Treating Lupus with Anti-Inflammatory Cannabis
A recent Canadian survey found that many people self-medicate with cannabis for chronic, non-cancer related pain. Many patients who have Lupus, an auto-immune disease, utilize cannabis’ anti-inflammatory compounds to battle their Lupus. The disease’s damage is done by causing inflammation when it is not needed. This results in damage to otherwise healthy tissue. Some cannabinoids, the chemicals found in cannabis, have been shown to combat inflammation effectively.
Dr. Sean Breen, Medical Director of Medical Cannabis of Southern California has been recommending cannabis for patients with Lupus for years. When Lupus causes inflammation in difficult spots of the body, in places like the heart, lungs, kidneys or brain, cannabis has an upper hand in its immediacy in quelling the inflammation inherent in this disease, throughout the body. For example, Dr. Breen’s recommendation of vaporizing the plant and applying a topical cannabis-based cream to one of his regular patients alleviated her symptoms substantially.
Considering one of the first symptoms of Lupus is chronic joint pain, it stands to reason that cannabis helps with managing pain caused by inflammation of the joints. With Lupus, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own normally functioning tissues. Some form of the disease afflicts an estimated five million people around the world. While there are many forms of the disease, the most common form is called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). SLE, like all forms of Lupus, is unique in that each person’s symptoms can vary drastically. However, some serious complications to be on the lookout for include: High blood pressure in the lungs, causing difficulty breathing; Inflammation of the kidneys, causing difficulty for the kidneys’ ability to filter blood; Inflammation of the nervous system, causing a host of neurological problems including stroke; Hardening of the arteries, increasing risk of heart attack. Other forms include Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus, which affects only the skin that manifests in raised and scaly rashes. There is also drug-induced Lupus Erythematosus, and Neonatal Lupus that affects the babies of mother’s with this disease, but is rarely long-lasting.
The Lupus Foundation of America, the national charitable health organization for the fight against the disease, officially supports further scientific research on using medical cannabis to treat the disease. With cannabis’ lack of side effects and affordability, cannabis-based medication for Lupus may be a real possibility in the near future. With nearly four FDA-approved cannabis-based pharmaceuticals on the market, cannabis as medicine is on its way to national acceptance and truly getting to help those who need it most.
