« The High | Medical Marijuana | Legality » Cannabis as a medicine goes back to ancient times among humans, used as a medicine by the Chinese over 4000 years ago (although this has more to do with shamanism than “medicine” as we know it). While it may seem apparent that cannabis is useful for treating a large number of illnesses and disorders there is no consensus in the medial community about the efficacy or value of cannabis as a medicine. Furthermore, while cannabis may alleviate the symptoms of an illness in one person, it can have the opposite effect in another. Therefore, using cannabis as a medicine should be done with careful experimentation and if possible, the advice of a professional (visit one of the Compassion Centres here in Toronto). Conditions and disorders cannabis is known to alleviate or ameliorate are as follows: HIV/AIDS wasting syndrome It must be remembered that the efficacy of cannabis in treating many of these illnesses is hotly debated and very controversial within the medical community. Furthermore, some patients have found cannabis to be ineffective or detrimental to the conditions listed above even though others have improved under cannabis treatment for the same illness. On June 30th, 2001 the Government of Canada implemented the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations allowing people to grow and posses cannabis with the permission of Health Canada. Health Canada considers cannabis use justified if a patient suffers from multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury or disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS infection, severe arthritis or epilepsy. « The High | Medical Marijuana | Legality » |
