Medical cannabis is a safe and effective treatment option for a broad range of serious medical conditions. Support from the medical community, public support and a growing body of research have led to 32 states and the District of Columbia enacting effective medical marijuana programs.
Research shows that medical cannabis is a safe and effective treatment for a number of debilitating symptoms and conditions.
Despite the federally created obstacles to research, a large and growing body of scientific evidence demonstrates the benefits and safety of treating a broad range of ailments with medical cannabis. It should be no surprise that an overwhelming majority of doctors and a large and growing number of health and medical organizations support allowing medical cannabis.
Individuals suffering from the following conditions have found medical cannabis to be an effective treatment: cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, intractable pain, ALS, cachexia (wasting syndrome), Crohn’s disease, glaucoma, PTSD, lupus, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis.
Medical cannabis is a safer option.
Cannabis’s side effects are modest compared to many prescription drugs’ risks, and it is impossible to fatally overdose on whole plant cannabis, unlike opiates and other dangerous medications that are prescribed every day.
While cannabis dependence is possible, both dependence and withdrawal are mild compared to other medications. Research shows cannabis can allow pain patients to reduce or eliminate their use of dangerous opiates, and that medical cannabis laws are linked with a 25% decrease in fatal overdoses from opiate-based painkillers.
Medical cannabis has broad support from the medical community.
A recent study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that 76% of doctors support access to medical cannabis.
Health and medical organizations that support access to medical cannabis include the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the Epilepsy Foundation, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the Lymphoma Foundation of America.