The medicinal plant cannabis - thousands of years old, but still hardly researched.
Cannabis is the scientific name of the plant genus hemp. It grows in almost all climatic zones of the earth, is one of the oldest medicinal and useful plants in the world and is already successfully used in the medical field in many countries today, as early as 2737 BC the plant is described in a Chinese medicinal plant guide.
Overview of the history of research
It was not until 1964 that modern cannabis research began with the isolation of the psychoactive cannabinoid THC. Today we know:
- The female flowers of the cannabis plant contain numerous, diverse cannabinoids and terpenes that have versatile medicinal properties.
- There are more than 115 different cannabinoids that have been identified and isolated from different cannabis varieties.
- Numerous studies have since investigated and proven the therapeutic potential and health effects of cannabis use.
1992 - a milestone in cannabis research
A research team from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, Bethesda, Maryland/USA) discovers the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the human body.
- This means that our body has receptors for the active substances contained in cannabis - the cannabinoids.
- The discovery opened up new perspectives for medical use. The enormous effects on the body suggest the therapeutic potential of cannabis and spurred researchers around the world to further investigate the plant's mechanisms of action.
The entourage effect: not just THC and CBD
Although they are the stars among the cannabinoids, it is now known that all the active ingredients of the cannabis plant - including terpenes or flavonoids, for example - account for the effect. This interaction is called the entourage effect. This is also the reason why the individual varieties have different effects. The cannabinoids THC and CBD have so far only been found in cannabis plants: They have pain-relieving and muscle-relaxing effects, increase appetite, dilate the bronchial tubes, inhibit inflammation and help reduce allergic reactions.
Cannabis can help with the following conditions:
In general, current research shows that medical cannabis cannot cure diseases or disorders, but it can alleviate associated symptoms or prevent disease progression. In the period between 1975 and 2014, 142 randomized controlled double-blind clinical trials related to herbal cannabis and pure cannabinoids, respectively, were published. The total population included 9,429 patients with a wide range of medical conditions. Based on these data, it was confirmed that cannabinoids have therapeutic potential in the following cases:
- Chronic pain - essentially pain related to the nervous system, for example, pain due to nerve injury, phantom limb pain, facial neuralgia, or shingles
- Multiple sclerosis - pain and muscle spasms or cramps due to multiple sclerosis (MS) or spinal cord injury
- Nausea, nausea, and appetite - associated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer treatment. Loss of appetite, weight, and debilitation due to hepatitis C, cancer, or HIV infection and AIDS
- Gilles-de-la-Tourette syndrome - inability to control involuntary repetitive, rapid movements or sounds
- Glaucoma - uncontrolled eye pressure in refractory glaucoma
- Other indications - cancer, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, Parkinson's disease and psychiatric disorders.
The information and data that served as a basis for the preparation of this article were taken from professional articles, journals or studies. Medropharm is not authorized to make any promises of healing and/or efficacy in connection with its cannabis products.
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