One way to reduce intraocular pressure to a safe level is to treat MMJ.
The goal of glaucoma treatment is to reduce intraocular pressure to a safe level, which will stop the development of damage. Accordingly, the disease can be treated with medicines, laser or surgery. Another way is to treat glaucoma with marijuana.
The medical capacity of cannabis
Since ancient times, marijuana has been used as a pain reliever for insomnia and digestive disorders. As a medical drug, cannabis became most popular in the 19th century as a pain medicine, until the invention of aspirin.
How does smoking marijuana help with glaucoma? The answer is simple: the plant contains cannabinoids – special substances that affect the contraction of the myocardium. So, CBD – cannabidiol has therapeutic potential in combination with another substance tetrahydrocannabinol. It is their union that relieves pain, nausea and reduces both arterial and ocular pressure.
Marijuana and glaucoma: an experiment
The property of marijuana to reduce intraocular pressure was completely accidental. In an experiment at the University of California, Los Angeles, they tried to test whether marijuana causes pupil dilation. It was claimed by the city police department, believing that the dilated pupil next to whitened lips and a green coating on the tongue indicates the use of marijuana, which means that it is the basis for a search and arrest.
In the experiment, volunteers smoked state-grown marijuana while their pupils were constantly photographed. As a result, it turned out that the pupils do not expand, but narrow. Ophthalmologists conducted additional examinations and confirmed:
- cannabis reduces the production of tears;
- reduces intraocular pressure.
Subsequent studies have shown that marijuana has a similar effect on glaucoma patients.
The decrease in intraocular pressure after smoking marijuana remained up to 3-4 hours, while no side effects on visual function were observed. The pupils reacted normally to light, visual acuity, refraction, peripheral visual fields, binocular and color vision. It has led to the notion that medical marijuana may be more effective than drugs.
Treatment of glaucoma with marijuana: pros and cons
Despite the results of experiments and studies, doctors around the world consider the use of marijuana to be less effective than conventional medicine in the fight against glaucoma. Among the arguments against are the following: the effect lasts up to 3-4 hours, that is, the patient needs to smoke cannabis every three hours to feel the same effect as from the medicine.
There is a possibility that such intensive use of marijuana can lead to side effects on the body, but it can be avoided if a person contacts a medical specialist.
As you can see, the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is a fairly popular and proven mechanism for the treatment of sick patients. However, the use of such substances is possible only after personal consultation with the doctor.