<aside> 💡 ATTN LEGAL: We inherited this old Green Bits blog on cannabis and Alzheimer’s that I think we can repurpose, but I want to make sure it’s compliant/we’re taking the right stance here.
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Organizing clinical studies for the effectiveness of using medical marijuana for Alzheimer’s and dementia was impossible until recently. No clinical ethics board would approve using a federally scheduled drug on people with an irreversible, progressive brain disease.
However, this is beginning to change. Promising studies on treating epilepsy with cannabis-derived compounds have paved the way for a new approach for developing cannabis-based therapies for a broad range of mental and cognitive disorders, including dementia.
Despite the long-standing federal ban on medical cannabis, institutions around the globe are looking further into the therapeutic benefits of cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds. The treatment of dementia is one of the areas in which researchers are making promising developments.
Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common cause of dementia in older adults. Dementia is an umbrella term for a broad variety of diseases that affect the brain. People who suffer from it gradually lose the ability to think, remember, and reason as a result of biological changes in the brain.
These changes typically begin to occur up to ten years before the patient reports any symptoms. They are characterized by abnormal plaque and protein build ups that result in neurons losing connection with one another.
As of 2022, researchers don’t agree on any single cause of Alzheimer’s Disease. Studies seem to indicate that a broad variety of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors all contribute to the onset of the disease over time.
While Alzheimer’s Disease cannot be cured, it can be treated. Most doctors currently use some form of cholinesterase inhibitor – a type of drug that blocks certain enzymes from breaking down the chemicals used by nerve cells use to communicate inside the brain. These drugs can carry serious side effects and may interact with other medications in unpredictable ways.
While cholinesterase inhibitors are known to help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease, they don’t always work as prescribed, and doctors do not have many other options to choose from. In some cases, side effects like nausea and insomnia reduce patients’ quality of life.
Cannabis compounds are known to treat both nausea and insomnia effectively. But anecdotal evidence points to even greater potential for using cannabis to treat Alzheimer’s. The Spier Family Foundation is funding clinical studies into the effectiveness of cannabis for treating this form of dementia because of its effect on Greg Spier, the family patriarch.
Preliminary studies have already shown promising results:
It’s important to note that the studies above were not performed on human participants. However, small clinical studies with human participants have shown promising results as well. Numerous studies on both animals and humans have found that the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD – a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis – can prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s over time.
There is another reason why Alzheimer’s patients and their families have expressed a great deal of interest in cannabis alternatives to traditional dementia drugs: cost. It’s not uncommon for dementia patients to pay up to $500 for a 30-day supply of the cholinesterase inhibitor Namzaric.
Compared to the cost of a low-dosage edible or oral CBD product, the economic advantages alternative treatments offer is clear. Alzheimer’s patients may be able to eliminate problematic side effects associated with cholinesterase inhibitors while spending substantially less on dementia treatment.