Marijuana Eases Debilitating Symptoms of Debilitating Autoimmune Disease

Muscular sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disease estimated to afflict 2.5 million people worldwide, including 400,000 Americans.   In that cannabis (marijuana) therapy has been considered an effective treatment for spasticity, Shaheen Lakhan, from the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation (California, USA), and colleagues reviewed six clinical studies where marijuana was used by muscular sclerosis (MS) patients, in an aim to assess its impact on symptom reduction.  Finding an overall trend of reduced spasticity in treated patients, with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) extracts reported as well tolerated, the researchers conclude that: “We found evidence that combined THC and CBD extracts may provide therapeutic benefit for MS spasticity symptoms. Subjective assessment of symptom relief did often show significant improvement post-treatment.”