Medical cannabis - the road to nowhere or to a brighter future?

Today I would like to touch on a rather sensitive issue that divided society into two warring camps. On the one hand, there are ardent opponents of the use of cannabis (aka marijuana, aka “weed”), who see the root of all ills in it. On the other hand, his faithful admirers, who consider him almost an ambrosia of the ancient Greek gods. But the world, as you know, is not only black and white. And the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and is born in a dispute. So let's argue.

In the thick handbook of all doctors - ICD-10 (international statistical classification of diseases and health problems) there is section F 12 - mental and behavioral disorders of behavior caused by the use of cannabinoids (substances contained in cannabis). And not for nothing, because the symptoms of cannabis intoxication have long been known and described.

If you list them depending on the dose, we get the following awesome list:

- euphoria - paranoid thoughts (this guy sitting opposite in the subway is just from the police or SBU and is watching me);

- anxiety (in my head the thought “everything was lost”, and my heart is pounding at a crazy pace, trying to break out);

- violation of the perception of time (who from Kharkov and drove in a minibus 263 will understand, you sit down young and full of energy, you retire by feelings);

- social fencing (marijuana house and me, why do I need someone else?);

- injection of sclera (cannabis is not Johnson baby shampoo, your eyes are red as if they really were nipped);

- increased appetite (even whitewash from the transition to the subway - to taste a masterpiece of culinary art);

- dry mouth;

- tachycardia (the heart beats at the same speed as the neighbor at your door when you decided to drill a couple of holes in the wall on a calm early Sunday morning);

- hypothermia (well, probably that's all - I'm already cooling);

- flashbacks (life flashes before your eyes, that's probably for sure);

- cognitive impairment (the head is empty, and speech is just a set of some unrelated words from those that you can still remember);

- Motivational syndrome (I want to wrap myself in a blanket and not get up from the couch, and not just that);

- sedation (sleep, sleep and sleep again);

- Depersonalization (you perceive life as some kind of film with your participation, and you are a spectator in a movie theater);

- hallucinations (fictional childhood friends grew up into monsters and returned);

- delirium with panic symptoms;

- Psychosis (you don’t perceive the last two points in any way, and restore events from the stories of others and videos on YouTube).

What a nightmare, isn't it? How can one voluntarily go for it?

But let's not rush and take a look at the next section in ICD-10, namely, F 10 - mental and behavioral disorders of behavior caused by alcohol consumption. Looking at the symptoms of intoxication, we will see the same awesome list. But for some reason, alcohol is more loyal to alcohol.

We recall that in small doses, alcohol is even good for health, though we don’t remember exactly which ones and prefer to strengthen their health in advance. And in many companies, the phrase “I don’t drink” raises a lot of questions and suspicions.

In 2019, the Global Commission on Drug Policy issued a report in which it assessed the harm caused by various narcotic substances to the health of the person who uses it and the harm to others. According to him, alcohol compared to cannabis is 2.5 times more likely to lead to death and the development of mental disorders, 2 times more likely to lead to the development of addiction and health disorders, and the number of crimes committed while intoxicated is 4 times more than under the influence of marijuana.

But that’s all, if you drown yourself before a screeching screech, you can object. But the situation is the same with cannabis. As Paracelsus once said: “Everything is poison and everything is medicine. Only a dose makes a medicine a poison and a poison a medicine. ” And this article is in no way aimed at promoting marijuana, just want to avoid hanging labels and provide all the information about the advantages and disadvantages, and everyone will decide for himself on this issue for himself.

So what are the benefits of cannabis?

Cannabis contains about ten different phytocannabinoids, and only one of them causes narcotic effects. After getting into the body, phytocanabinoids act on the receptors of the endocannabinoid system (yes, we have one in our body), of course, it was conceived not for smoking marijuana, but for endocanabinoids (the substances synthesized in our body - anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol).

Endocanabinoid receptors are present in almost every organ of our body. Probably the most concise and accurate description of the role of the endocanabinoid system in the body’s work was given by Dr. Vincenzo Di Marzo - “Relax, eat, sleep, forget and protect yourself - the basic effects of the endocannabinoid system.”

And scientists from the US National Institute, Pal Pacher and George Kunos, based on the studies, wrote in their report: “Advanced scientific studies have shown that the endocannabinoid system is involved in almost all pathological conditions.

Thus, "modulating the activity of the endocannabinoid system can have therapeutic potential in almost all diseases affecting humans." But we will not rush to extremes, identifying cannabinoids with “living water” that heals all ailments.

Let's take a better look at the experiences of countries where cannabis is approved for medical use. The top leading diseases and conditions in which medical marijuana has proven effective are:

- anxiety disorders, insomnia;

- pain and inflammation of the joints;

- depression;

- migraine;

- spasm and muscle strain;

- acute and chronic pain;

- nausea.

Of course, for medicinal purposes, not marijuana from the ill-fated “bookmarks” is used, but specially cultivated and grown varieties in which the amount of phytocanabinoid responsible for the development of narcotic effects is minimized, and the content of phytocannabinoids that have a therapeutic effect is increased.

Moreover, for the treatment of various diseases, a different ratio of phytocanabinoids is necessary, so, for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders, the predominance of tetrahydrocannabinoids is necessary, and for the treatment of depression, the predominance of cannabidiol is necessary.

So, as you can see, everything is not so simple, and for an effective treatment it’s not enough just to smoke a “jamb”, you need the same approach as when creating medicines based on the effectiveness proved in research and precise control, including with side of law enforcement, production and dosages.

Once again, I would like to emphasize that this article is not aimed at promoting marijuana, I just urge you to look at the situation from different angles. And if at least someone read it the next time with the question: “what first comes to your mind with the word“ grass ”?” he will remember not only a drug addict rehousing the playground in search of the next dose, but also an oncological patient who, with the help of medical marijuana, copes with pain, nausea and starts to eat, or a patient with depression, whom medical marijuana along with drug therapy and psychotherapy will help bring colors back to life .

Isaenko Svetlana, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, founder of the mental health clinic "Dr Isaenko"

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Mental Health Clinic "Dr Isaenko" - https://drisaenko.clinic/