As physicians we are taught to do no harm and to do good. Treating my patients with medical cannabis allows me to accomplish both of these principles in a way I never would have imagined previously.
So what is in this amazing plant?
The cannabis plant has 144 cannabinoids, 200 terpenes, and flavonoids. There are 483 active compounds in the plant. Many of these compounds have shown great medicinal benefit and a lot of these compounds have yet to be researched.
Cannabis is a flowering plant. It has been found in a 2,500 year old cemetery located in Central Asia. It has been used as medicine early on in civilization as seen in Ancient Egypt.
In the 1800’s and early 1900’s cannabis was used as medicine in the United States.
Clearly the use of cannabis and using cannabis as medicine is not a new concept.
Cannabis is a safe medicine. It does have some side effects which I discuss in detail during our office visit, but when used responsibly most of these effects can be avoided and if they do occur they subside once the medicine is out of the person’s system.
When patients are on a cannabis regimen I am able to get them to decrease their dose and at times even stop harmful medicines such as opioids and benzodiazepines. Often, patients are able to decrease or even stop their seizure medicines that have many harmful side effects.
In conclusion, cannabis is a great medicine with tremendous potential to help many different patients with their health. Make an appointment so that together we can discuss how cannabis can improve your quality of life.
Sincerely,
Mark Kurzman