Pediatric oncologists from Minnesota recently published an article justifying their use of medical cannabis as palliative care for their patients.
The majority of patients at the oncology center were approved for medical cannabis use during their first round of treatment, in order to immediately address the negative side effects of chemotherapy such as nausea, pain, and cancer cachexia. The data provided from the center described much higher chemotherapy compliance rates among patients, and that patients have a much better quality of life when utilizing cannabis.
This article highlights a few promising trends and issues with using medical cannabis; one promising trend is the hope for cannabis to provide antitumor effects. Cannabis has been a subject of exploration for antitumor effects and it has shown promising results. But, there are many limitations to the few studies that have been published, leading the authors to defer any definitive conclusions. The center in Minnesota noted that many of the patients diagnosed with brain tumors were especially hopeful that cannabis would aid in curing them of cancer, second to utilizing the drug for nausea. This is a promising trend because it means the greater public is showing interest in the therapeutic possibilities of cannabis and their support and call for research will aid the drive for the federal rescheduling of marijuana.
Also highlighted in this article is that, of all the patients certified to use medical cannabis, a subset of 24% never actually registered through the state to receive it. The authors have no firm explanation for these circumstances but seem to suspect that the $200 annual certification fee, on top of the cost for each additional dispensed product may be limiting of patients abilities to afford cannabis. Without the backing of the federal government, insurance companies are unable to cover medical cannabis. As the depth and reach of cannabis research grow, there are good reasons for patients to feel optimistic about medical cannabis.
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This paper is also stored here: http://bit.ly/2Xb2O3N inside the CED Foundation Archive
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