Lupus & The Effects of Medicinal Cannabis – Is This a Viable Treatment Solution?

Medicinal marijuana has been positively attributed to help many conditions such as anxiety and depression. Now, researchers have suggested that cannabis can help treat Lupus. If you don’t know what Lupus is, it is a chronic autoimmune condition where the body isn’t able to distinguish between viruses which are bad for your body and your own healthy tissue. The condition results in the body’s immune system to create antibodies that damage healthy tissue, which results in chronic pain and inflammation to the body. Lupus is different from HIV, which is normally characterized by an under active immune system, as the immune system is often over-activated in Lupus.

It is estimated that there are close to 2 million American citizens that live with Lupus. Predominantly, the condition is often associated with those between the ages of 15 and 45, and often found in Asian and African American individuals.

There are many symptoms to look out for when lupus is diagnosed such as:

• Chronic pain, which mainly radiates from the hands and wrists
• Skin rashes
• Sores in the mouth
• Fatigue and low energy
• Mood swings
• Swelling
• Nausea
• Depression and severe anxiety.

How Does Cannabis Help Lupus?

 

As stated above, pain and inflammation are very common in sufferers of Lupus. It is thought that cannabis is able to help reduce this pain and inflammation, without the nasty side effects that are common with other medication to reduce these symptoms. It is thought that Cannabis is able to increase the levels of the anti-inflammatory protein and in turn, decrease the pro-inflammatory protein. This is what reduces the inflammation that a Lupus patient might experience. Cannabis is also able to reduce the over-activation of the immune system aswell by activating special cells called myeloid derived suppressor cells. These cells are important in reducing the over-activation of the immune system.

How to take Medicinal Cannabis to Treat Lupus?

 

For many, the easiest way to use medicinal cannabis is to vape it. Smoking the cannabis is quite scary for many, so by vaping, the fear factor is taken out. Vaporizing cannabis is a fast and easy way to reduce the pain and inflammation that you may experience from the Lupus.

To make you aware, smoking cannabis, like the way you smoke a cigarette, releases toxins and may result in the irritation of the lungs and sometimes reduces the healing properties of the cannabis.  Vaporizing cannabis is able to avoid this, as vaping heats up the air around the cannabis rather than burning it directly, which allows the release of the cannabinoids to produce the therapeutic benefit.

What Cannabis Strains Help Lupus?

 

There is no right or wrong answer here as certain strains will be more beneficial than others when using cannabis for Lupus. For some, strains that have a high level of CBD are the best for treating lupus. A strain such as Cannatonic may help you here, if you are looking for one with a high concentration of CBD.