Legalization of medical cannabis remains a controversial topic throughout the western world. Despite a lack of clarity as to the long term effects of cannabis, over two-thirds of the 1,500 doctors involved in a U.S. nationwide survey support the provision of medical marijuana as an option for patients, having frequently been cited in various clinical studies as a potent analgesic and anti-epileptic (WebMD, 2014).
The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 classifies cannabis as a schedule I drug in the UK alongside lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), stating it has no known therapeutic value and high potential for abuse. The widespread support for prescription-free cannabis has often been dismissed as pressure from recreational users, yet the clinical …show more content…
Conversely, post-chemotherapy anti-emetic treatments are significantly more likely to be available for self-medication, such as Kaopectate and Pepto-bismol, with the active ingredient Bismuth subsalicylate. Patients who are allergic, having bleeding problems or taking other salicylate medicine such as aspirin are strongly advised not to take these products however (Drugs.com 2016), in which case a cannabis-based alternative would be preferable. Numerous studies have cited clinically significant differences in nausea & vomiting in favour of synthetic therapeutic cannabinoids(CB) over narcoleptics, as well as an apparent preference for the former (Rocha, et al. 2008). Up to 50% of patients choose, perhaps fatally, to delay or refuse treatment due to apprehension over poor nausea and emesis management following cytotoxic therapy (Schnell 2002). This indicates that the improvement which may be seen in anti-emetic treatment through accessible cannabis products may improve survival rate by up to 50%, an astonishing figure for a disease which kills over 8 million people a year (WHO 2015), however likely to be …show more content…
The Endocannabinoid system is active along the axis of the central nervous system, including regions of the brain such as the ventroposterolateral nucleus of the thalamus in which CBs are 10 times more powerful than opiates such as morphine (Martin, et al. 1996). Figure 1 displays the action of endocannabinoids as retrograde messengers, subsequently affecting the release of numerous neurotransmitters in neural and peripheral tissues (Chakravarti, et al. 2014). Endocannabinoids stimulate the periaqueductal grey matter through which ascending nociceptive signals are relayed, known to cause an analgesic effect (Behbehani 1995). Many
regions of the central nervous system(CNS) involve endogenous CB regulation. CBs formed at the post-synaptic phospholipid membrane bind to receptors on the pre-synaptic membrane, disrupting intracellular signal transduction pathways and decreasing rate of calcium ion influx (Chan 2011). This subsequently decreases the rate of neurotransmitter release, and the rate of post-synaptic action potential generation. Exogenous CBs mimic and augments the action of endogenous CBs producing a greater total effect, and outlining the mechanism as to which cannabis serves as a powerful
The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 classifies cannabis as a schedule I drug in the UK alongside lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), stating it has no known therapeutic value and high potential for abuse. The widespread support for prescription-free cannabis has often been dismissed as pressure from recreational users, yet the clinical …show more content…
Conversely, post-chemotherapy anti-emetic treatments are significantly more likely to be available for self-medication, such as Kaopectate and Pepto-bismol, with the active ingredient Bismuth subsalicylate. Patients who are allergic, having bleeding problems or taking other salicylate medicine such as aspirin are strongly advised not to take these products however (Drugs.com 2016), in which case a cannabis-based alternative would be preferable. Numerous studies have cited clinically significant differences in nausea & vomiting in favour of synthetic therapeutic cannabinoids(CB) over narcoleptics, as well as an apparent preference for the former (Rocha, et al. 2008). Up to 50% of patients choose, perhaps fatally, to delay or refuse treatment due to apprehension over poor nausea and emesis management following cytotoxic therapy (Schnell 2002). This indicates that the improvement which may be seen in anti-emetic treatment through accessible cannabis products may improve survival rate by up to 50%, an astonishing figure for a disease which kills over 8 million people a year (WHO 2015), however likely to be …show more content…
The Endocannabinoid system is active along the axis of the central nervous system, including regions of the brain such as the ventroposterolateral nucleus of the thalamus in which CBs are 10 times more powerful than opiates such as morphine (Martin, et al. 1996). Figure 1 displays the action of endocannabinoids as retrograde messengers, subsequently affecting the release of numerous neurotransmitters in neural and peripheral tissues (Chakravarti, et al. 2014). Endocannabinoids stimulate the periaqueductal grey matter through which ascending nociceptive signals are relayed, known to cause an analgesic effect (Behbehani 1995). Many
regions of the central nervous system(CNS) involve endogenous CB regulation. CBs formed at the post-synaptic phospholipid membrane bind to receptors on the pre-synaptic membrane, disrupting intracellular signal transduction pathways and decreasing rate of calcium ion influx (Chan 2011). This subsequently decreases the rate of neurotransmitter release, and the rate of post-synaptic action potential generation. Exogenous CBs mimic and augments the action of endogenous CBs producing a greater total effect, and outlining the mechanism as to which cannabis serves as a powerful