilizzato specifici immunosoppressori è più elevato rispetto a coloro che non ne hanno fatto uso.
Tali risultati indicano che l’associazione spesso discussa tra la SM e il cancro può derivare da tipi più vecchi di trattamento SM piuttosto che dalla malattia stessa.
Prima di tutto occorre chiarire la differenza tra i farmaci immunomodulanti e quelli immunosoppressori. A tale scopo, riporto qui di seguito ciò che viene indicato sul sito AISM (Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla). “I farmaci in grado di incidere sui meccanismi alla base della malattia, e quindi di modificarne il decorso, sono distinti in: – Immunomodulanti, impiegati allo scopo di modificare con crescente precisione i delicati equilibri del sistema immunitario – Immunosoppressori, in grado di ridurre…
What does marijuana actually do to your brain and body? This video from ASAP Science explains how marijuana acts on our brains shortly after smoking or ingesting it. Cannabis contains at least 60 types of cannabinoids, chemical compounds that act on receptors throughout our brain. THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s effects, including the euphoric high. THC resembles another cannabinoid naturally produced in our brains, anandamide, which regulates our mood, sleep, memory and appetite.
Essentially, cannabinoids’ effect on our brains is to keep our neurons firing, magnifying our thoughts and perception and keeping us fixed on them (until another thought takes us on a different tangent). That’s why when you’re high, it’s really not a good time to drive, study for a test, or play sports that require coordination, like tennis or baseball. Like alcohol, caffeine and sugar, cannabinoids also effect the levels of dopamine in our brain, often resulting in a sense of relaxation and euphoria.
Salon explains a few more ways marijuana interacts with our brains, such as impairing our ability to form new memories, and how cannabinoids cause the classic “munchies”.
The effects will depend on the amount taken, as well as how potent the preparation is (common marijuana contains 2-5% THC, while ganja can contain up to 15% THC and hashish oil between 15 and 60% THC). At high doses — and if you don’t follow the 10 commandments of marijuana edible safety — marijuana can produce scary curled-up-on-the-couch-for-hours hallucinatory states.
AS WITH OTHER DRUGS, MARIJUANA’S EFFECTS WILL ALSO VARY BY INDIVIDUAL
Not all people may find it an enjoyable or relaxing experience; for those who have anxiety or are prone to panic attacks, marijuana could exacerbate their symptoms rather than bring on a sense of calm.
Marijuana Is a Controlled Substance…Lacking in Controlled, Scientific Research
We should note that a whole lot more research needs to be done in this area. Although marijuana has been used for centuries as a medicine and as an inebriant (it’s even mentioned in the Old Testament several times as “kaneh-bosem”), we don’t know a great deal about the health effects of using it. That’s because there haven’t been many controlled studies on it, due to the way marijuana is classified by the US federal government.
The Food and Drug Administration classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, defined as the most dangerous of all drug schedules, with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” (Fun fact: heroin, ecstasy and LSD are also Schedule I drugs, but cocaine and meth are considered less dangerous Schedule II drugs.)
As such, to do clinical research with marijuana, you need a license from the DEA and your study approved by the FDA, and to obtain research-grade marijuana, you have to go through the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Popular Science explains. Otherwise, since it’s federally illegal to have marijuana (even in states that have legalized marijuana), researchers working in hospitals, colleges, or other institutions that receive federal funding risk losing their funds to do this research.
THERE HAVE LONG BEEN MOVEMENTS TO RECLASSIFY MARIJUANA AND OPEN UP THE DOORS FOR MORE STUDIES, BUT, FOR NOW, HERE’S WHAT WE DO KNOW ABOUT MARIJUANA AND OUR HEALTH
Marijuana Doesn’t Seem to Have a Long-Term Effect on Memory and Concentration
The short-term effects of marijuana are generally felt within a few minutes, peak within 30 minutes, and wear off after about two or three hours. The bigger question is: what happens if we use marijuana more regularly, or are occasional but heavy users? Are there permanent cognitive and other health changes? Do we all turn into The Dude from The Big Lebowski?
Again, we don’t have many rigorous scientific studies on this, much less many longitudinal studies. A 2012 review of available research, however, published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, finds that the immediate impairments on memory and concentration, at least, aren’t likely permanent:
Attention/concentration: Marijuana impairs light users’ attention and concentration but doesn’t appear to affect regular or heavy users within six hours of smoking or ingesting it. In the long run, researchers have found that after 3 weeks or more since last using marijuana, subjects’ attention and concentration return to normal. “In five of seven studies, no attention or concentration impairments were found in subjects who had remained abstinent from 28 days to one year (Lyons et al., 2004; Pope et al., 2001; 2002; 2003; Verdejo-Garcia et al., 2005).” The other two studies found differences in attention and concentration between heavy and non-users after 28 days, but the reviewers note that the disparate findings could be due to measuring different types of processing skills.
Working memory: Several studies likewise found no residual or long-term effects on working memory. A 2002 study, for example, tested 77 heavy smokers for days after abstaining from smoking pot. Memory impairment was found for heavy users up to 7 days after using marijuana, but by day 28 their memory test results didn’t differ significantly from control subjects. In other words, even if your memory is affected when you smoke up, after you stop it will likely go back to normal with time.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a brochure on the possible short- and long-term consequences of using marijuana. It reports that there’s no strong link between frequency of marijuana use and violence or crime, an unclear or weak link between depression and marijuana use, and no clear link between marijuana use and birth defects. Heavy use of marijuana, however, has been linked to increased likelihood of respiratory problems, schizophrenia development (but some studies suggest a genetic predisposition might be involved in these cases), and, for teens increasing pot use, a harder time adjusting to society. We’ll touch on some of these issues below.
COMPARED TO OTHER DRUGS, MARIJUANA IS LESS ADDICTIVE AND HARMFUL
Addiction is a very complex topic. It’s possible for people to get addicted to anything that gives us pleasure. While marijuana addiction is real, it is a rarer addiction than other (legal or illegal) substances. Statistics say that 9 percent of people (roughly one out of 10) who use marijuana become dependent on it, compared to 32 percent of tobacco users, 20 percent of cocaine users, and 15 percent of alcohol drinkers.
When it comes to marijuana and other substances, some say what matters most might not be how addictive the substance is but how harmful it might be. Former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders told CNNshe supports legalising marijuana, saying it “is not addictive, not physically addictive anyway”. Time reports:
As Dr. Elders also said on CNN, marijuana is nontoxic. You can fatally overdose on alcohol, heroin or cocaine, but the only way a dose of marijuana will kill you is if someone crushes you under a bale of it.
By and large, marijuana has been shown to be much less dangerous and addictive than other substances — over 100 times safer than alcohol — but that’s not to say it is completely harmless. How marijuana is consumed and prepared can make a big difference on its health effects, for better or worse, as well.
MARIJUANA IS MORE DANGEROUS FOR TEENS
The chances of getting addicted to marijuana increase if you’re a daily user or if you start when you’re a teen. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana addiction goes up to about 17 percent in those who start using young (in their teens) and to 25 to 50 percent among daily users. Dr. Damon Raskin, internist and Diplomat of the American Board of Addiction Medicine, advises:
Marijuana these days can cause changes in the brain that impair learning, especially in teenagers as their brains have not finished developing. Brains are not fully developed until the age of 25 or 26. Chronic marijuana use can lead to changes in both personality, judgment, and reasoning skills.
Pot damages the heart and lungs, increases the incidence of anxiety, depression and schizophrenia, and it can trigger acute psychotic episodes. Many adults appear to be able to use marijuana with relatively little harm, but the same cannot be said of adolescents, who are about twice as likely as adults to become addicted to marijuana.
Much of the marijuana available today is more potent than it was in the past, so the potential exists for it to have more intense deleterious effects on the user. Medical professionals are seeing more emergency room visits with excessive vomiting, and with adolescents, there is greater risk of psychosis and delirium.
If you’re a parent, this is another reminder to talk to your kids about drugs, especially during those formative years.
SMOKING IS RISKIER THAN OTHER METHODS OF USING
Marijuana is most commonly smoked, but it can be used in vaporisers, turned into a tea, or used as an ingredient in foods as an edible. Oils and tinctures are often made from the cannabis plant as well for medicinal purposes. Of the many ways to use marijuana, smoking seems to have the most harmful side effects. According to the American Lung Association:
Smoke is harmful to lung health. Whether from burning wood, tobacco or marijuana, toxins and carcinogens are released from the combustion of materials. Smoke from marijuana combustion has been shown to contain many of the same toxins, irritants and carcinogens as tobacco smoke.
Beyond just what’s in the smoke alone, marijuana is typically smoked differently than tobacco. Marijuana smokers tend to inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than cigarette smokers, which leads to a greater exposure per breath to tar.
Secondhand marijuana smoke contains many of the same toxins and carcinogens found in directly inhaled marijuana smoke, in similar amounts if not more.
A review of studies in 2013, however, found mixed evidence linking heavy, long-term marijuana use to pulmonary disease or lung cancer and concluded that there’s definitely a bigger risk for these if you smoke tobacco.
Still, regular users might consider other options besides smoking, such as vaping and edibles. Ata Gonzalez, CEO of G FarmaLabs, says:
Traditional methods (joints, blunts, etc), first off, aren’t the most efficient and certainly aren’t the cleanest ways to do it. These paper-based methods can be harsh on throat and lung tissue over time, potentially introduce the possibility of inhaling mold spores, and can be carcinogenic depending on what the cannabis is rolled in. Vaporizers are a much better option if you’re going to smoke it, not only because it’s much more discreet, but it introduces cannabinoids into the bloodstream as a gas through heat, rather than as smoke due to combustion. Vaping also reduces any possible exposure to harmful toxins/byproducts because the marijuana is never burned.
Conversely, there’s always the edibles option. This method is the most efficient way to get cannabinoids into the system because it’s done through the gastrointestinal tracts instead of the lungs – this also means that absorption is slower and the effects seem like they’re delayed, but that’s because the body has to process THC through the liver. The resulting effect, however, is a much more body-focused “high” that’s optimal for pain relief. Tinctures and tonics are sometimes classified in this subset/consumption category. Finally, we have topical solutions made with cannabis oil (e.g. salves, lotions, ointments, etc.) which are best used as anti-inflammatories and analgesics.
Additionally, if you partake, you’ll ideally want to know where your marijuana came from — who grew it, how they grew it, how they harvested it, and so on. If you don’t know (which is fairly likely in Australia), consider Global Healing Center editor Ben Nettleton’s suggestion to water cure your stuff:
Water curing is basically just soaking your stuff in water and changing the water several times. The water draws out any water soluble impurities. So any leftover fertilizer, pesticides, fungus (recent Smithsonian touched on the prevalence of that), and even innocuous unnecessary compounds like salts and chlorophyll. Pretty much just like giving it a wash. THC is not water soluble so you don’t lose any of what you want.
THERE ARE MANY POSSIBLE MEDICAL USES FOR MARIJUANA
Finally, there are the potential medical uses of marijuana for a wide variety of conditions. 23 US states and DC have legalised the medical use of marijuana to treat symptoms of cancer, AIDS, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, migraines, epilepsy, nausea and other conditions. 76% of doctors surveyed said they would prescribe marijuana for medicinal purposes. And Procon.org’s analysis of 60 peer-reviewed studies on medical marijuana found 68% of them concluded treatments were positive for the conditions treated.
As with the adverse effects of marijuana, however, the research here is still limited and lacking. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who changed his stance on marijuana to now question marijuana’s categorization as a Schedule I drug, says that of the recent papers on it, the overwhelming majority — about 94% — are designed to investigate the harm while only 6% investigate the benefits of medical marijuana.
So what we’re left with is anecdotal evidence. Greta Carter, marijuana activist, entrepreneur, and founder of a chain of clinics tells me:
What we know is that the VA has clearly identified the benefits of marijuana on post-traumatic stress syndrome. We also know that parents who have struggled daily with children suffering from seizures and movement disorders go to extremes to relocate their families to states that will allow them access to the medicine. We’ve heard from patients with AIDS and cancer who find benefits from cannabis. There are studies outside of the US that actually show tumours being reduced with cannabis treatment. I find it unconscionable that we as a country that have over 500 deaths a year to aspirin, and none to cannabis in its entire history would ever try to stand in the way of this plant being readily available to whomever might seek it.
Opponents of medical marijuana argue that it’s too dangerous to use (though the arguments seem to be mostly associated with the effects of smoking rather than marijuana in general or administered in other ways), that marijuana is addictive, and that legal drugs make marijuana unnecessary.
As ever, “further research is recommended” (isn’t that how all studies conclude?) In the case of marijuana, though, we really do need more.
Una collaborazione interessante quella tra HelloMD, la community statunitense col 150.000 utenti che mette in contatto pazienti, medici, esperti e aziende sul tema della cannabis e Brightfield Group, una società di ricerca e analisi di mercato per le organizzazioni incentrate sull’industria della cannabis.
Un importante studio che ha visto la raccolta dati di 2500 membri del gruppo sull’utilizzo del CBD in ambito terapeutico. Ne è emerso che il 58% dei consumatori sono donne e che preferiscono utilizzarlo tramite i vaporizzatori, seguiti dal fumo e le varianti commestibili. Sul mercato è possibile trovare 850 aziende che producono derivati della marijuana e la spesa mensile affrontata dai consumatori varia tra i 20 e gli 80 dollari.
Ma il fattore forse più importante emerso è quello relativo al cambiamento nella scelta delle terapie.
Di fatto dopo aver provato il CBD il 42% ha abbandonato la medicina tradizionale per abbracciare l’uso esclusivo del cannabidiolo.
Si tratta di persone che devono affrontare insonnia, depressione, ansia, dolori alle articolazioni e ancora morbo di Crohn, epilessia e sclerosi multipla. Il feedback dell’80% degli intervistati ha confermato che il CBD è “molto o estremamente efficace”, avendo proprietà analgesiche, antinfiammatorie e rilassanti, mentre il 3% lo trova “inefficace o solo leggermente efficace”.
“I didn’t ask for opioids in the NFL, but every time I went to the training room to treat an injury, I was given them anyway”
By Nate Jackson, Guest Commentary In The Cannifornian
Pain is a constant in the game of football, and the National Football League has long relied on painkillers to keep its players on the field. This has made NFL locker rooms especially vulnerable to the opioid epidemic.
Former NFL players abuse opioid pain medications at four times the rate of the general population, according to a study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. In recent years, the NFL has been the subject of Drug Enforcement Administration investigations and multiple lawsuits alleging that the league recklessly administered painkillers to its players.
On top of opioid addiction, the NFL is facing mounting evidence that chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head injuries, is a near certain consequence of playing professional football. In a study released last month, CTE was found in 110 out of 111 former NFL players’ brains. The Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel cited the study when, two days after it came out, he announced his retirement from the NFL at the age of 26.
These two crises are why, two weeks ago, the NFL reportedly contacted the NFL Players Assn. and offered to work with the players’ union to study the potential use of marijuana for pain.
With opioids, I generally experienced withdrawal symptoms after only three days. On the fourth day, I would become irritable and itchy.
While it’s commendable that the NFL is finally seeking an alternative treatment for pain — one that, some early studies suggest, may also help to protect the brain from injury — the truth is that NFL players have been proving the viability of cannabis as a pain medicine for decades.
I played professional football for six years, from 2002 to 2009 — mostly for the Denver Broncos, but also for the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Locomotives. Consuming cannabis was and remains a common practice throughout the NFL, accepted by the teams but rejected in New York and D.C., where the league is run.
Until I made it to the pros, I didn’t take opioids. By then I had endured thousands of practices and scores of games and scrimmages — all of them painful, but not so painful that medication was required. I wanted to feel the pain — that’s part of why I played football. And besides, if you don’t feel the pain from an injury, you don’t know when it’s gone and you can’t really heal.
I didn’t ask for opioids in the NFL, but every time I went to the training room to treat an injury — even an injury that didn’t require missed playing time — I was given them anyway, in addition to anti-inflammatory medication such as Vioxx and Celebrex. Pain pills were as common as shoulder pads and cleats. In fact, if I didn’t take the meds prescribed to me, I worried I would not make the team. I wanted to make the team, so I took the pills. For the first few years, at least.
The many injuries I sustained while playing in the NFL — snapped ligaments, broken bones, brain trauma, degenerating joints — allowed me to tinker with the recovery process.
With opioids, I generally experienced withdrawal symptoms after only three days. On the fourth day, I would become irritable and itchy. When I broke my left ankle during the 2004 season, I was placed on injured reserve and given a powerful painkiller, Percocet. The medication made me feel slow, sad and dumb. When I stopped taking the pills, I felt sick for a week afterward.
After this episode, I began to treat injuries with a combination of cannabis and opioids, which enabled me to take fewer opioids for a shorter duration, which resulted in noticeably lighter withdrawal symptoms.
By the time I tore my groin off the bone, in 2007, I was medicating only with cannabis. The team doctors cheered the speed at which I was healing, but I couldn’t disclose to them all that I was experiencing — no pain, no inflammation, restful sleep, vigorous appetite, a clear head. Despite the positive results that I and many others were getting from our own regimens, we had to remain generally mum about cannabis.
Although some players do respond well to opioids without getting hooked, many players prefer cannabis to treat their football injuries. I ultimately healed faster with no opioids at all, and I found sufficient pain relief with cannabis, especially for acute injuries. Cannabis does not numb the body. It just helps you through the healing process.
Until this month, it was presumed that the NFL would not address its problems with pain management until 2020, when a new collective bargaining agreement is expected. But America has woken up to its opioid crisis, and the NFL has slowly had to come to terms with the medical and legal ramifications of CTE.
It’s in the NFL’s interest to recognize now what its players did long ago: Cannabis is a far safer and more effective treatment for pain than the powerful and dangerous opioids the league is doling out.
Nate Jackson is a former tight end for the Denver Broncos and the author of “Slow Getting Up: A Story of Survival from the Bottom of the Pile.”
SENATOR USES MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR HODGKIN LYMPHOMA
State Sen. Mike Folmer
United States Senator Admits to Using Marijuana As Medicine- State Sen. Mike Folmer, who pushed a medical marijuana legalization bill (That became law) in Pennsylvania earlier this year, used medical marijuana while undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
He used marijuana in conjunction with chemotherapy and said he has been cancer free for nearly two years.
“I believe it helped magnify the effect of chemotherapy in a … whirlwind fashion. I mean, my blood work has been immaculate,” Folmer told the York Daily Record/Sunday News editorial board.
Folmer stated marijuana not only helped fight his lymphoma, it also helped him keep up his appetite and avoid other types of treatment that would have been riskier and essentially put him out of commission for 6 months.
Folmer represents parts of southcentral Pennsylvania. Marijuana was not legal in Pennsylvania at the time of his use. He said he had to travel to another state to obtain his medical marijuana, he used it in Pennsylvania despite a state ban at the time.
Folmer said he has not publicly discussed his medical marijuana use before because he hadn’t been asked about it.
THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
Even though Folmer is subject to criminal charges, there are several reasons why Folmer likely will not, according to Jules Epstein, a criminal law expert, and director of advocacy programs at Temple University’s law school.
“For one thing, simply admitting to a crime isn’t enough for a conviction,” Epstein said. “There has to be other evidence that a crime occurred. There’s also the question of whether any prosecutors would be interested in pursuing an investigation into a former cancer patient’s past use of medical marijuana. I think they have bigger fish to fry,” Epstein said.
Folmer said if he’s not harming anyone else or himself, and he’s receiving care under a medical professional, “Whose business is it?”
He also said marijuana is safer than prescription opiate painkillers. He announced the non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis in February 2012, and in April 2013 he said that as part of his ongoing treatment, he would undergo chemotherapy twice a week, every three weeks, for six months. Folmer said his cancer diagnosis and treatment didn’t cause him to miss any voting sessions in the Senate and he didn’t get high from using marijuana. Folmer said he no longer uses medical marijuana, and he said he wouldn’t use it recreationally even if it was legal to do so.
FOLMER’S SUPPORT OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Gov. Tom Wolf
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf signed the legislation in April. The law will allow patients with serious medical conditions and under a physician’s care to access medical marijuana at dispensaries.The program is expected to be fully implemented in 2018.
What is the link between psoriasis and medical marijuana? It’s easy to think of psoriasis as just a skin condition. But psoriasis starts underneath the skin. It is a chronic immune system disease that can range from mild to severe. Psoriasis can be associated with other conditions such as arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It has been established through medical studies that marijuana helps with immune support and inflammation.
Experts believe psoriasis occurs due to genetic inheritance. Psoriasis is caused by benign, uncontrolled skin cell growth, psoriatic patients produce new skin cells quickly. These skin cells reach the skin surface before they have matured. The buildup of immature skin cells can cause itching with raised flaky scales. The patient may suffer redness, swelling, pain or discomfort at the site of inflamed skin.
Common symptoms of Psoriasis are itching, burning, soreness, and dry and cracked skin. Psoriasis affects approximately 2% of the Western population.
Psoriasis
Psoriasis patients are more likely to develop psoriatic arthritis, which is characterized by painful swelling and stiffness of the joint’s. Psoriasis may lead to permanent joint damage in psoriatic patients.
THE ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM AND SKIN
Endocannabinoid receptors are found on the skin. Studies have show the positive effects of endocannabinoid system activation in the treatment of skin disorders. One study found that certain cannabinoid agonists stopped the abnormal growth of skin cells, which has potential implications in psoriasis treatment.
the endocannabinoid system
The main role of the cutaneous ECS is to regulate or control the optimal functioning and survival of the skin cells. A disruption of this delicate balance might result in several skin-related problems, such as, hair growth disorders, allergic dermatitis, acne, psoriasis and related itching and pain and skin cancer.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND PSORIASIS
Other studies have observed the human keratinocyte proliferation inhibitory effects of cannabinoids via non-CB1/CB2 mechanisms. The possible non receptor-mediated mechanism suggested by these studies are the dual-modulatory role of the endocannabinoid system on cholinergic and anti-inflammatory pathways, which may have potential therapeutic implications in anti-psoriatic treatment.
Cannabinoids are anti-inflammatory in nature, as well as analgesic, immuno-modulating and anti-inflammatory.Cannabis as also anti-microbial, and an antioxidant. These qualities might be helpful in treating psoriasis symptoms.
A Polish study reported that the topical application of cannabinoid-based cream helped with Psoriasis With just three weeks of topical application, complete disappearance of lesions was show in 38% of patients and remarkable reduction of symptoms was observed in the rest of the patients in the study.81% of the patients reported complete reduction of skin dryness after topical cannabinoid treatment.
HOW TO MEDICATE
Marijuana Infused Balms and Lotions Work for Psoriasis
Psoriasis patients ideal route of medical marijuana medication would be a topical skin application, such as an oil or balm. Studies have suggested that topical-formulated cannabinoids are readily absorbed through the skin, and hence it could be easily employed as oils or balms to treat skin disorders.
Topical cannabis oils and balms work to control immature skin cell production and inflammation, which can stop the psoriasis from developing. With it’s anti-inflammatory properties, marijuana can also ease painful inflammation during psoriatic flare ups as well.
Almost everyone has been directly or indirectly affected by cancer. The most common form of this deadly family of diseases is skin cancer, and the most common form of skin cancer is melanoma. Melanoma is usually caused by the overexposure of skin to UV rays. Due to its aggressive nature, melanoma is widely regarded as the most dangerous form of cancer. If not treated early, melanoma can quickly metastasize in other parts of the body. A recent study has shown that melanoma cancer treatment may help reduce the number of cancer cells in patients.
MELANOMA IS A DEADLY DISEASE
Melanoma begins as a small mole on skin that tends to grow quickly. Cancerous moles often change color and shape, so it is important to pay attention to skin marks that look irregular. It is estimated that melanoma will kill nearly 10,000 people in 2017. This form of cancer is particularly difficult to treat because it spreads so quickly. However there is some scientific evidence that introducing cannabis into a treatment plan may help slow down the growth of new melanoma cells.
CAN CANNABIS BE OF ASSISTANCE TO MELANOMA PATIENTS
In 2015, a scientific study conducted on mice investigated whether or not cannabis could be an effective treatment against melanoma. The mice were given cannabis oil with a 1:1 CBD:THC ratio. This study concluded that this combination of cannabis molecules actually triggered the death of melanoma cells. “Our studies suggest that the plant-derived CB receptor 326 agonist THC inhibits the growth of transplanted melanoma cells 327 through antagonistic effects on its characteristic pro-inflammatory 328 microenvironment.”
This study proves that the introduction of cannabis contributed to the regression of cancer cells in mice. While human trials may not yield the same results, this study provides a solid foundation for further research into cannabis melanoma treatment.
Cosa succede se in viaggio all’estero ci ammaliamo o abbiamo bisogno di assistenza sanitaria? Un vademecum e una app ci informano sui nostri diritti
