Marijuana approved for medical use in 17th state (Connecticut)

On June 1, Connecticut became the 17th US state to approve the medical use of marijuana. This was in response to the claims of many patients over the years that marijuana use makes chemotherapy for cancer more tolerable by reducing the nausea and vomiting associated with it.

The new law in Connecticut stipulates that only a pharmacist with a special license can dispense the marijuana.

According to cancer.org, marijuana may have a number of medicinal uses, such as the following:

• Relief from pain
• Controlling nausea and vomiting (as from chemotherapy)
• Stimulating appetite in people with cancer and AIDS
• Reduction of pressure in the eyes, helping people with glaucoma
• Enlarging the airways in the lungs, helping asthmatics breathe more easily
• Controlling muscle seizures in people with epilepsy

These effects work through chemical compounds in the marijuana known as cannibinoids. Research done at the National Institutes of Mental Health, a government agency in Washington, has demonstrated that cannibinoids can exercise a neuroprotective effect on the brain for people with different types of dementia, such as that caused by Alzheimer’s or AIDS. In recent years, there has been a growth in the amount of medical research being done on cannibinoids investigating their medicinal properties.

Sources: Wikipedia, Chicago Tribune, www.cancer.org