Marijuana may ease multiple sclerosis symptoms
People with multiple sclerosis have long said that smoking marijuana helps ease their painful muscle cramping. And a new clinical trial suggests they are not just blowing smoke.
The study, published Monday, found that for 30 MS patients with muscle "spasticity," a few days of marijuana smoking brought some relief.
But the big caveat, researchers say, is that it's not clear that the downsides of pot smoking are worth it.
Some people with MS are already using medical marijuana to treat certain symptoms, including spasticity -- when the muscles in the legs or arms contract painfully, in something akin to a "charley horse."
There is some science behind the idea: The body naturally produces cannabinoids, the group of chemicals found in marijuana. And studies have suggested the cannabinoid receptors on our cells help regulate muscle spasticity.
But the evidence that pot smoking actually helps with spasticity has been anecdotal.
"We've heard from patients that marijuana helps their spasticity, but I think a lot us thought, ‘Well, it's probably just making you feel good,'" said Dr. Jody Corey-Bloom, the lead researcher on the new study.
link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/14/us-marijuana-sclerosis-idUSBRE84D0RS20120514
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/qB3Mku Canadian Medical Association Journal, online May 14, 2012
Interesting article, but it's got some questionable stuff further into article, that's what this article is really about and it's got to be nipped in the bud before it grows! (pun intended)
Legalize the Plant 
= new reply since forum marked as read
There is a very long list of things that it is beneficial for. It is arguably the most useful plant known to man.
The prohibition is beyond absurd at this point. WTF?! 
it's always the profits ! 
a cannabinoid mouth spray called Sativex that has been approved in the UK, Canada, Spain and New Zealand to treat MS-related spasticity.
Because medications may be able to harness the benefits of specific cannabis compounds, without the side effects linked to smoking pot.
Yes and they will remove the fun, by extracting just the active compounds needed to produce the medications from this schedule 1 plant.
Research from various Universities, colleges, medical/pharma companies have proven the plant has multiple medical uses. Googling for medical cannabis research, return 2.5 million results, it's the internet take the info for what it's worth, but the info is out there available to anyone that cares.
The plant should be valued as a potential medical resource, as it used to be prior to 1940's. Natural herbal healing works for many, not all, but it's a choice that we're denied, unless there is profit to be made.
Legalize the Plant