There are many people who are using medical marijuana as a part of their arthritis treatment plan. One of the reasons that this alternative treatment is viable is because medical marijuana contains powerful anti-inflammatory compounds as well as natural analgesics. Because of this this many patients experience little to no joint pain and the inflammation that precipitated the pain is reduced as well. The cannabinoids that occur naturally in medical marijuana can help with virtually any kind of arthritis: Rheumatoid, osteoarthritis, and even juvenile arthritis.

Estimates show that over 30 million people suffer from arthritis each year. Many of those sufferers have severe joint pain that does not allow them to do the activities they know and love. Even though there are many treatments for arthritic conditions, the biggest problem is that many of them are harmful to your body in other ways. To date, nothing has been found that can reverse the disease and generally it only gets worse as you age, which is why most treatment options focus on pain relief and supplements that help to rebuild cartilage.

For the last 30 or 40 years there has been a lot of controversy over the use of cannabis or marijuana as it is commonly known. Much of this controversy is because of the “hippie” age and the use (or mis-use) of the medicinal plant for getting “high.” However, for hundreds of years marijuana has been used for treating illness and disease. Now that states like Colorado are passing legislation that allows the medical use of marijuana, it is not surprising that more and more people are interested in learning how the use of marijuana can help in treating their pain.

There has been plenty of research done to learn the effects of using the drug in treating joint conditions and as an alternative for other available prescription pain relievers. In 1986, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a pill known as Marinol. The key component in Marinol is THC, a component found in marijuana. This pill was and still is used today for the treatment of nausea from chemothearpy. It has been determined that Marinol (Dronabinol, THC), acts differently than marijuana when smoked and is not as effective.

Aspirin is one of the most commonly prescribed over the counter medications for Arthritis. The problem with this is that aspirin is believe to cause more than 1,000 deaths annually in the United States. Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory drugs are also routinely used for arthritis treatment. These drugs have been the cause of more than 7,600 annual deaths and 70,000 hospitalizations. The long-term use of tylenol (acetaminophen) is considered to be one of the common causes of end-stage renal disease. What this is all boiling down to is the fact that marijuana, when smoked several times a day is often as effective (or sometimes more effective) than NSAIDs or acetaminophen in arthritis treatment, and without any reports of death.

It could be many more years before we finally know the answer to cure arthritic symptoms. However, if you are seeking a way to treat the pain and inflammation that is debilitating you today then medical marijuana may be a better option than what you are currently using.