The Benefits of Medical Marijuana Include The Placebo Effect
The Health Benefits of Medical Marijuana Include, “The Placebo Effect”.
The health benefits of Medical Marijuana include something known as the placebo effect. The placebo effect is a phenomenon where a patient’s belief in the treatment or medicine will change his/her condition. When the patient’s condition improves, we can then say that the treatment or medicine had a therapeutic effect. In reality, the patient’s pill may have been inert, one without medicine in it- a fake medical intervention.
Case in point, many years ago I coached a freshman Cross-Country team. One of the biggest obstacles in distance events is the mental aspect, breaking through the fatigue factor. This may remain even after many strenuous work-outs. The day of our first race, I could tell that my athletes were extremely nervous and lacking confidence. This was in spite of excellent work-outs and training habits. On the bus to the meet, I passed out small pills to all the runners, and said, “Take these boys; it will make you run fast, with lots of endurance.” Upon completion of a victorious race on our part, the kids asked if they could always get these pills. I told them salt pills didn’t help them, it was their training! What my runners experienced was the “placebo effect.”
In 1955 Henry K. Beecher’s , “The Powerful Placebo”, has illustrated the phenomenon that has been considered to have clinically important effects. In recent years however, many trials and studies have been conducted with controversy throughout. One thing for sure, the psycho-active properties of Medical Marijuana may enhance the placebo effect. Finally, the placebo effect points to the importance of perception and the brain’s role in physical health, especially when it comes to pain. Never in the history of modern medicine has a treatment or drug been as heavily anticipated as Medical Marijuana. With the anticipation there will be a lot of therapeutic effect, as the result of the placebo effect.
Well, whatever works, right?
Joyce embraces the “cannabis culture” at http://www.cali9.com
email her at [email protected]
