The Leaf THE LEAF July-August 2019 | Page 13

a month later, a third case was confirmed. The FDA allowed the drug to return to the market in July 2006 after they stated benefits outweighed the risks, no doubt with some help from Big Pharma. GW received government approval in 1998 to develop cannabis-based plant extracts. Their flagship product Sativex is a highly defined extract containing an approximately 50-50 mix of CBD and THC that has been approved by regulators in the UK and more than 20 other countries for treating pain and spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis. Some forms of medical marijuana are proven to alleviate certain symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to guidelines published in the journal Neurology. In a review of 2,608 studies, researchers were able to assess which therapies had sufficient evidence to indicate that they may be effective for patients with MS. Overall, researchers discovered that certain forms of medical marijuana, a spray form and a pill form appeared to have the most evidence indicating they may be helpful in patients with MS. According to study author Dr. Pushpa Narayanaswami: “What we learned are these specific forms of medical marijuana can ease patients’ symptoms — specific symptoms of spasticity, or muscle stiffness … and helped with frequent urination.” In a 2011 study, Israeli researchers showed that CBD helps treat MS-like symptoms by preventing immune cells from transforming and attacking the insulating covers of nerve cells in the spinal cord. After inducing an MS-like condition in mice partially paralysing their limbs — the researchers injected them with CBD. The mice responded by regaining movement, first twitching their tails and then beginning to walk without a limp. The researchers noted that the mice treated with CBD had much less inflammation in the spinal cord than their untreated counterparts. In another study in Neuroscience, researchers used experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, and found that cannabinoids reduced microglia activation, nitrotyrosine formation, T cell infiltration, oligodendrocyte toxicity, myelin loss and axonal damage in the mouse spinal cord white matter and alleviated the clinical scores when given either before or after disease onset. 5. ADHD/ADD The normal course of treatment for a child diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, is a course of methylphenidate, better known as Ritalin. For the child diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, the side effects of using Ritalin, are many, including psychosis (abnormal thinking or hallucinations), difficulty sleeping, stomach aches, diarrhea, headaches, lack of hunger (leading to weight loss) and dry mouth. In some cases, the use of Ritalin has led to death. Death can be caused due to burst blood vessels, heart failure and fever. Violence is a leading cause of amphetamine- related deaths. Violent tendencies can develop after even regular use. Children are dying at unprecedented rates from drugs like Ritalin. An excellent documentary Generation Rx, details the disturbing and ongoing chemical abuse of children by conventional medicine. The prescription of psychiatric drugs to the masses, specifically children, are altering their minds, bodies and entire lives. While some apply preconceptions that marijuana exacerbates ADHD, almost all California cannabinologists believe cannabis and cannabinoids have substantially improved the lives of ADHD sufferers, and with less negative side effects than common stimulant drug ADHD treatments. We have come to understand more about the brain and the role of dopamine and the endocannabinoid system we are starting to unravel how cannabis, anandamide and