Nicholas Schaelling

Teacher: Paul Roberts

Health 1050
October 13th 2017
Medical marijuana and Parkinsons disease

Marijuana has always gotten a bad rap as the gate way drug, introducing the passive

marijuana smokers into more serious drugs. Until recent years anyone who smoked marijuana

was considered a pot head and characterized with a case of the munchies. But, recently

marijuana has redeemed itself from just giving someone a buzz to being used in the medical

field. The relaxing experience, alleviation of pain, the effects on the brain and relief from

anxiety is causing marijuana to grow in popularity for medicinal use.

The active composition of marijuana is two main chemicals tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

and Cannabidiol (CBD). These two chemicals affect the body differently and can be used to

benefit the body reaction to pain. When CBD and THC are combined and used in the proper

dosage they can benefit symptoms of many diseases. The one that is closest to my heart is

Parkinsons disease. In 2012, at the young age of 72, my grandpa was diagnosed with

Parkinsons disease. Since his diagnosis I have been interested in the way his doctor helps him

control his Parkinsons. While doing this I came across a video of a man with Parkinsons who is

given a dose of CBD oil and after 10 minutes the effects are amazing he regains his ability to

speak and function as he use to before Parkinsons. Parkinson patients have decreased

dopamine and specific areas of the brain are affected causing rhythmic tremors. THC and CBD
affect these areas of the brain and improve the patients symptoms. While this is only one of

its medical uses there are many more.

Marijuana is harvested from the plant Cannabis Sativa which is the female version of the

hemp plant. The active ingredients that cause the familiar high of marijuana are called

cannabinoids. Tetrahydrocannabinol or more commonly referred to as THC is the main

cannabinoid in marijuana that causes users to get high and is most commonly tested for in

suspected marijuana use. It is the principal psychoactive component of Cannabis, a chemical

substance that changes brain function and results in alterations in perception, mood,

consciousness or behavior. According to drugfacts.gov THC acts on specific brain cell receptors

that ordinarily react to natural THC-like chemicals. These natural chemicals play a role in normal

brain development and function. Marijuana over activates parts of the brain that contain the

highest number of these receptors. This causes the "high" that people feel. The amount of

high that THC will cause a person to feel can be affected by weight, eating, drinking, and the

amount of use. With increase use people will build up a tolerance, and this creates more

frequent use or changing to more potent drugs to get that associated high.

While THC is the principal psychoactive component of Cannabis, CBD stands out

because it is both non-psychoactive and displays a broad range of potential medical

applications. These properties make it especially attractive as a therapeutic agent. CBD does

not cause people to get high and is used part used for medical purposes and the treatment of

Parkinsons symptoms. People are now breeding strains of the marijuana plant specifically with

higher CBD and lower THC so that people can use the plant for its medical benefits without

having to worry about getting high. CBD is a cannabinoid that provides relief from many
symptoms such as inflammation which is the bodys response to injury, stress, infection, and

trauma. Trauma or disease can causes the bodys affected areas to swell and CBD is used to rid

the body of damaged tissue and cells. Pain, which is a feeling everyone should know, is

decrease by with the use of CBD because it contains analgesic effects that help with relief of

pain. It helps decrease anxiety, which is the feeling of worry, nervousness or impending doom,

by altering the brains level of serotonin. People with psychosis share similarities to people with

schizophrenia, a mental disorder were people see and believe things that arent real, this is

similar to psychosis because it is a disconnect from reality. Seizures and spasms, which all

Parkinsons patient experience on a daily basis, can find relief with CBD because it contains

chemicals that helps ease these symptoms. These are not the only symptoms it helps with as

other conditions that CBD can help have yet to be discovered.

The one disease that can benefit from the therapeutic use of CBD, that has affected me

and my family personally, is Parkinson's disease. It is a progressive movement disorder; it is

progressive because the symptoms worsen as time goes by and dopamine levels continue to

decrease. Almost 1 million people in the US are living with Parkinsons disease. According to

parkinsons.org The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rated complications from

Parkinsons as the 14th top cause of death in the United States. While Parkinsons disease itself

is not fatal complications from the disease are serious. While parkinsons disease can be

activated or lie dormant for years it is usually transferred by genes from your parents and can

skip a couple generations while hiding as a recessive form. Parkinsons causes the malfunction

of vital nerve cells in the brain these are called neurons that react to the CBD. It mostly affects

neurons in the brain called the substantia nigra, these dying neurons produced dopamine which
is a chemical that sends messages to the parts of the brain that control your movement,

functions, and coordination. The amount of dopamine produced slowly decreases in the brain

leaving a person unable to control movement that they would normally be able to. These are

things such as ability to control shaking of their hands, movement speed; they usually develop a

stooped posture while also developing stiffness in their limbs. It should be known that these

may precede the motor features of the disease by several years. Because of this people have

focused on "non-motor" symptoms to help detect and prevent the problem.

Recent developments in the study of medical marijuana and the added effects of what

CBD can do by itself can counter the dopamine loss and shaking movement which allows the

person to act as if they didnt have the disease anymore. These benefits of this drug are not

only amazing but very helpful as I have a grandpa who experiences these symptoms. His

situation and all-around health has declined. Since his diagnosis I have watched many videos on

the benefits of CBD on Parkinsons patients. Since he has got Parkinsons it has caused it, so he

can no longer do his favorite hobbies like fishing and fly tying because of the tremors. He owns

a small farm in Montana where he lives, and the doctors he sees think that he had acquired the

disease by activating something while being around the many different pesticides and

chemicals that he had used in his many years working on the farm. This condition has caused

many problems in my family because all my relatives live in Utah and now that he needs help

there is no one down there for him to rely on. While this has also made it impossible for him

come down to visit for holidays or birthdays like he used to.

My grandpa is old fashioned and grew up in an generation where only hippies smoked

pot so I dont think I can convince my grandpa to pick up a joint any time soon. However, they
now have forms of marijuana specifically breed for their low THC and high CBD which can be

taken in a pill or oil. I feel that with the progress that has been made on the effects of CBD on

the body and the development of these new strains that we will soon be able to have cures to

Parkinsons so that my grandpa may once again be able to do his hobbies. While many others

like him will also have freedom from there illnesses and pains. Medical marijuana has changed

my idea of the drug as it shown me that it is not only used to get high but has many benefits to

its users if used correctly and I hope that this newfound knowledge of the cannabinoids inside it

and its effects will bring forth a rise in attention to the drug. Sparking a global decision to

legalize it for medical uses and discover more ways it can be used.
 Works cited

1. Abuse, National Institute on Drug. The Biology and Potential Therapeutic Effects of

Cannabidiol. NIDA, 24 June 2015, www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/legislative-

activities/testimony-to-congress/2016/biology-potential-therapeutic-effects-

cannabidiol.

2. Abuse, National Institute on Drug. Marijuana. NIDA,

www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana.

3. Ephraim. Health Tips For Seniors, agedhealthtips.com/parkinsons-disease/.

4. What Is Parkinson's? Parkinson's Foundation, 18 Oct. 2017,

www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons/what-is-parkinsons/