Does Marijuana Help or Hurt Cirrhosis?

Overview of Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis is the late stage of scarring, or fibrosis, of the liver. It can be caused by a variety of conditions, including hepatitis and chronic alcohol abuse. The scarring associated with cirrhosis develops in response to damage done to the liver and it cannot be undone. The liver is responsible for detoxifying harmful substances within your body and cleaning your blood and making vital nutrients, but the scarring that develops makes it difficult for the liver to function properly. When cirrhosis is advanced, it can be life threatening. If diagnosed and treated early, however, further damage can be limited and prevented.

According to Mayo Clinic, some causes of cirrhosis are inherited, like iron buildup, cystic fibrosis, and genetic digestive disorder, while other causes occur later in life, like chronic alcohol abuse, hepatitis c, hepatitis b and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Patients with cirrhosis commonly experience fatigue, easy bleeding and bruising, itchy skin, loss of appetite and nausea, leg swelling, weight loss, fluid accumulation in the abdomen, and red spider-like blood vessels on the skin.

Treatment for cirrhosis is dictated by the extent of the liver damage upon diagnosis. The goals are to slow further scar tissue progression and prevent or treat associated symptoms. In some cases, if a liver ceases to function, a liver transplant may be required.

Findings: Effects of Cannabis on Cirrhosis

Research regarding cannabis and its potential impact on cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases is complex. The two major cannabinoids found in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) bind with or influence the cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) of the endocannabinoid system within the body. Previous studies had actually implicated action of CB1 in the progression of cirrhosis, fibrosis, and other liver diseases. However, CB2 receptor activation has shown beneficial effects on alcoholic fatty liver, hepatic inflammation, liver injury, regeneration and fibrosis and CBD has. Therefore, research suggests that using cannabis to selectively activate the CB2 receptor offers therapeutic potential for cirrhosis and other liver diseases (Mallat, et al., 2011).

Studies suggest that CBD can help combat cirrhosis progression by assisting in the death of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). When HSCs are activated, they proliferate and produce excess collagen, which causes the accumulation of scarring on the liver. CBD’s activation of the CB2 receptors, however, has been shown to be effective at inducing apoptosis (death) in these activated HSCs (Lim, Devi & Rozenfeld, 2011). Cannabidiol has also been shown to restore liver function in mice experiencing liver failure (Abraham, et al., 2011).

Findings also support that CBD can serve as a protective strategy against ischemia reperfusion, the pivotal mechanism of tissue damage in cirrhosis, by reducing the force of key inflammatory pathways and oxidative/nitrative tissue injury. These effects of CBD are independent of their impact on the CB2 receptors (Mukhopadhyay, Rajesh & Pacher, 2011).

CBD has also proven effective at protecting the liver from steatosis caused by alcohol drinking by preventing an increase in oxidative stress and the autophagy induced by alcohol, thus protecting the liver from progressive damage (Yang, et al., 2014).

Cannabis may also serve helpful in managing symptoms associated with cirrhosis. Cannabis has long been known to limit or prevent nausea and vomiting from a variety of causes (Sharkey, Darmani & Parker, 2014) (Parker, et al., 2015). In addition, if cirrhosis patients are suffering from a loss of appetite, medical marijuana has demonstrated effective at increasing appetite and stabilizing body weight (Beal, et al., 1995).

States That Have Approved Medical Marijuana for Cirrhosis

No states have approved medical marijuana specifically for the treatment of cirrhosis. However, states have approved cannabis to treat some symptoms commonly associated with cirrhosis.

Currently, 17 states have approved medical marijuana specifically for the treatment of nausea. These states include: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

In addition, for those cirrhosis patients also experiencing extreme weight loss or cachexia, 20 states have approved medical marijuana for treatment. These states include: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

A number of other states will consider allowing medical marijuana to be used for the treatment of cirrhosis with recommendation by a physician. These states include: California (any debilitating illness where the medical use of marijuana has been recommended by a physician), Connecticut (other medical conditions may be approved by the Department of Consumer Protection), Massachusetts (other conditions as determined in writing by a qualifying patient’s physician), Nevada (other conditions subject to approval), Oregon (other conditions subject to approval), Rhode Island (other conditions subject to approval), and Washington (any “terminal or debilitating condition”).

In Washington D.C., any condition can be approved for medical marijuana as long as a DC-licensed physician recommends the treatment.

Recent Studies on Cannabis’ Effect on Cirrhosis

• CBD shown to kill the hepatic stellate cells that are responsible for the accumulation of scarring on the liver.
  Cannabidiol causes activated hepatic stellate cell death through a mechanism of endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis.
  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3168994/)

• Cannabidiol was able to restore normal liver function in mice experiencing liver failure.
  Cannabidiol improves brain and liver function in a fulminant hepatic failure-induced model of hepatic encephalopathy in mice.
  (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057300/)

References:

1. Avraham, Y., Grigoriadis, N., Poutahidis, T., Vorobiev, L., Magen, I., Ilan, Y., Mechoulam, R., and Berry, E. (2011, April). Cannabidiol improves brain and liver function in a fulminant hepatic failure-induced model of hepatic encephalopathy in mice. British Journal of Pharmacology, 162(7), 1650-8. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057300/.
2. Beal, J.E., Olson, R., Laubenstein, L., Morales, J.O., Bellman, P., Yangco, B., Lefkowitz, L, Plasse, T.F. and Shephard, K.V. (1995, February). Dronabinol as a treatment for anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS. Journal of Pain and System Management, 10(2), 89-97. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/WJvaxy.
3. (2014, August 16). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cirrhosis/basics/definition/con-20031617.
4. (2014, November 20). MedlinePlus. Retrieved from https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000255.htm.
5. Lim, M.P., Devi, L.A., and Rozenfeld, R. (2011). Cannabidiol causes activated hepatic stellate cell death through a mechanism of endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis. Cell Death & Disease. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3168994/.
6. Mallat, A., Teixeira-Clerc, F., Deveaux, V., Manin, S., and Lotersztajn, S. (2011, August). The endocannabinoid system as a key mediator during liver diseases: new insights and therapeutic openings. British Journal of Pharmacology, 163(7), 1432-40. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3165953/.
7. Mukhopadhyay, P., Monanraj, R., and Pacher, P. (2011, May 15). Cannabidiol protects against hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury by attenuating inflammatory signaling and response, oxidative/nitrative stress, and cell death. Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 50(10), 1368-1381. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3081988/.
8. Parker, L.A., Rock, E.M., Sticht, M.A., Wills, K.L., and Limebeer, C.L. (2015). Cannabinoids suppress acute and anticipatory nausea in preclinical rat models of conditioned gaping. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 97(6), 559-61. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/cpt.98/full.
9. Sharkey, KA., Darmani, NA., and Parker, LA. (2014). Regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system. European Journal of Pharmacology, 722, 134-46. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3883513/.
10. Yang, L., Rozenfeld, R., Wu, D., Devi, LA., Zhang, Z., and Cederbaum, A. (2014, March). Cannabidiol protects liver from binge alcohol-induced steatosis by mechanisms including inhibition of oxidative stress and increase in autophagy. Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 68, 260-7. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4112960/.

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This New Cannabis Capsule Is So Potent It Will Replace Every Pain Killer

As more and more people are starting to realize, the pharmaceutical industry is basically one big legal drug ring.

Just as people get addicted to heroin and methamphetamine, pharmaceutical companies push drugs with slightly altered chemical compositions deemed legal by the government.

The one good thing to come of this is the increased demand for natural and alternative treatments that lie outside the domain of ‘Big Pharma.’ One substance in particular has been seen to hold great medicinal potential, and that’s cannabis (marijuana).

In fact, some organizations have started making cannabis-infused products to treat a variety of highly painful ailments and symptoms.

The Foria Relief Company has created vaginal cannabis suppositories using cocoa butter as the perfect alternative to pills like Vicodin, Midol and Ibuprofen. The suppository helps relax muscles, preventing or soothing menstrual cramps.

The cannabis capsule is made from the extract of cannabis flower, all of which are pesticide-free. The active ingredients are processed without microbials and then packaged with a specific mix of 60 mg of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and 10 mg of CBD (cannabidiol).

The combination together creates the perfect effect to relieve pain. The THC helps send happy feelings to the brain, while the CBD helps promote relaxation of the muscles. This helps reduce muscle spasms as well as inflammation.

After taking the suppository, one woman described the area from her waist to her thighs as “floating in some other galaxy.” It helped ease up any clenched, tense muscles and completely got rid of all of the pain in her midsection.

Unfortunately, this product is only purchasable in California at the moment, and it has not been approved by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration). However, if you think this product might be for you, please consult with a doctor before trying it, just to be safe!

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Cannabis Company Designs Pain Patch For Fibromyalgia And Nerve Pain

Cannabis has been used as an all-purpose homeopathic remedy for centuries. Over time, evidence suggests that the plant was an herbal remedy for psycho-neurological disorders, breast cancer, rheumatism,  sexual disorders, and painful complications related to childbirth. Now, this ancient tool has a new, modern application. A cannabis patch is now available for patients with fibromyalgia and diabetic nerve pain.

Cannabis for fibromyalgia & nerve pain

Photo credit

Fibromyalgia and diabetic neuropathy have a couple of things in common. Both conditions involve seemingly unexplainable pain, tingling, and can drastically reduce your quality of life.
Early research suggests that cannabis may have powerful therapeutic effects for both conditions, and this new pain patch offers a novel new approach for conditions that are incredibly difficult to treat.
A 2014 survey from the National Pain Foundations found that cannabis was considered the most effective pain medication by fibromyalgia patients who were willing to experiment with the herb.
Not all survey respondents had consumed cannabis. However, those that had suggested that the herb worked better at managing pain than the leading prescriptions for fibromyalgia, including Savella, Cymbalta, and Lyrica.
Small human trials of cannabis for diabetic neuropathy have also been successful. A study of 16 patients with diabetic neuropathy of the feet found the herb successfully reduced pain symptoms in a dose-dependant manner. The cannabis plant has successfully reduced nerve pain associated with conditions like multiple sclerosis as well.
While expensive cannabis-based pharmaceuticals are already available in some countries for the treatment of nervous disorders, most canna-curious patients are stuck with topical creams and oral cannabis options, which can be a little strong for the daytime.
Now, one innovative company, Cannabis Science, has released a revolutionary new topical application of cannabis medicines.

Cannabis Science designs an infused pain patch

Photo credit

Cannabis Science, Inc. is a pharmaceutical research company that works to develop innovative new cannabis medicines. In November of 2016, they announced their most recent project, a transdermal patch that delivers powerful pain-fighting medicine through the skin and into the bloodstream.
The company has two new patches in mind, one for fibromyalgia and one for diabetic neuropathy. While both of these patches will contain cannabinoids, each formulation and delivery method will be designed to most effectively manage symptoms of the respective illness.

In a press release announcing the new pain patch, Cannabis Science CEO Raymond Dabney explains,

The development of these two new pharmaceutical medicinal applications are just the tip of the iceberg for what we see as the future for Cannabis Science.
While we strive to increase our land capacity for growth and facilities to produce our own product to supply our scientists with proprietary materials to make these formulations, we are also busy researching more potential needs for Cannabis related medical applications and developing the methods for delivery of these medications.

Earlier in 2016, Cannabis Science began recruiting for a study on inhaled cannabis preparations for patients with asthma and lung diseases like COPD.
Cannabis Science is also not the first company to look into the transdermal applications of cannabis. Mary’s Medicinals got there first, offering cannabis-infused pain patches to medical cannabis patients in Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Michigan, and Oregon. The company also hopes to offer their patches in California soon.

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Dr. Oz Looks at Medical Marijuana as a Potential Cure for Opioid Addiction

Opioid painkiller addiction is the fastest growing drug addiction in the United States today, and it was recently featured on the popular Dr. Oz TV show. Dr. Oz pointed out the astonishing statistics that 48 million Americans, one out of every 5, have reported that they have abused prescription drugs. 12 states have more opioid pain pill prescriptions than people. In states where marijuana is legal, however, opioid prescriptions are declining.

Dr. Oz looks at the question: Is marijuana the new gateway drug OUT of opioid addiction?

Many health practitioners are aware of the current epidemic of opioid addiction from prescribed painkiller drugs. The most popular opioid painkillers prescribed are Oxycontin, Percodan, and Percocet. Of course there are other painkillers in the oxycodone category as well.

All opioids are opiates, derived from the eighty percent (80%) of heroin addicts who were once prescribed opioid drugs for legitimate pain concerns. In the UK, heroin is actually prescribed as a painkiller. Ironically, the synthetic opioid methadone is used to replace heroin among most addicts. It is also prescribed as a painkiller.

Morphine is an opioid painkiller with the longest history of prescription. It is often prescribed for cancer patients in pain. It can actually shut down organ function. Maybe that’s why it is usually prescribed for terminal cancer patients in hospice. 

The Cycle of Addiction to Death from Prescribed Pain Killers

These are the often prescribed drugs that are the foundation of the opioid addiction epidemic. What happens often is a patient is prescribed an opioid pharmaceutical for legitimate pain. After some use, the addiction sets in, a person feels sick if he quits or his prescription is no longer filled because the physician observes the problem creating pain is healed.

But the patient has become so addicted he or she feels there is no way to handle daily living without them. Even while using opioids under doctors’ care, patients usually have to increase dosage in order to handle the same level of pain. As they increase dosages, their inability to do without increases and withdrawal symptoms make it difficult for most to stop.

Increased dosing leads to increased risk of death from overdosing, when opioid drugs cause breathing to halt or the heart to stop pumping. Opioids are the number one killer among prescribed pharmaceutical drugs. Prescribed opioid use has increased 400 percent since 1999, and the drug overdose death toll has increased accordingly.

This is the same phenomenon as heroine overdosing. As a matter of fact, many prescription opioid users who at first turn to opioids sold on the street without prescriptions become heroin users. Street heroin is cheaper than street Oxycontin, for example.

Cannabis: Gateway From Opioid Addiction

Currently, medical marijuana, historically considered the gateway drug to opioids such as heroin and other addictive narcotics, has come forth as a solution for the opioid epidemic. Using cannabis to kick opioid habits effectively and easily has been nicknamed “reefer rehab.”

Dr. Mehmed Oz spotlighted this recently (October 2016) in a Dr. Oz telecast. You can view it here. The focus was on a recovering methadone addict in an informal cannabis camp in Maine who had been hooked on legally prescribed methadone for 10 years.

Dr. Oz’s guest Krishna Andavalu visited a somewhat informal rehab camp using cannabis to follow that one person’s withdrawal from long term methadone use. Dr. Oz and Krishna Andavalu considered the camp an unofficial rehab center operating in a medical marijuana legal state.

Dr. Oz brought up several valid points regarding the inaccessibility of affordable treatment centers for opioid painkiller addicts, most of whom tend to be white middle class. But the fact is even the best rehab centers have a low rate of success and a high rate of recidivism after their few successes. But they make a lot of money, sort of like mainstream oncology’s efforts with cancer.

Doctors in Maine are at the Forefront of Cannabis for Pain and Opioid Withdrawal

Although any positive national exposure on cannabis medicine is welcome, the Oz show could have been a little less conservative from this author’s perspective. Instead, it focused on an informal setting that used cannabis to help addicts, successfully, and ignored the fact that Maine has several physicians and centers using cannabis in highly professional settings.

The doctor most involved with cannabis for kicking opioid addictions using reefer rehab is an osteopathic physician or D.O., Dr. David Sulak, who has been running two Integr8 Health Clinics in Maine and one in nearby Massachusetts. He was not even mentioned.

Dr. Sulak, D.O., and his associates have developed a successful protocol for using cannabis to help opioid addicts withdraw and even help eliminate the pain that had driven them to opioid painkillers. Their success rate is very high.

They also use cannabis for other medical conditions, even analyzing the various complex entourage effects of different strains in their labs to determine which strains work best for different medical maladies.

Dr. Sulak appears to be one of the nation’s leading cannabis doctors in general. He is involved with outreaching to other physicians in medical marijuana legal states and guiding them with successful cannabis applications to other health problems as well.

Dr. Sulak has produced a video of his lengthy live presentation reaching out to other medical practitioners in medical marijuana legal states, which can be accessed from this earlier Health Impact News article’s sources section.

During Dr. Sulak’s intermission, two heads of orthodox rehab centers appeared to confess and confirm the inadequacy of orthodox rehab counseling. They explained how the DEA’s refusal to change cannabis’ Schedule 1 rating has made it impossible for mainstream rehab centers to allow cannabis.

This was corroborated by Dr. Oz’s and Krishna Andavalu’s concern for changing national marijuana laws that would allow more research. Currently, orthodox rehab centers disqualify those who use cannabis to help them get through withdrawal in non-legal medical marijuana states.

Dr. Sulak was also one of medical cannabis experts consulted in the Holistic Cannabis Summit 2016 series promoted on this site. He definitely understands medical cannabis clinically more than most. (Source)

Dr. James Li, M.D., was an E.R. physician who now prescribes cannabis for pain. He also gave a lecture to practicing physicians in Portland, Maine earlier in 2014. Dr. Li showed slides of how cannabis is more effective than opioids or opiates (both the same) for chronic neurological pain among diabetics and MS patients, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and AIDS patients.

These slides were from actual double blind randomized placebo control trials conducted globally in recent years. He also showed figures from various addiction center heads who rated cannabis the least addictive with less dependency issues among other compounds, which included opioids, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.

Another issue Dr. Li addressed was a study that demonstrated cannabis did not require higher dosing even after two years of using it for chronic pain. Opioids and opiate derived painkillers require increased dosages even after a few months, unless used with cannabis. Cannabis increases opioid efficacy without increasing its dosage.

Therein lies the risk of dying from overdosing, which occurs at the rate of one every half-hour nationally. The highly publicized death of musical performer and songwriter Prince was one of them. Even the CDC reports 78 die from opioid overdosing daily in America, of which half are from prescribed painkillers. (Source)

Dr. Li also mentioned that the FDA considers opioids risky and not evidence based for reducing pain, which begs the question why has the FDA approved them for the DEA to consider them of medical use while it refuses to approve cannabis unless it is a synthetically isolated pharmaceutical?

It’s interesting to note another fact from both Maine cannabis doctors: double blind placebo control testing for opioids usually have high dropout rates due to intolerable side effects. Among those tested with cannabis or cannabis extracts, there were no dropouts due to adverse side effects.

Here’s a Colorado pain patient’s personal testimony interview:

As for functionality in the work-a-day world using cannabis for chronic pain, an earlier Health Impact report on a Florida stock broker and medical marijuana activist demonstrates the feasibility of functioning well in the every day world using cannabis for chronic pain relief. (Source)

Source:https://healthimpactnews.com/2016/dr-oz-looks-at-medical-marijuana-as-a-potential-cure-for-opioid-addiction/

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Top 5 benefits of cannabis for diabetes

Consumption Diabetes is the term used to refer to a set of metabolic disorders characterized by high levels of glucose present in the blood of chronic persistent manner. Diabetes affects nearly 400 million people worldwide, resulting in up to five million deaths a year, and its prevalence is increasing. There is substantial evidence that cannabis can prevent and treat the disease.

Diabetes is the term used to refer to a set of metabolic disorders characterized by persistently and persistently elevated levels of glucose in the blood. Diabetes affects nearly 400 million people worldwide, resulting in up to five million deaths a year, and its prevalence is increasing. There is substantial evidence that cannabis can prevent and treat the disease.

Preventive

Diabetes is related to high fasting insulin levels and insulin resistance, as well as to low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) or good cholesterol. In 2013, the results of a five-year study on the effects of cannabis on fasting insulin and on insulin resistance in the American Journal of Medicine were published. Of the 4,657 participants in the study, 2,554 had used cannabis in their lifetime (579 continued to consume and 1,975 had consumed in the past) and 2,103 had never consumed the drug.

The researchers found that those who continued to use cannabis had 16% lower fasting insulin levels than participants who had never used cannabis, 17% lower levels of insulin resistance, and higher levels of HDL-C. Participants who had used cannabis sometime in their lifetime, but did not consume any more, had similar but less pronounced percentages, indicating that the protective effect of cannabis disappears over time.

The researchers also performed an analysis of data that excluded people who had been diagnosed with diabetes. Even after excluding diabetics, those who continued to use cannabis were found to have reduced levels of fasting insulin and insulin resistance, indicating that cannabis can help prevent the onset of diabetes, as well as control Symptoms in diagnosed cases.

Decreases insulin resistance

Insulin resistance, also known as insulin resistance or insulin resistance, is a disease that causes cells to reject the normal mechanism of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas and essential for the regulation of glucose metabolism. Insulin resistance is associated with type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body can not produce insulin, whereas in type 2 insulin production is not affected but cells can not process insulin. When cells become resistant to insulin, they are unable to absorb the glucose needed to provide them with energy, and unused glucose accumulates in the bloodstream, leading to hyperglycemia.

The authors of the 2013 study found that those who continued to use cannabis had an average insulin resistance of 1.8 compared to 2.2 of those who had consumed in the past and 2.5 of those who had never used cannabis. It was also found that those who continued to use cannabis had lower blood glucose levels compared to those who had consumed in the past and those who had never consumed. Those who continued to consume had mean blood glucose levels of 99.7 mg / dl compared with 100.6 mg / dl of those who had consumed in the past and 103.5 mg / dl of those who had never consumed. However, the exact mechanism by which cannabinoids exert their effects on insulin resistance has not been determined so far.

Cannabis use is associated with a smaller waist circumference 

Helps prevent obesity

Both obesity, high body mass index (BMI) and a large waist circumference are related to the risk of diabetes. A number of studies have been conducted on the relationship between cannabis use and BMI, with conflicting results. In a 2005 study of young adults, it was found that cannabis use was not related to changes in BMI, while two major studies at the national level found a lower BMI and lower levels of obesity in consumers Of cannabis despite consuming daily more than average number of calories.

Although the underlying mechanism behind the complex relationship between the endocannabinoid system, obesity and diabetes has not been established, a 2012 study showed that obese rats lost a considerable amount of weight and experienced a post-exposure weight gain of the pancreas To extractions of organic cannabis. Weight gain of the pancreas indicates that the beta cells of the pancreas (which are responsible for insulin production) are protected by the presence of cannabinoids. In type 1 diabetes, beta cells are destroyed by the autoimmune response, so providing them with protection can help control the disease.

May treat diabetes-induced neuropathy

People with diabetes often experience nervous disorders as a result of their illness. Damage to the nervous system often affects peripheral areas such as the hands and feet, but can occur in any organ or area of ​​the body. The damage may be asymptomatic, but in many cases, the disorder is accompanied by pain, tingling, and numbness. As with many forms of nerve pain, it may be difficult to treat diabetic neuropathy with conventional analgesics. However, there is evidence that cannabis can play a role here as well.

A study published in 2009 investigated the antinociceptive (pain-reducing) effects of cannabidiol extractions in cases of diabetes-induced neuropathy in rats. The authors found that repeated administration of CBD extractions "significantly alleviated" mechanical allodynia (painful response to non-painful stimuli) and restored normal pain perception without inducing hyperglycemia. The treatment was also found to protect the liver against oxidative stress (believed to be an important factor contributing to the development of neuropathy) and increased levels of nerve growth factor to normal levels.

However, so far, human studies have yielded less positive results. Also in 2009, a randomized controlled trial investigated the ability of the Sativex spray from GW Pharmaceuticals to ameliorate the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy induced by diabetes . Sativex or placebo was given to 30 subjects. Scores reflecting the pain scale improved considerably in all settings, but the effect of Sativex was not found to be significantly greater than that of placebo.

Can treat diabetic retinopathy

Up to 80% of patients with diabetes who have had the disease for more than a decade acquire a complication known as diabetic retinopathy (PDA), in which the cells of the retina are progressively damaged. In the USA. This disease accounts for about 12% of new cases of blindness each year.

Diabetic retinopathy is associated with glucose-induced rupture of the blood-retinal barrier, a network of tightly-connected cells that prevent unwanted substances from entering the retinal tissue. This decomposition causes neural tissue to be exposed to neurotoxins, in addition to increasing the likelihood of bleeding within the retina.

It is believed that proinflammatory and oxidative stress processes play a key role in the breakdown of retinal cells, and there is evidence that cannabidiol, with its known ability to combat both oxidative stress and Inflammation, may be useful in the treatment of disease. In a 2006 study published in the American Journal of Pathology , CDB was administered to diabetic rats and tests were performed to determine the rate of retinal cell death .

CBD treatment was shown to significantly reduce oxidative stress and neurotoxicity, including levels of tumor necrosis factor-a, a substance known to be involved in the inflammatory response.

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EXCLUSIVE: After Big Pharma Failed, Parents Risked All to Save Daughter's Life with Cannabis -- It Worked!

“She will look at me, smile and say ‘mama.’ And that is a gift that gives me a feeling I will never be able to describe.“

In the age of medical cannabis enlightenment, Colorado is becoming a place where miracles happen. The story of ‘Super Nova’ represents the hope, challenges and lives transformed of parents desperately seeking to heal their suffering children – in a state where nascent freedom battles the entrenched forces of oppression.

The Free Thought Project obtained an exclusive interview with the mother of Nova, a beautiful 5-year-old girl born with a very rare condition called Schizencephaly. Nova’s mother, whom we will refer to as Barbara, told us about her journey from Texas to Colorado to save her daughter’s life, and even give her the gift of laughter.

Barbara is documenting Nova’s incredible story on Facebook, where she has gained more than 61,000 adoring, supportive fans. As she describes on her website, sweetsupernova.weebly.com:

“When Nova was four months old, we got the phone call on a Saturday night, from an endocrinologist, asking us if we had a minute to sit down and talk.
My world was flipped upside down when she told me more than half of my child’s brain hadn’t developed during pregnancy. Born without a pituitary gland, legally blind, and with a large unilateral cleft consisting of almost the whole right side of her brain.
She would never sit, walk, talk, and she would most likely suffer from epilepsy. She would have to take growth hormone shots every night in her stomach back and legs, she would have to take thyroid pills and steroids to keep her alive, and while there was a chance she wouldn’t have seizures, they were more likely to happen than not.”

At five months old, the first seizure happened, while Nova’s dad was giving her a bath. It only got worse from there.

“For the next two years, on top of all of her other medical complications, she would suffer from endless seizures of all kinds. She spent many of those days in status epilepticus. Status means that you are in a constant seizure and this is extremely life threatening. If she wasn’t in status, the breaks from having a seizure were few and far in between.
If there was ever a moment I got to see her smile, it was so short lived that it was becoming a challenge to remember what it was like to ever see my daughter happy. By the time she was one, Novaleigh was having over 100 seizures a day.”

The outlook for children with schizencephaly is grim. Some patients are stillborn, others are “not compatible with life” and others succumb to medication-induced organ failure. Barbara has connected with parents of children suffering from this condition, and many have lost the battle.

By the time Nova was two years old, she was having all types of seizures and was taking six anti-seizure medications. But they weren’t working. Doctors had turned to simply trying to sedate her, including the use of benzodiazepines – potent psychoactive drugs known through names such as Xanax and Valium.

If Nova wasn’t in a state of seizure, Barbara says the cocktail of drugs kept her in an immobilized, completely unresponsive state, with no apparent awareness of her surroundings. Barbara tearfully described a moment when she tried to get Nova to play with some small bells, lifting Nova’s hand to touch them. But Nova, eyes rolled to the back of her head, just let her hand drop.

Barbara began to “question how [Nova] could ever have a quality of life.” After several MRI and EEG scans, the Texas neurologist said Nova was a good candidate for brain surgery called lesionectomy, which would remove most of the brain she had left. There is no guarantee it would work, and the extreme procedure could result in Nova’s death.

Barbara initially agreed to the surgery, feeling hopeless about her daughter’s continued existence or the possibility to have any quality of life.

However, the year was 2014, and Colorado was making big news with its legalization of recreational cannabis. This enormous step for freedom was also helping to galvanize awareness about medical cannabis, especially in the field of childhood epilepsy.

Barbara had the strength and the intellect to perform her own research, reading peer-reviewed scientific studies on PubMed and elsewhere. She connected with people who were finding success in medical cannabis where other drugs failed.

Barbara came to the conclusion that she could not allow the surgery until she tried this plant-based medicine. It was working wonders for many children suffering with unrelenting seizures – without the debilitating effects of pharmaceutical drugs.

One day, in a pivotal moment, Barbara’s friend said, “What are you waiting for?” Barbara and Nova’s father packed up their belongings, left everything else behind, and moved to Colorado Springs.

“We had to try cannabis oil first. You heard the stories everywhere, on the news and on the internet. Parents claiming that their children were saved from oil made from cannabis plants. To some it sounded far-fetched. Some didn’t believe we would actually have the guts to go. But more people had our backs completely, and supported our decision ten-fold.
We packed our house, put Nova in her car seat, and we left our home in Austin Texas, the place we had lived our entire lives and swore we would never leave. We left our families, had to break our leases, and say goodbye to the place we were born and where we grew up, the only place we ever knew.”

After three days, Barbara procured CBD oil, which is high in the cannabidiol (CBD) compound. (tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the other major compound). It was a whole plant extract, so it contained some THC as well.

Nova had a bad reaction to the high-CBD oil, which made her seizures even worse the next day. Barbara’s hopes were almost crushed. But she found some parents treating epileptic seizures with THC oil, which she then tried on Nova.

The results were immediate and miraculous.

The very first time Nova got a 10 milligram dose of THC oil, she “lit up almost immediately.” She smiled and laughed. After a day, the seizures stopped. Barbara announced on Facebook that Nova had, for the first time since diagnosis, gone 24 hours without a seizure. Amazingly, this little girl – who was having 100 seizures a day – went to having one seizure episode every 3-4 weeks.

“My daughter has experienced a 99 percent reduction in seizures. She is happy, she is sitting up, she is trying to STAND up, she is saying “mama,” and she even looks up at me with her big blue eyes. She will look at me, smile and say “mama.” And that is a gift that gives me a feeling I will never be able to describe.”

For one and a half years Nova received a high-THC, low-CBD whole plant extract. During this time Nova’s mother weened her off the anti-seizure pharmaceutical meds, beginning with the milder ones. Nova was making gains in speech and movement, but with every seizure at the 3-4 week mark, most of those gains were virtually lost.

About eight months after starting cannabis treatment, Nova had to go to the hospital, but the reason was nothing short of miraculous. Nova’s pituitary gland actually started working on its own, producing endocrine hormones necessary for life. Nova had a secondary condition related to schizencephaly known as Panhypopituitarism, described as “a condition of inadequate or absent production of the anterior pituitary hormones.”

“The growth hormone injections, sodium pills, and other steroids are life-long therapies and the doses increase with age. We have gotten no explanation, but Novaleigh began making growth hormone on her own after being on cannabis for eight months and was taken off of the growth hormone shots. We were shocked…
It’s safe to say she is safe from ever needing hormone replacements again. It goes against everything that her endocrinologist has ever been taught. On several occasions, she’s thrown her hands up in the air and just told me… ‘I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know.’ She isn’t allowed to give the credit to cannabis.”

Around this time, Barbara was approached by Bob Eschino, founder and president of Incredibles, a Colorado company “recognized as the number one infused edible in Colorado.” Mr. Eschino asked Barbara, ‘if you could have any cannabis oil you wanted, what would you give Nova?’

She responded with, ‘as little CBD as possible.’ Weeks later, Derek — a partner at Incredibles and their “lab genius” — produced a distillate of pure THC infused in oil. They called it Supernova.

From the time of the first dose, Nova went five and a half months without a seizure. This was the answer to Barbara’s prayers.

Barbara tearfully described how Nova underwent a steady progress in movement and speech. She can go from laying to sitting, now says ‘dada’ and ‘mama,’ has learned to clap, identifies her toys and is looking around with the curiosity of a happy child.

For the past four months, Nova has not had to take a single pharmaceutical anti-seizure medication. She no longer has to get nightly growth hormone shots or take Desmopressin sodium medication or Levothyroxine thyroid hormone.

“Since her seizures are gone she is learning to play. Her favorite things to do are practice standing with her daddy, getting dressed, playing with her rattle, and dancing while I hold her upright in my arms. She also likes to have long talks- babbling at me with such a happy tone and disposition that you can’t help but to laugh from the warm feeling in your chest.

I finally know who she is because of her cannabis oil. She is a spunky, fun, happy little toddler full of energy and love and light and when you look at her now, you would never be able to imagine the horrible things she used to endure every day.”

Nova receives 30 milligrams three times a day, which is a relatively high dose of THC oil. But the alternative – Nova having constant seizures, living in a virtually paralyzed state through pharma meds, or undergoing the high-risk brain surgery – is unthinkable.

Since beginning the Supernova THC oil, Nova has experienced one seizure episode which was due to complications from an misdiagnosed infection. After treating the infection, Nova is back on track and has been seizure free for more than a month, as of this writing.

Barbara has big dreams for Nova and sees a long life ahead of her, as long as she has access to the miracle of cannabis oil.

“This is something that should be available to all children- and my child is living proof that cannabis oil DOES work. Better than anything I could have expected.

Our lives have been changed forever, and every other child that is suffering so unfairly deserves nothing but the same. I hope that Nova’s story can somehow make a difference.”

“I don’t live in fear anymore that Nova will die when I go to sleep.”

But even in Colorado, there is no guarantee Barbara will always be able to access cannabis oil through “proper channels,” as the forces of oppression and irrationality haunt the lives of those seeking to heal their children.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regularly threatens doctors who dare help parents access medical cannabis for their suffering child. Shockingly, doctors cannot even mention medical cannabis or acknowledge that it helps a child, for fear of losing their license. Even Nova’s neurologist, having witnessed her improvement from 100 seizures a day to zero seizures, must remain silent on medical cannabis.

To legally treat Nova, Barbara must acquire a “red card” which has to be signed by two doctors and renewed every year. Her main physician is proud to sign the red card, but one co-signer has already dropped out due to government threats, leaving Barbara to search for another who can challenge the tyrannical federal agency.

The DEA and prohibitionist cheerleaders would rather see kids like Nova in a paralyzed state punctuated by constant seizures, or die from the toxicity of pharma meds, than accept that a child can live, smile and laugh thanks to the cannabis plant.

Adding to the absurdity of DEA’s position that cannabis has “no medical value” is the fact that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services holds a medical patent (#6,630,507) on cannabis compounds as neuroprotectants. Apparently, this didn’t get around to the DEA when it had an opportunity to reschedule cannabis in 2016.

Barbara believes about 200 families have moved to Colorado for their epileptic children, and that number is growing. There are currently 349 minors on the state’s Medical Marijuana Registry; most have epilepsy but some are taking medical cannabis for cancer, pain and autism.

Barbara knows one other family who moved to Colorado about three weeks ago to treat their child’s schizencephaly. After the third day of low-THC treatment, their 1-year-old is already experiencing improvements.

Not all families are so lucky. According to Barbara, some parents who want to move from prohibitionist states to Colorado for their epileptic children are actually intimidated by their doctors. They threaten to turn parents in to “authorities,” as they happily pump the kids full of debilitating psychoactive pharma drugs.

Indeed, the cannabis plant – used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years – represents a threat to the corporate oligarchy. Big Pharma, knowing medical cannabis is a threat to their profits, actively works against cannabis legalization at the state level – donating hundreds of thousands to disinformation campaigns. Their efforts failed in all but one state in the 2016 election cycle, but they have a strong ally in the DEA.

In a world connected like never before, the power of knowledge is proving to be a potent force against the drug war establishment. Prohibitionist myths are crumbling. Doctors are embracing the potential for medical cannabis to treat ailments where other medications fail or cause harm. Politicians are defying the law to bring help to suffering children.

Please visit Super Nova’s Facebook page and share the amazing story of 5-year-old Nova, so others can learn there is hope for their children. The more knowledge spreads, the more power builds in the people to overcome those who stand in the way of health and freedom.

Author: Justin Gardner

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