Can Marijuana Really Treat Pain or Is It Snake Oil?

When the news first broke about comedienne Whoopi Goldberg’s latest venture, selling products that include marijuana to ease menstrual cramps, I thought: Holy cow! Here’s an excellent example of why the DEA needs to reschedule marijuana.

It appears to be a wild frontier with efforts to turn marijuana into the latest snake oil. Like snake oil, there’s little or no scientific evidence for the claims that people who sell marijuana — even if their profile is as high (no pun intended) as Whoopi Goldberg’s.

We need to put this genie back in the bottle and study its effects scientifically before Whoopi Goldberg, or anyone else, can claim that marijuana is a panacea for ailments.

Maybe Marijuana Has Value for Pain Treatment

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not implying that research into the benefits of marijuana are pointless or that marijuana is the equivalent of snake oil. In fact, I’m hoping that research will find that components of marijuana can help some of the people, some of the time, with some ailments. I’m also hoping that researchers will be able to pinpoint which components of the plant are helpful, and the best ways to deliver those chemicals.

In other words, I don’t want to dismiss marijuana as a possible way to treat pain. I simply want to know more about marijuana before it garners a snake oil image.

Let’s Hope the DEA Changes the Way Marijuana Is Classified

That is why I was glad to read that the DEA may change the way marijuana is classified. The DEA currently classifies it as a drug without any medical purpose. The DEA has put it into the same category as heroin and methamphetamine.

That categorization fails to acknowledge the fact that marijuana appears to help many people today, and may prove to be a valuable tool for treating multiple medical conditions, once we learn more about it.

Rescheduling marijuana would make it easier to study it as an analgesic. Let’s hope the DEA reschedules marijuana soon. Research can help us determine if the products of the marijuana plant can be safely added to the tools in our chest that can treat pain or other medical problems.

4 Comments

  1. Linda on April 18, 2016 at 2:09 pm

    The drug relaxes all my muscles including my brain and I’m sure it has helped me make a really good recovery from my last relapse about three years ago almost back to where I started only with a deaf ear which is now switch off permanently .

  2. Anonymous on April 19, 2016 at 3:59 am

    I’ve worked in a pain clinic as a RN, one thing I do know, what works for one fails for another.
    I do get tired of the bandwagoners touting their Facebook gleaned knowledge, seems cannabis cures everything but poverty.
    Good to see some common sense for a change, like you, I hope to see more valid and reliable research.
    Must say though, I’ve seen it bring great relief to some MS sufferers in that spasm relief is attained very quickly.

  3. Clyde Silva on July 27, 2016 at 5:35 am

    I have a nerve injury that occurred 1-23-2000 I’m in lots of pain since. tried many treatments including medical marijuana that truly did not work. OxyContin seems to work the most but with all the new laws Drs do not want to give this type of meds any more once it was 180 mg a day now it’s all the way down to 60mg a day now I suffer every day short of taking my own life because there is no quality of life just can’t wait to drop died. The hell with the new laws for the people that need this type of meds.

  4. Gregory Beers on August 4, 2016 at 11:37 pm

    I am a chronic pain patient and although I do get Oxycotin & oxycodene I still smoke pot at night to help me sleep from the pain. I have found that it works great for me. My problem is that I can not smoke during the day as it would make me want to lay on the couch eating bon bons and watching Ophray all day. So that being said I,m a big believer of making pot legal.

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