In the United States, about one in ten people live with some form of arthritis. Its damage to these 30 million sufferers makes this disease the number one cause of disability.
Those who think the treatment of arthritis, especially the rheumatoid variety, with cannabis is new age medicine should think again. As far back as 2,000 B.C., four thousand years ago, the Chinese called cannabis a treatment that “undoes rheumatism.”
During the 19th century, cannabis tinctures were common on pharmacy shelves throughout North America and administered as a pain killer (aspirin didn’t become common until the early part of the 20th century).
There are two cannabinoids found in marijuana that have especially profound efficacy for those with arthritis: CBD and THC. CBD, or cannabidiol, is responsible for immune system modulation, meaning it is helpful for an autoimmune condition like rheumatoid arthritis. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol — and byproducts of its metabolism — has been found to be anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain killing). THC is also known to reduce the anxiety and depression that commonly accompany severe diseases, especially those that affect one’s mobility.
The efficacy of cannabis for a wide variety of autoimmune and neurological conditions is the core focus of the medical marijuana movement. However, the sheer number of arthritis sufferers makes the development of new drugs or therapies targeted at this specific condition of special interest to a variety of companies. One example is Cannabis Technologies, a company based in Vancouver that is in the process of developing a new cannabinoid-based therapy that will directly treat arthritis.
Cannabis is especially useful for helping arthritis patients wean themselves off serious pharmaceutical drugs that, in the long term, may cause more problems than they solve. For patients who must continue with pharmaceutical treatments, marijuana often eases the negative side effects of these drugs.
More: MassRoots
