“The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between marijuana use and health outcomes among hospitalized patients, including those hospitalized with a diagnosis of cancer.
A total of 387,608 current marijuana users were identified based on ICD-9 codes for marijuana use among hospitalized patients in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database between 2007 and 2011. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between marijuana use and heart failure, cardiac disease, stroke, and in-hospital mortality. All models were adjusted for age, gender, race, residential income, insurance, residential region, pain, and number of comorbidities.
Among hospitalized patients, marijuana use was associated with a 60% increased odds of stroke (OR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.44–1.77) compared with non-users, but significantly reduced odds of heart failure (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.75–0.82), cardiac disease (OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.82–0.91), or in-hospital mortality (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.38–0.44).
Among cancer patients, odds of in-hospital mortality was significantly reduced among marijuana users compared with non-users (OR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.35–0.55).
Hospitalized marijuana users were more likely to experience a stroke compared with non-users, but less likely to experience in-hospital mortality.”
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cam4.968/full
“The leading cause of irreversible blindness is glaucoma, a disease normally characterized by the development of ocular hypertension and consequent damage to the optic nerve at its point of retinal attachment. This results in a narrowing of the visual field, and eventually results in blindness.
A number of drugs are available to lower intraocular pressure (IOP), but, occasionally, they are ineffective or have intolerable side-effects for some patients and can lose efficacy with chronic administration.
The smoking of marijuana has decreased IOP in glaucoma patients. Cannabinoid drugs, therefore, are thought to have significant potential for pharmaceutical development.
The discovery of ocular cannabinoid receptors implied an explanation for the induction of hypotension by topical cannabinoid applications, and has stimulated a new phase of ophthalmic cannabinoid research.
Featured within these investigations is the possibility that at least some cannabinoids may ameliorate optic neuronal damage through suppression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor hyperexcitability, stimulation of neural microcirculation, and the suppression of both apoptosis and damaging free radical reactions, among other mechanisms.
Separation of therapeutic actions from side-effects now seems possible through a diverse array of novel chemical, pharmacological, and formulation strategies.”
