The recent news on Marijuana has been centered on it being legalized in many countries due to its medicinal properties helping patients with chronic pain or other such disorders, Parkinson’s disease being one of them. Medical Marijuana is being talked about everywhere.
Many of us are aware that Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that affects the normal movements of the hands, legs and body of a person affected by it. According to the statistics available 7 million to 10 million people across the globe have Parkinson’s disease. The occurrence of Parkinson’s disease is more in older people as compared to those in their adolescence or adulthood. The statistics also state that men are more prone to this disease than women.
Marijuana has more than 100 neuro active chemicals that activate functioning of the central nervous system, like Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC attaches itself to the receptors present in the brain to produce dopamine which is a chemical or say a neurotransmitter present in the brain to give the effect of high to those who use Marijuana.
Though on one side the effects of Marijuana can help a person in controlling tremors arising out of dyskinesia; dyskinesia is the state in which the hand and body movements of a patient start affecting the daily lives and the primary concerns arise when one is unable to lift or hold things.
But, on the other hand it may aggravate the symptoms related to forgetting things or to say cognition in general.
For patients, marijuana has more benefits than side effects if given in controlled amounts. The biggest benefit is that it relieves them of anxiety. Everyone is already aware of the calming effects marijuana brings about in people. To explore more uses of marijuana, further research on various aspects of its use of medical marijuana is being conducted which shall bear positive fruits in time.
Researchers are yet to conclude something very concrete on its usage in Parkinson’s disease, but there is a percentage of doctors who recommend it for controlling the motor disorders. In the age of technology and data, researchers have worked to get Marijuana legalized and the potential shall benefit the patients immensely provided more of clinical data is made available to ascertain its further medical benefits. For medical practitioners, Marijuana has legal approval but not regulatory and thus the usage is not uniform due to the absence of dosage and other instructions related to a medicine as required.
