By Gorm Palmgren
scienceillustrated.com.au | 61
Weed could provide a new cure against sclerosis, Alzheimer’s,
and epilepsy. Scientists have discovered how cannabis works,
allowing them to design efficient drugs without severe side effects.
Can Cannabis
Cure Dementia?
T
he personal care worker opens
the medicine cabinet and
produces a cake, which she
places on a plate in front of her
exhausted patient. He sighs,
pulling the plate closer. His arm hurts, as he
lifts the fork, struggling to swallow the cake,
but he still finishes it down to the very last
crumb, because the cannabis in the cake might
delay the next time his disease – multiple
sclerosis – causes a new, painful fit, leaving him
with weaker joints, muscle cramps, and a
pricking sensation in his skin.
The personal care worker moves on to her
next patient, who suffers from arthritis. He
smiles, as the smoke from his prescribed joint
enters his lungs, relieving some of his joint pain.
During the day, the personal care worker visits
patients with anything from nausea to
Alzheimer’s, who need help to take their
medication: pills, cake, mouth spray, and
cigarettes, which all have one thing in common
- they include cannabis.
The scenario is a real one,
which is taking place in the
Netherlands and the US
as we speak. Every year,
Dutch pharmacies sell
thousands of pill
bottles with cannabis,
and more countries are
following suit,
reconsidering their
legislation. The most
recent example is
Germany, which introduced a
new act in 2017 to become the
ninth European nation to allow doctors
to prescribe medical cannabis. Many more
Extracts from the cannabis plant
can be prescribed in the shape of
pills, joints, or mouth spray.
SHUTTERSTOCK
