The doctor Drauzio Varella cancerologista highlighted in article 12 this Saturday, the potential of the medicinal use of marijuana. The moment that grows in Brazil the discussion to legalize consumption of marijuana, the doctor recalled thatalready has almost 30 years that medicine knows the role of canabinoides in the central nervous system and the important role that they play in pain modulation in the control of movements, in the formation and archiving memories and even in the immune response of patients.
Drauzio highlighted the application of marijuana is already made in various countries for the treatment of various diseases, such as glaucoma, nausea caused by cancer, anorexia and cachexia associated with Aids, chronic pain, inflammation,multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.
"With such a spectrum of actions in such diverse pathologies, we only very unprepared can ignore the marijuana medicinalinterest. What is the justification for preventing tablets of THC and its derivatives reach those who could benefit from them?"asks the doctor.
SEE ALSO: the consequences of legalizing marijuana in Uruguay
Drauzio Varella, however, believes that the release of marijuana would be seen by Brazilians as a recreational and medicinalpurpose. "I think that marijuana should be legalized, but for reasons which we will discuss in our next column," concludesthe doctor.
Read below the full Dráuzio Varella's article, published in the newspaper Folha de s. Paulo.
Beneficial effects of marijuana
What is the justification to prevent tablets from THC arrive to those who could benefit?
There are many potential benefits of marijuana. In the last column talked about adverse effects, presented in a reviewrecently published in The New England Journal of Medicine ".
Explain that the studies in this area suffer from methodological problems. Usually involve users who consume larger amounts, for many years, packed in varying concentrations based tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active component.
As a consequence, are without clear answers the undesirable consequences in the case of occasional users, the great mass of consumers.
On the other hand, the medicinal use of THC and other derived canabinoides is widely documented.
The discovery that the canabinoides if linking to existing CB receptors on cell membrane of neurons happened in 1988. Twoyears later, these receptors were cloned and mapped their locations in the brain. In 1992, has been identified, existingsubstance anandamide in the central nervous system, related to the receptors, but distinct from them.
Since then, several studies have revealed that the canabinoides natural or synthetic play an important role in themodulation of pain, movement control, training, and archive of memories and even in the immune response.
Research with laboratory animals have shown that the brain develops tolerance to canabinoides and they can cause addiction, although this potential is less than that of heroin, nicotine, cocaine, alcohol and benzodiazepines such asdiazepam.
Today we know that the use of marijuana has beneficial action in the following cases:
1) Glaucoma: disease caused by increased intraocular pressure, can be combated with the transient effects of THC in reducing internal pressure of the eye. There are, however, much more effective medicines.
2) Nausea: the treatment of nausea caused by chemotherapy of cancer was one of the first clinical applications of THC.Today, oncology has more potent antiemetic.
3) Anorexia and cachexia associated with Aids: improving appetite and weight gain in patients with advanced Aids were described for more than 20 years, before they even arise the modern antiviral drugs.
4) chronic pain: marijuana is used for centuries for this purpose. The canabinoides exercise effect antiálgico by acting onreceptors in the brain and other tissues. The dronabinol, marketed in several countries for oral use, reduces sensitivity topain with fewer side effects than THC smoked.
5) Inflammation: THC and cannabidiol are endowed with anti-inflammatory effect that makes them candidates to treatdiseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (ulcerative rectocolitis, Crohn's disease, among others).
6) multiple sclerosis: THC neuropathic pain, combat the spasticity and sleep disturbances caused by the disease. TheNabiximol, cannabinoid marketed with that statement in England, Canada and other countries under the name Sativex, is not available for Brazilian patients.
7) Epilepsy: a recent study showed that 11% of patients were free of seizures with the use of cannabis with high levels ofcannabidiol; in 42% the number of seizures decreased by 80%; and in 32% of cases the reduction ranged from 25 to 60%.Canabinoides synthetic oral use are released in European countries.
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