Marijuana And HIV

HIV is the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The person suffering from this disease suffers from serious weakening of the body’s immunity that leads to death. When a person suffers from AIDS, other diseases co-occur with it. These diseases take advantage of the weakening immunity of the patient’s body. These type of diseases are referred to as opportunistic diseases and may vary ranging to those that simply irritates the patient’s body to those that are deadly. Mostly, these opportunistic diseases are the ones that causes death to the AIDS patient.

What are the symptoms of AIDS?

The symptoms that the AIDS patient experiences are most likely caused by the disease itself and not necessarily the opportunistic diseases. Some of these symptoms include:

l Wight loss

l Fever

l Chills

l Vomiting

l General body weakness

l Sweating in excess

While it is true that opportunistic diseases are a bulk of AIDS, AIDS itself is responsible for the patient’s body not to be able to defend itself from other diseases like cancer, herpes and simplex virus, as is the case with people who have a healthy immune system.

What are the examples of opportunistic diseases?

Some of the diseases that normally co-occur with AIDS include:

l Tuberculosis

l Cytomegalovirus

l Kaposi’s sarcoma

l Pneumocystis pneumonia

While the above disease does not directly relate with AIDS and can affect any other person, there are other diseases (though not many) that may only affect the person with AIDS. An example of this type of diseases is the wasting syndrome.

How can marijuana help a person suffering from HIV?

It is true that AIDS can cause a wide range of symptoms and that gives marijuana a chance to chip in and help in numerous ways. Federal and state governments also agree that some AIDS’ symptoms can be cured using marijuana. The Food and Drug Administration further back these findings. Although marijuana use is still punishable in some states, some certain medicinal marijuana drugs such as Marinol are available for AIDS patients with a prescription from doctors and with no fear of prosecution.

An example of a symptom that medicinal marijuana drugs can treat is the wasting syndrome. This disease causes the AIDS patient to lose weight rapidly with no ability to regain it. Medicinal marijuana works by increasing the patient’s appetite and decreases cases of vomiting and nausea. This increase the chance of the food ingested to be digested and absorbed into the patient’s body. The body therefore ends up acquiring the nutrients that it needs. Some of the medicinal marijuana drugs that AIDS patients can use with the approval of the government include Nabilone and dronabinol drugs.

Marijuana as a pain reliever

Other ways through which marijuana can be beneficial to the AIDS patient is that it helps to relieve pain. While it is true that the effectives of marijuana to relieve pain will depend on its cause, there is sufficient evidence that marijuana can help relieve pain originating from inflammation and nerve pains.

Conclusion

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS patients suffer symptoms that may cause them pain. However, marijuana can serve as a pain-relieving element. In addition to that, some medicinal marijuana drugs can help the patient gain appetite and reduce cases of nausea and vomiting. In general, marijuana can help serve AIDS patients a great deal.