Sarah Strutt

ENC 2135

26 March 2017

Medical Marijuana and Parkinson Disease

As young adults in college we tend to take advantage of our fast moving, agile bodies.

While we may have these strong bodies at this point in time, with time they will deteriorate and

become more prone to certain sicknesses and diseases. This is happening with my older family

members and while it can be difficult to see happen to your own family it helped me become

more interested and informed on the topic. My grandpa was diagnosed with Parkinson disease

last year and since then he has had a hard journey coping with it. It can be strenuous on the mind

as well as the body. The body experiences constant pain when trying to move or walk. The mind

struggles with the thought of not being able to do what you used to be capable of. Imagine

knowing what you want to say, but then the words just will not come out as expected. The

current treatments available for Parkinson disease do only the bare minimum. They can be

effective for one or two symptoms, but they seem to lead to more problems than solutions.

Medical marijuana is a newly discovered treatment that has the potential to stop the many painful

symptoms and complications that come along with Parkinson disease.

Parkinson disease effects many people

who are nearing old age. When aging our

bodies get stiffer and less nimble; however,

Parkinson disease escalates those symptoms to

an entirely different level. As you can see in

Figure 1 these symptoms can completely change the way a person looks, moves, and feels

(Thakkar). Alexander Rae-Grant, MD, Esther Jolanda van Zuuren, MD, and Alan Ehrlich, MD

who are the authors of an article posted on the peer-reviewed database DynaMed Plus about

Parkinsons disease stated that Parkinson disease is a progressive movement disorder. This means

that patients can suffer from tremors, posture instability, pain, fatigue, and have
Figure
difficulty with 1 everyday activities along the lines of getting out of a soft chair.

Patients can also have difficulty eating and drinking due to their tremors and are more prone to

poor nutrition and muscle mass loss. These symptoms are very painful and can take a lot out of a

person mentally and physically. Some people have a much harder time than others with the

disease and can even form a mental disease such as dementia and depression (Rae-Grant). This is

important because of the fact that understanding the disease and what it does to the patients

suffering from it helps to know which medications and treatments can be helpful. Fully

understanding the stress and toll that the symptoms of Parkinson disease can have on a human

being is had until you have had to witness it yourself. Seeing my grandpa struggle for thirty

minutes to get out of his chair or be forced to eat dinner for another hour after everyone has

already finished was very difficult. He was in constant pain and humiliation due to this disease

and the medication was not doing enough to help him.

There is currently no cure for Parkinson disease and there is no medication known that

can significantly slow down the disease. While this fact may be hard to accept, it is true and

patients and often left with a limited number of medications to help ease the pain from a

multitude of different symptoms. As shown in Figure 2, the first step in treating Parkinson

disease is pharmacologic therapy. This is meant to ease symptoms like tremors and rigidity, but it

leaves the mental health completely ignored. Loss of appetite and overall quality of life is still
very low and the options for nonpharmacological therapies are slim (Stewart). Taking

medications may seem like a necessary, daily activity for elderly people due to the many

medications they have to take for multiple illnesses; however, adding more medicine to their

daily regimen could have the opposite effect they are expecting. Anwar Ahmed, MD and staff

member of the Department of Neurology Movement Disorders, stated in a ClinicalKey article

that patients should restrain from using pharmacotherapy to ease their symptoms until they are

fully functionally impaired. Once a patient has become impaired they usually take Levodopa-

carbidopa which can delay the risk of motor complications progressing. If that medication is not

effective the patient can take a combination of different medicines including Apomorphine. This

common drug used to aide people with Parkinson disease can have extreme withdrawal effects

and can cause intense nausea. This shows how medications barely help patients with Parkinson

disease and that often times people need to be taking multiple medications at once to see any

difference in the many painful symptoms of Parkinson disease. There are other treatments that a

patient can do other than taking medication. Physical therapy can be helpful to improve a

persons strength and movement; however it does not help to prevent tremors and the pain

associated with the disease. Also, physical therapy can be extremely painful and requires a lot of

strength building and activity, which is especially difficult for someone with extreme rigidity.

Deep-brain stimulation can relieve tremors, slow movements, and stiffness. This treatment

however is extremely intense and involves implanting electrodes in your brain to give electrical

impulses to stimulate it. This also can lead to other complications such as skin erosion and

speech dysfunction (Ahmed). Ahmed is giving us multiple ways to treat Parkinson disease, but

none of them appear to really help make a change in all of the patients symptoms. They are even

leading to the patients having more complications because of the multiple medications they may
have to take at the same time.

Medications and non-

pharmacotherapy treatments

are not enough to ease the

pain these people have to go

through every day. One

treatment that was not listed

as an option was medical

marijuana. This is something Figure

2
relatively new that could possibly be a breakthrough in Parkinson disease treatment.

Medical marijuana has recently been

passed in Florida and it is legal in many

other states. The laws for administering

and growing the cannabis differs from

state to state and it is not yet been

approved by the US Food and Drug

Administration to treat any medical

condition. An article on The JAMA Network, a peer-reviewed database, written by Amy

Thompson, MD explains that there is evidence for medical marijuana helping those who suffer

from nerve pain, chronic pain, and muscle spasms. In certain states, depending on how strict the

law is, medicinal cannabis can treat glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and seizures. The

chemical in marijuana that is active is called cannabinoids. The amount and intensity of the
cannabinoids fifer depending on the strain of weed, however they work the same way. They

affect the central nervous system and the main chemical, THC, is what gives marijuana its

intoxicated, euphoric feeling. Medical marijuana is known to reduce nausea, pain, muscle

spasms, and increases your appetite. Cannabis can be consumed in many different ways

including smoking, mixing into foods, and brewing as a tea (Thompson). Medical marijuana can

be extremely helpful for patients experiencing pain, nausea, and decreased appetite. These

symptoms all Figure correlate to Parkinson disease and therefore medical marijuana
3
should be examined as a possible treatment for the disease.

Parkinson disease has been affecting older men and women for decades and there is no

end in sight. Current medications and treatments help only one or two of the many symptoms

facing a person with this disease. A peer reviewed article on EBSCO, written by multiple

authors, covers the scientific and chemical ways that medical marijuana affects a person

suffering from Parkinson disease. The authors state that the cannabinoids within the cerebellum

when marijuana is consumed has a therapeutic role in controlling voluntary movements. The

cannabinoids in medical marijuana have a promising pharmacological profile and not only

improve Parkinson disease symptoms, but also prevent progression of the disease (Babayeva).

This is extremely important because of the fact that this evidence supports the claim that medical

marijuana is more helpful for treatment of this disease than traditional medications. Barely any

medications can prevent Parkinson disease from progressing, but this article shows that medical

marijuana can. As seen in Figure 4, the effect of medical marijuana on Parkinson disease is very

positive for most of the symptoms. The main symptoms of being stiff and not having an appetite

are the ones that are the most improved. The National Parkinson Foundation reported this after a

study was conducted at Northwestern University (Cannabis). This is extremely important

because not only does it show the positive effects of marijuana, it also shows the increased

sleepiness and hallucinations that the patients experienced, so it is clear that it is a verifiable

study. A different study done by the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry in 2013

states that the psychoactive cannabinoid, THC, activates a receptor that stimulates the formation

of new mitochondria. This is the cell that produces energy. There is also more and more

evidence piling up that supports medical marijuana having the potential to protect neurons

against damage by improving mitochondria (Gerard). This study and research shows how

medical marijuana can improve mitochondria production and therefore increase the energy in the

patient. As Marcia McCall wrote in the Parkinson Research Foundations website, people who

suffer from Parkinson will try almost anything to get relief from pain even old, conservative

people who would have never tried marijuana otherwise. A recent study done in Israel showed

the effects of inhaling marijuana. Twenty subjects who were all around 66 years of age and have

had Parkinson disease for at least seven years were tested. They smoked the medical marijuana

and waited approximately thirty minutes to ensure that its full effects were present. They were

tested using the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale which collects scores on tremors,

rigidity, bradykinesia, which is being impaired and having to move slowly, and fine motor skills.

After thirty minutes patients scored significantly lower with tremors, bradykinesia, and rigidity.

Fine motor skills and the sleep of the subjects were also improved. Another study was done in

the Czech Republic that has three hundred and thirty nine subjects who had Parkinson disease if

they use marijuana regularly. Nearly a quarter of the subjects reported that they use marijuana

forty five percent of those people said that it greatly helped ease their painful symptoms

(McCall). This demonstrates how many symptoms of Parkinson disease that the cannabinoids in

medical marijuana affect and benefit. Another study that analyzed medical marijuana and
Parkinson disease was done in Denver, Colorado and it measured the effectiveness of

complementary and alternative medicine including marijuana. About two hundred and seven

patients took self-reported surveys about the efficacy of alternative medicine. Eighty five percent

of patients used complementary and alternative medicine. The most common ones were massage,

vitamins, and prayer; however, the most effective method was using medical marijuana. Those

who used it reported significant improvements in mood, sleep, motor symptoms, and most

importantly quality of life (Finseth). This is important because even though a small percentage of

people who were using complementary and alternative medicines were using medical marijuana,

it was the most effective. These studies are all extremely important because with each new study

done, we are one step closer to getting FDA to approve marijuana as a medical treatment; one

step closer to helping the people we care for enjoy their lives again. The aspect of quality of life

is the most important category that the patients reported because that is all anyone wants:

happiness and a quality life. A video was posted on Merry Janes website which is a website

dedicated to marijuana and its healing properties. https://youtu.be/rAdDdTZuNA8 In the video

there is an elderly man who suffers from Parkinson disease. You can see in the video that he has

extreme tremors that he cannot control along with slurred and slowed speech. The man explains

how traditional medication had an extremely negative effect on him and caused him to get very

nauseas. He inhales about thirty mg of cannabis through his vaporizer and then waits about

twenty minutes. Instantly you can see the medical marijuanas effects. His hands and tremors

slowed down significantly almost to the point of completely stopping them. He can speak more

clearly and he has less trouble moving around (Downs). You can see the pain and stress that this

man has to go through while experiencing tremors and the happiness and relief he experiences is

amazing. You can see the joy in his face as he can finally relax and is able to walk and talk. This
was amazing to experience with my own eyes because there is such a difference between reading

statistics about the benefits of marijuana of Parkinson disease, and then there is actually seeing

the happiness that it can bring to people. Parkinson disease is a very complicated illness that has

many symptoms that come along with it. Medical marijuana is the only treatment available that

helps ease pain from multiple symptoms instead of just one while consistently improving your

quality of life. More research and more studies need to be conducted to keep the evidence that

marijuana is helpful flowing. The more evidence there is the more convinced elderly people like

my grandpa, who view marijuana as a drug as bad as heroin, that they can be helped by this.

Medical Marijuana has recently become a hot topic in our country. With many states

legalizing and many not it can be difficult to tell if it is an actual replacement for traditional

medication. Research has shown that the cannabinoids

in medical

marijuana are

beneficial for

motor

dysfunction

and the

symptoms Figure
5
involved with Parkinson disease such as tremors and appetite. New evidence supporting the

benefits of medical marijuana surface every day, however more research needs to be done in

order for medical marijuana to be legalized nationally. There have been several studies that show

the effectiveness of medical marijuana on this disease, but more still need to be done. The more

studies that are conducted, the more positive results will appear and the higher the chance of the
US Food and Drug Administration approving of it for medical conditions. This would be life

changing for many people suffering from Parkinson disease and a multitude of other illnesses.

Improving the quality of life for people will Parkinson, cancer, or chronic pain is the goal of

medication and medical marijuana does it better than anything else. My grandfather cannot yet

receive the help that he needs from medical marijuana because it is not legal in the state that he

lives in. He suffers everyday through constant medications and treatments that do not seem to do

anything but tear down his hope for an actual remedy. Once legalized and seen as a real

treatment for Parkinson disease, his entire life will be changed. He will be the happy, active man

I knew as a child and marijuana could be the only thing to help him achieve that.
 Annotated Bibliography
Ahmed, Anwar. "Parkinson Disease." Clinical Key. 6 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
This source gives an extensive overview on Parkinsons disease. It gives a description of
the disease along with the many causes and risk factors associated with it. The author also
explains a few preventative measures and diagnostic testing. The author is Anwar Amhed
and he is a staff member of the Center for Neurological Restoration and the Department
of Neurology Movement Disorders. The article was found on Clinical Key database on
FSUs library.
Babayeva, Mariana, Haregewein Assefa, Paramita Basu, Sanjeda Chumki, and Zvi Loewy.
"Marijuana Compounds: A Nonconventional Approach to Parkinson's Disease
Therapy." EBSCOhost. 5 Dec. 2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
This source is an article found on EBSCO host and is written by Mariana Babayeva,
Haregewein Assefa, Paramita Basu, Sanjeda Chumki, and Zvi Loewy. They work at the
Touro College of Pharmacy in New York. The article describes what treatments are
currently available for treating Parkinsons. The medications that are usually prescribed
can lead to other complications like dyskinesia and how other treatments are more
beneficial. The authors explore how the cannabis compounds could enhance the quality
of life for someone living with this disease and how the interest in this therapy is
increasing.
Cannabis Results. National Parkinson Foundation.
This source is a graph that comes from an article on the National Parkinson Foundation
website. It shows a simplified version of the results of a study done to show the effects
that cannabis has on the symptoms patients are facing. This is important because it gives
a clear image of the marijuanas effects.
Cannabis and Parkinson Disease. Crescolabs.
This is a website dedicated to medical marijuana and its many helpful uses. It gives many
quotes and pictures explaining how marijuana is beneficial to people with Parkinson
disease.
Downs, Claire. "Mind-Blowing Video Shows Cannabis' Effects on Parkinson's
Symptoms." MERRY JANE. MerryJane, 26 Sept. 2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
This article written on Merry Jane a website dedicated to marijuana and its medicinal
benefits shows a video of an older man who suffers from Parkinsons disease. He says
how he stopped taking his prescription medication and wanted to show people how
quickly a small amount of marijuana is so effective. He vapes 30mg of weed and after
only 10 seconds his tremors calm down a significant amount. He is able to speak and
move more fluently and easier.
Finseth, Taylor Andrew, Jessica Louise Hedeman, and Benzi Kluger. "Self-Reported Efficacy of
Cannabis and Other Complementary Medicine Modalities by Parkinson's Disease
Patients in Colorado." 2 Mar. 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
The authors of this source are T. A. Finseth, J. L. Hedeman, and B. M. Kluger. They used
research found at the Department of Neurology and Economics at the University of
Colorado. The study provides information about the use of complementary and
alternative medicine to the use of prescription drugs to treat Parkinsons disease. The
results showed that the best alternatives included massage, music and art therapy, and
medical marijuana use. The patients took self-reported surveys to get the results.
Gerard, Arielle. "Overview of Parkinson's Disease and Medical Marijuana." Overview of
Parkinson's disease and Medical Marijuana. Medical Jane, 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 Feb.
2017.
This source is an article written by Arielle Gerdard on the Medical Marijuana Directory
News reviews website. It explains the disease and the current symptom control treatments
that there are for it like prescription drugs. There is anecdotal support for medical
marijuana use with Parkinsons and it gives many examples of people who have
benefitted from using it.
McCall, Marcia. "Medical Marijuana and Parkinson's Disease." Parkinson Research Foundation.
11 July 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
This article written by Marcia McCall on the Parkinson Research Foundations website. It
explains several studies that show that show the benefits of medical marijuana in relation
to Parkinsons disease. It talks about the history of using marijuana to ease pain and
relieve certain diseases and symptoms. This article is important because it shows how
people have been using marijuana to help them long before the western world learned
about its benefits.
Rae-Grant, Alexander, Esther Jolanda Van Zuuren, and Alan Ehlrich. "Parkinson
Disease." DynaMed [EBSCO]. Nov. 2016. Web. Feb. 26.
This source gives additional background knowledge on Parkinsons. It deeper explains
the history of the disease and the causes. It also gives treatment information including
medication and different procedures available. The authors, Alexander Rae-Grant, Esther
Jolanda van Zuuren, and Alan Ehlrich, are all MDs and have extensive knowledge of the
subject. The article was found on DynaMed Plus database.
Seven Ways Cannabis Is Great for Your Brain. Medical Health News.
This source is a picture that shows a marijuana leaf being wrapped around by the symbol
for medicine and health. This immediately gives the impression that cannabis is good for
you and the article states many of the reasons why it is amazing for your brain.
Stewart, Malcom. An Algorithm Foe the Management of Parkinson Disease.Medscape.
 This is a picture that I got off of a website called Webscape. It is an article on Parkinson
disease and the treatments that are available for it. This is important because it gives a
visual presentation instead of writing it out. It helps the reader to further understand the
material.
.
Thakkar, Karnav. Signs&Symptoms. Ideal Cure.
This source is a picture that depicts the symptoms and signs to look out for in Parkinson
disease. It came from a website that explains Parkinsons and hw it affects the body. The
visual component is easy to see and it simplifies the many symptoms of the disease.
Thompson, Amy. "Medical Marijuana." The JAMA Network. June 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
This article written by Amy Thompson, MD is about medical marijuana. It talks about the
use of medical marijuana versus the use of medicine for patients. It says how it may be
effective treatment for chronic pain and nerve pain. It explains the effects and risks of
using medical marijuana. The article also states how it is used by either smoking, mixing
it into food, or brewing it as a tea. The article was found on FSUs library on The JAMA
Network. It was written by a doctor and has quotes and uses data from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse.
 Rhetorical Rational

This paper was very difficult in the beginning. I have never written a research paper like

this before. In high school my teachers taught us that a research paper is either a report of

information or a black and white argument. I would always present my papers with a question

like Should people use marijuana to help their Parkinsons symptoms? This type of question

can only lead to a yes or no answer. When trying to figure out a way to make this research paper

not so black or white it helped to think back on the types of arguments that we discussed in class.

I began writing my paper and I realized that I was using the Classical approach. I immediately

tried to fix this because I could see that it was enhancing the biased black or white type of

argument that I was so used to writing last year. After reviewing the argument approaches again I

was especially interested in the Rogerian approach. I liked how it forces you to see the other

sides point of view and it helped me to not be so black or white in my argument. It was very

hard however to try to stay a bit unbiased while writing it because after completing the research I

believe that medical marijuana is an extremely helpful treatment for Parkinson disease. While

researching I kept coming upon the same idea that medical marijuana was the next step in

Parkinson treatment. The studies that have been conducted show how beneficial it is and made

me a bit more biased towards the use of cannabis. The one major thing that stuck with me while

writing this paper was the video of the man. When he came back after using the medical

marijuana to treat his symptoms, they were almost completely gone. This was so shocking to me

because I expected that it would be helpful, but I never thought it would work that fast and that

well. He seemed to have such a large weight lifted off of his shoulders. The old man reminded

me so much of my grandpa. My grandpa is so against the use of marijuana for his disease, but I

have always tried to convince him to at least think about it being an option and he refuses. In
fact, he looks at me like I am some kind of drug addict. I mainly wrote this paper not just for this

class but also t send to my grandparents. I am hoping that after they read it and see how many

studies and how much effort has been put into the push for the legalization of medical marijuana

that they will change their minds and think about using it in the future. The writing of this paper

took a very long time and it was very strenuous. Although, having to go through the steps and

learning how to do a research paper in a way that made the argument more fluid and not so black

and white was extremely helpful. In the future if I ever have to write another research paper I

will know where to start and how to execute it.