Marijuana for Glaucoma, any validity for this?

.....or is this just an excuse for these people wanting to get 'high'?
Who started this 'recommendation' for this particular condition? Just
curious about this, I don't want to see anyone suffer, and if smoking
'weed' helps their condition I say let 'em use it in the privacy of
their home. I also read that Marijuana is also helpful for patients
undergoing chemotherapy. I don't know about that, but in College it just
made me hungry.

 

Aside from the politics of marijuana, if you want to discuss the medical
uses of marijuana, there are plenty of studies that support the
treatment effects. Here's info about glaucoma and cannabis and
somethiing that happened in my office:

THC, one of the chemicals present in cannabis, can have a marked effect
in lowering the intraocular pressure in people with open angle glaucoma.
It also appears to have a neuro-protective effect in that there is an
increased blood flow to the sensory retina. It is no significant effect
on normal eye pressure and is not clinically effective in treating
closed angle glaudoma. (That means it might lower the pressure, but not
enough to matter.) It does not necessarily provide the same lowering
effect for all persons at all times. And the same applies to any
pharmaceutical treatment. Whether or not is legal, it is probably not a
good treatment because the dose and associated effect is not always
predictable and most of us like to monitor drug-protection effect and
adjust dosage to appropriate levels to keep the eye healthly.

Here's an interesting case:

50ish male, regular but "light", but consistent user of marijuana.
Measured pressures, year after year over 10 years were within the normal
range. Last year, optic nerve looked somewhat suspicious with larger
than previously noted cupping. Pressures still fine, visual fields
normal so I let it go. This year, pressure measured clearly in the
gluacoma range, optic nerve looked significant for glaucoma and there
was a slight visual field loss. So I ask: has there been anything
different in your life-style lately. (Trying to be subtle about asking
about his drug use.) His reply was that he started on high-blood
pressure meds and quit smoking the weed about six months prior to the
exam.

So I asked if he'd smoke a little and come back in for a pressure test
the following morning. Pressure measured normal! Checked later in the
day, it was a little higher but still within the normal range. Checked
the next day and it was higher still, but not alarming. Checked the
following day and it was seriously elevated.

Here's an example of someone who was successfully, albeit unknowingly
treating his own glaucoma. But he stopped, and that resulted in damage
to his retina and a slight loss of vision. He did, by the way, choose
standard Western medical treatment for his glaucoma condition because he
did not want to rely on cannabis for treatment-----a good choice in my
opinion, for reasons I wrote earlier.

I had two other patients that used cannabis to control eye pressure. One
was quite successful for many years (and then we lost contact) and the
other was not and ultimately chose appropriate prescribed
pharmaceuticals.

--Larry

--
Dr. Larry Bickford, O.D.
Family Practice Eye Health & Vision Care

The Eyecare Connection
http//www.eyecarecontacts.com
larrydoc at m a c.c o m

 

Oh, so you guys are selling marijuana now? USP, or street quality? Do
you deliver?

 

NORML works for the rational decriminalization of marijuana. See
<http://www.norml.org/>