What are the benefits of medical Cannabis compared to prescription drugs?

There are endless benefits from medical marijuana. In February 2010 investigators at the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research publicly announced the finding of a series of randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials on the medical utility of inhaled cannabis. The studies, which utilized the so-called ‘gold’ standard (the best, most reliable, or most prestigious standard) FDA clinical trial design, concluded that Cannabis ought to be a "first-line treatment" for patients with neuropathy and other serious illnesses. Among the studies conducted by the Center, four assessed smoked-Cannabis’s ability to alleviate neuropathic pain, a notoriously difficult to treat type of nerve pain associated with cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, spinal-cord injury and many other debilitating conditions. Each of the trials found that cannabis consistently reduced patients’ pain levels to a degree that was as good or better than currently available medications. Another study conducted by the Center's investigators assessed the study and determined that “smoked cannabis was superior to placebo in reducing spasticity and pain in patients with MS, and provided some benefit beyond currently prescribed treatments.”  

Prescription drugs kill over 100,000 people every year. How many people die from Cannabis use yearly? Dr. Grinspoon says, “There are no deaths from Cannabis use anywhere. You can’t find one,” said Dr. Lester Grinspoon, professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School. Believe it: In 10,000 years of known Cannabis use, there’s never been a single death attributed to Cannabis.

 

“You have to smoke something like 15,000 joints in 20 minutes to get a toxic amount of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol,” said Dr. Paul Hornby, a biochemist and human pathologist who also happens to be one of the leading authorities on Cannabis research.

Like with almost any type of additive to the body, there are some mild side effects that come along with the use of medical Cannabis. These may include dry mouth, drowsiness, giddiness, hunger, and red eyes. However, when compared to the side effects of the FDA-approved prescription medications, these consequences seem quite minimal. Anyone who’s ever heard a commercial for a prescription medication knows how scary that list can be. But to cite just one example, there is currently a psychoactive drug that is growing large breasts on elementary-aged boys.