Benefits of Medical Marijuana for Glaucoma Patients

In recent years, many patients have been wondering about using marijuana to treat glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye condition that affects the optic nerve and it is the nerve cable that connects your brain to the eye. In its progressed state, glaucoma can result in substantial vision loss or blindness.

Most glaucoma types coexist with intraocular pressure (IOP). A study by the National Eye Institute showed marijuana could lower the IOP but only for a few hours at a time.

Conventional Glaucoma Treatment

Your optometrist’s main aim in glaucoma treatment is lowering eye pressure. It ensures optimal eye pressure levels that are safe enough to minimize damage to your eye. Common remedies include laser treatments, surgery, or prescription medicines.

Topical eye drop medication is the most common solution. They aid in stopping the progression of glaucoma. However, people who cannot stand the idea of daily eye drops seek other glaucoma therapies such as marijuana.

How Marijuana Manages Glaucoma

Researchers have determined that marijuana lowers eye pressure. However, the effect lasts for a maximum of four hours. Subsequently, it means you will have to smoke marijuana every three hours for maximum effectiveness.

This creates a new issue. Marijuana’s mood-altering effects mean smoking too frequently can impair some of your abilities. Tasks that require high attention to detail like operating heavy machinery or driving become immensely harder.

Administering Marijuana

Research shows that excessive inhalation of marijuana can cause unwanted or lasting effects on your brain function. However, the harmful effects are primarily due to inhalation. Specialists offer the alternative of administering marijuana’s active ingredient THC in other ways. These include sublingually, orally, or as topical eye drops.

Marijuana Benefits

In the states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes, it is a welcome solution for many illnesses. It is useful in pain management, alleviating nausea, and dealing with other symptoms.

It helps with:

• Seizures

• Chronic and severe pain

• Wasting syndrome or cachexia

• Persistent muscle spasms

• Severe nausea

• Closed-angle glaucoma

• Open-angle glaucoma

• Secondary glaucoma

The exact mechanism of marijuana in treating glaucoma is still not clear. But experts have established the presence of cannabinoid receptors in the human body. They are present in the non-pigmented ciliary epithelium, trabecular meshwork, and ciliary muscle.

Marijuana was reportedly helpful in improving the uveoscleral outflow in humans, according to one study. To get the full benefits of marijuana for glaucoma, visiting your ophthalmologist is important. Depending on your type and level of glaucoma, the doctor will offer a viable treatment.

Why Marijuana

Although marijuana use for glaucoma treatment has been controversial, reliable studies show it can reduce intraocular pressure significantly. Although the effects are short-lived, it is still a practical option. Medical experts agree that using marijuana properly can decrease IOP and preserve the retina.

Moreover, a wide variety of edibles are available. They have longer-lasting effects and require no smoking. As with most products, dismissing marijuana altogether as a glaucoma treatment is not reasonable.

For more on the benefits of marijuana to treat glaucoma, visit WellGreen Cannabis located in Palm Coast, Florida. We are in the surrounding cities of  Flalger Beach and Bunnell. Call (386) 585-4866 today to schedule an appointment.