Possibly the best form of alternative therapy for the treatment of different types of health disorders or their symptoms is medical marijuana. This is a statement made after well-founded research that has indicated or rather highlighted the wondrous benefits of marijuana in the way of treatment of many severe diseases.
Which is why patients from different states of the USA apply for special medical cards to make use of medical marijuana solutions? For instance, an Oklahoma medical card for a patient in the US state of Oklahoma is critical, if the patient wants to try out the 420 solutions. This is due to the reason that the state does not permit the use of marijuana for any other reason except for a medical disease.
Now, out of all the disorders that patients in the USA make use of medical marijuana for, chronic pain is one of the most important ones. This is because on average about 50 million Americans are believed to be suffering from its painful symptoms. This makes for quite a fat chunk of the population of this powerful nation. To then help the people who are suffering from this severe health issue, cannabis is the only next best non-opioid medicine of choice. Before delving deeper into this, let us first find out how medical marijuana helps chronic pain.
How Does Medical Marijuana Help With Chronic Pain?
Since we have already alluded to the therapeutic properties of cannabis earlier, proving it to be a valid drug for effective pain relief doesn’t seem all that difficult. Let us first start by enlisting the important cannabinoids that help in the reduction of terrible pains.
The two major cannabinoids that are well known for their effective pain management effects are THC and CBD. Both of these cannabinoids are also perhaps the most popular components to be present in medical marijuana products meant for the treatment of chronic pain. This is because both of these naturally occurring chemical compounds have special powers when they react with the receptors inside the human body.
THC is a cannabinoid that gets rid of pain when it first reacts with the cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) present inside the human body. With its function of altering pain perception, THC reacts with the receptors in such a way that it reduces the perception of pain for the patients effectively. It works to promote the feeling of “no pain” or “less pain” for the user.
On the contrary, CBD is a cannabinoid that blocks certain receptors that leads to an increase in anandamide. The increase in this arachidonic acid derivative further leads to a reduction in both pain and inflammation. CBD may also help to stimulate an immunity booster response by affecting the small proteins involved in signaling pain.
Both of these cannabinoids are worthwhile in getting rid of chronic pain symptoms in different formulations with different products. Consuming CBD and THC together is also quite heavily advised to the patients.
How to Use Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain in Oklahoma?
Since the state of Oklahoma is a medical-only state, using medical marijuana is only possible if you have an Oklahoma medical card in hand. This is quite important to realize for the patients looking for cannabis options for the treatment of their chronic pains in this state.
To get an MMJ card for chronic pain is pretty easy as it is one of the qualifying medical conditions for the card in this state. The patients apply for this card and at the same time get a chance to get an expert evaluation of their condition from valid medical marijuana doctors. It is highly important for the patient to be aware of how much cannabis they should consume and for how long, which a doctor can successfully help them with.
Chronic pain is of many types and has many symptoms and can manifest itself in any form. Therefore to treat each form and each symptom of this health concern, a patient needs to find out the most suitable way to consume medical marijuana on their own. These are some of the important factors that a patient must keep in mind to treat chronic pain in the state of Oklahoma.
Best Marijuana Strains for Chronic Pain
After covering almost every relevant point regarding the treatment of chronic pain with the help of medical marijuana, the discussion would remain incomplete without a list of suggested strains for the patients. A patient can make use of any one of the below-listed strains after of course a proper consultation with their doctors.
- Blueberry Kush
- White Widow
- ACDC
- Sour Diesel
- Harlequin
- Master Kush
- Afghan Kush
- Jack Herer
- Grandaddy Purple
- Northern Lights
- Charlotte’s Web
- Harle-Tsu
- Cannatonic
Are There Any Risks to Using Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain?
It would be imperative here to mention that, yes, there are certain risks that the excessive use of medical marijuana poses for a patient with chronic pain. The key phrase here is “excessive use”. To use any medicinal drug more than is needed is sure to affect the patient in an adverse way in one form or another.
Since chronic pain is a long-term disorder, patients usually require regular and rather potent dosages of medical marijuana to lessen the pain. This can easily lead to dependency syndrome if the patient isn’t careful enough. The possibility of this dependency syndrome actually becoming real is however very slight. Hence, it can easily be avoided if the patient exercises all the necessary restraints.
Safe to say, medical marijuana is undoubtedly one of the safest alternative medications to opioids which definitely lead to opioid addiction in people.
Also Read: Best Medical Cannabis Strains For Migraines
Final Thoughts
While concluding with this elaborate discussion, we can confidently state that medical marijuana is a great treatment option for chronic pain. Extended use of marijuana for patients in the US, especially in states like Oklahoma, is pretty easy if they have an authentic medical marijuana card in their possession. So if you want to treat your chronic pain symptoms, apply for your medical card today!