Table of Contents
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to answer the question; does pot have a therapeutic effect on terminal diseases? The disease that was mainly used in this study was cancer, but the same effect was expected to be experienced by AIDS patients. Chemotherapy-induced vomiting and nausea were used as a control method of experimentation were applied 1. The result of the THC component of Marijuana as well as that of other clinical drugs was tested. Also, the impact of marijuana on malnutrition was investigated.
Study results confirmed the past researches that indeed, Marijuana suppressed vomiting and nausea and also increased the appetites of patients. However, the study suggests the use of Marijuana as a last resort due to the magnitude of its side effects.
Introduction
Cancer is a disease that comes as a result of the division of abnormal cells that is often uncontrollable. In the recent past, it has affected the people globally and is expected to continue as it is a terminal disease whose cure is yet to be found 1. According to a report by the World Health Organization in 2018, the global burden of cancer was approximated to have gone high to 18.1 million new patients, and deaths also rose to a tune of 9.6 million people. The report goes ahead to say that 20% of men and 21% of women globally contact cancer in their lifetime. The rising burden of cancer is attributed to factors such as growth in population and ageing as well as increased prevalence of some causes of the disease linked to lifestyles and economic conditions.
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It is estimated that roughly 3 out of ten Americans will contract cancer in the course of their lifetime. Many of these will eventually die though having lived with a disease in some significant proportion of their lifetime. It is because of this that researchers are not only looking for the cure as well as methods of prevention but also ways to make the living of those affected even more comfortable 1. The point of concern in this paper is to answer the question; Is marijuana a drug that can treat or suppress the impact of cancer? Many people who had not used the drug before support this statement. Such people include an author who wrote a proposal on the use of Marijuana for medicinal purposes in 1992, which served to be the foundation for California proposal 215.
The woman tried the drug on her ailing husband who had previously suffered from Chemo, which affected him more than cancer. The drug was not sufficient for the first time, but when she got a better quality, two puffs were enough to suppress the pain he felt before 1. Patients are suffering from cancer claim that it helps them in several ways, which include; reducing nausea, vomiting, adding onto appetite, reducing pain and anxiety.
However, medical specialists refute this claim and instead suggest that marijuana has the benefit of treating some symptoms of cancer altogether. Drugs made from marijuana’s chemical components could also be used to assist other prescriptions in cancer treatment. Substantial evidence from clinical researches shows that cannabis could bring a lot of impact on the patient, more than other orders like THC in the form of dronabinol 1. This forms the basis of this study where we seek to compare the effect of Marijuana component, THC, to that of metoclopramide in chemotherapy-induced nausea. If the influence of Marijuana is higher than that of metoclopramide, then the use of such could benefit the people suffering from deadly illnesses like AIDS and cancer.
Materials and methods
The study applies the control group form of experimentation to find out whether Marijuana has a more significant impact in reducing vomiting as compared to clinical drugs. This involved the use of four types of THC. Two additional laboratory studies shall also be discussed to provide positive findings. The impact of Marijuana on nausea as and vomiting, as well as an increase in appetite for patients suffering from terminal diseases, were determined using chemotherapy generated nausea and vomiting 1. The research on the origin of Nausea will rely on the description by patients of their feelings. The reason for using chemotherapy agents is the supposition that the drugs or the products of their digestion accelerate receptors in vital organs of sense. Some of the components used like cisplatin made almost every patient throw severally. This may begin after several minutes of treatment or in an hour. The ability of marijuana or THC to suppress this was then determined.
Study results
Variable 1: Effect of marijuana in the suppression of vomiting and nausea
In the laboratory studies, THC was concluded to have reduced vomiting more than placebo did. However, trials testing the efficiency of THC with prochlorperazine, the results have some negligible impact, and they failed to stop vomiting in 2/3 of the patients 1. In another study, scholars made a comparison of THC and metoclopramide where 73% per cent of the patients who got THC twice in a week vomited as compared to those who got Metoclopramide where only 27% vomited.
Also, more studies though less justifiable, have obtained the same conclusion. Those to whom THC was administered complained of terrible side effects such as dryness of the mouth, blood pressure is low and changes in their moods. On the other hand, patients who had not used marijuana before reported distortion in their psychology as compared to those who had used it in the past.
Another study researched the impact of smoked marijuana in patients who have cancer who were not assisted by other clinical drugs 1. Almost 80% of the sample used considered marijuana as mid-effective or most effective in comparison to other medications they had used before. However, it is not meant to conclude that smoked cannabis would suppress vomiting more than taking a THC pill.
Variable 2: Effect of marijuana on malnutrition
Appetite loss and emaciation affect most people who have cancer. This also is dominant in people who have HIV/AIDS. Marijuana is popular because of its capacity to increase appetite in people 1. This is as a result of its large composition of THC which has been justified by several types of research. For instance, patients who used THC of dronabinol form were witnessed to have a low rate of weight loss and had an increased appetite.
Discussion
From this study and other related studies, it is clear that marijuana has a positive impact in the reduction of suppression of symptoms of deadly diseases like cancer through reduction of nausea and vomiting as well as increasing their appetites 1. This may not act as a cure for such diseases but may serve to grant them a comfortable and less painful way of life. However, the side effects, in many instances, are more in the long run. Hence, this study suggests the use of cannabinoids only in those cases where other forms of medication have failed, that is, use it as a last resort under strict medical supervision.
