1. MEDICAL MARIJUANA A medical and Ethical Viewpoint

2. Controversy • The Chief scientific advisor (Professor Nutt) to the government – sacked • Stigmatised by the government and other institutions as a ‘gateway drug’ and cause of crime. • But it had been used since for medicinal purposes since 2,737 BCE.

3. Use In History • In ancient China cannabis had 120 medicinal uses • In ancient India it was used to treat headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, and pain • Queen Victoria used it for menstrual cramps and reduction of labour pain

4. Legality of Medicinal Marijuana • It is legal in sixteen states in the United States • It is allowed to be prescribed for extreme pain in Canada • In the UK it is prescribed very rarely as a spray after a slight change in law after 1995.

5. Medicinal Compounds • There is 5 main compounds - tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, β-caryophyllene, and cannabigerol. • As Doctors, pharmacologists, medical biologists, medicinal marijuana users, e.t.c you will mostly come across tetrahydrocannabinol as it is the most widely used.

6. Medicinal Uses of Marijuana. • PAIN KILLER • It is an effective analgesic. • Useful for pain caused by damaged nerves (such as that which causes phantom limb pain), which does not respond well to existing medications. • The usual pain killers are opiates, but these are addictive, and tolerance develops so that the dose has to be increased.

7. Medicinal Uses of Marijuana. • TREATING CANCER • It can be used as an antiemetic, a drug which relieves nausea and allows patients to eat and live normally. • Cannabis is safer, cheaper and often more effective than standard synthetic antiemetics. • It euphoric properties act as an anti-depressant, and the hunger and enjoyment of food properties ('the munchies')

8. Medicinal Uses of Marijuana. • MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS • Cannabinoidreceptors are densely populated in the areas of the brain which control movement, which suggets that cannabis may have anti-spastic effects. • It stops muscle spasms, reduces tremors, restores balance, restores bladder control and restores speech and eyesight. • A  British Medical Association report requests that some synthetic cannabinoids officially licensed for use in MS and other spastic disorders.

9. Medicinal Uses of Marijuana. • OTHER USES • It is also used to treat Epilepsy, Glaucoma, Migranes, Alzheimer's, ADD/ADHD, tourettes and others. • There are many more uses of medicinal marijuana that studies have shown.

10. Sativex • In the UK, this is the most used type of an extract of cannabinoid from marijuana. • It is administered in the via a mouth spray, and prescribed in the UK for Multiple Sclerosis, Neuropathic pain and Cancer Pain. • The only side effects is mild dizziness and fatigue.

11. Supporters Supporters of Medical Marijuana in a chemical form: • The Royal Society • British Medical Association • The House of Lords • General Practitioners (1995 survey – 70%) • Federation of American Scientists • National Nurses Society on Addictions • California Medical Association • Finnish Medical Association • The US Institutes of Medicine

12. Against • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  • The Institute of Medicine • United States National Academy of Sciences • American Society of Addiction Medicine

13. What is Your View?