Treat Your Glaucoma With Marijuana? Ask Your
Optometrist For Prescription Drops and Pass On the Pot
Should
you ask your eye doctor about marijuana
for your glaucoma treatment? Medical Marijuana has been legalized in 14 states
but is still not legal under federal law. Many states have been struggling with
the massive expansion of medical marijuana dispensaries. Government bodies
including cities, state and counties are trying to assure that only adults with
legitimate medical issues that can benefit from medical marijuana are able to
obtain access.
So
is marijuana a valid treatment for glaucoma? Research to date is limited and
all glaucoma institutions including the National Eye Institute have recommended
not using marijuana in the treatment of glaucoma. There is a lowering of eye
pressure but a number of issues create problems with using medical marijuana
in treating glaucoma. Marijuana is typically smoked. The effective dosing
schedule is about every 3 hours due to a short lived effect. Eye pressures tend
to rise at night so repeated dosing every 3 hours night and day would be
required. This would disrupt the sleep cycle and result in poor motor skills,
inability to drive legally, and low functioning interfering with the ability to
work all of the time.
These
side effects are unacceptable to most of the population. At this point there is
no regulation or oversight of the quality and amount of active compounds in
medical marijuana. Unlike prescription pharmaceuticals, the amount required for
a proper dose is impossible to accurately state. There are also problems with
decreased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and dizziness when standing up
after sitting. The decreased blood pressure theoretically could reduce blood
flow to the optic nerve and increase the risk of glaucoma damage. There are
other possible health risks and benefits that may occur. Oddly, lung cancer
does not to be a risk at this time, and marijuana may even offer a protective
effect. However, there is some damage to the lung tissues that is thought to
occur with long term usage.
Capsules
of the single most active substance in marijuana are available by prescription
through regular drugstores. These also lower eye pressure but significantly
less than inhaled marijuana. The capsules also have a slower onset and need to
be consumed every 4-6 hours. The side effects are often described as much more
unpleasant than inhalation. The prescription capsules lack the 60+ other
similar compounds found in the plants plus several hundred other types of
biological compounds. It is unknown if this makes the prescription capsules a
better or worse choice. Again, the required frequency of dosing and side
effects make this a poor option for the treatment of glaucoma.
Current
glaucoma prescription eye drops usually require dosing 1 to 2 times per day,
and have a low risk of side effects that rarely interfere with daily
functioning. They have a very precise, consistent level of active components.
While some problems can occur, these are rare and fairly well known from
clinical trials. Marijuana
has some active compounds that do lower eye pressure and deserve further
support for future investigation. We may even find it is a useful adjunct for
treatment in conjunction with standard therapies in the future. However, at
this time there is no indication that medical marijuana has any place as a
primary treatment for glaucoma, when we have such a large choice of
prescription drugs that have undergone vigorous studies. These studies have
found them to be safe and effective, with significant research behind them. As
a bonus, you do not have to be constantly looking over your shoulder due to the
uncertain legal status when you stick to clinically approved glaucoma
medications.
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