Natures medicine once again beats big pharmaceutical companies.
Antibiotic resistant diseases are becoming increasingly common, leaving doctors with few options for treating patients.
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a bacterium that is resistant to most antibiotics. It allows infections to resist conventional antibiotic treatment in patients with weakened immune systems.
Researchers have been struggling to find an adequate treatment.
Stronger antibiotics have been the course of action so far, but it has only increased the bug’s antibiotic tolerance, which in turn makes it harder to treat.
However, research into the myriad of medical applications of marijuana has led to a startling discovery: marijuana has antibiotic properties.
Researchers tested ointments using 5 different cannabinoids (including THC and CBD) on lesions caused by MRSA-related infections.
The ointments were surprisingly effective at reducing pain and allowing the wounds to heal. In fact, it was found to be as effective as vancomycin––a powerful, last-ditch antibiotic––but without the negative side effects.
Researchers found cannabis showed “high potency as antibiotics.”
Frank Bowling of the University of Manchester, who researches alternative treatments to MRSA, said, “Any alternative treatment that removes MRSA from the wound and prevents it from spreading into the body is fantastic and preferable to using antibiotics that have strong side effects and against which resistance is already developing.”
It seems old tricks are the best.
Salves using marijuana have been used for their antibiotic and antimicrobial properties for centuries in various cultures.
The researchers who conducted the study feel confident that the application of medical marijuana in MRSA treatment would be safe, stating, “The topical use of cannabis preparations has a long tradition in European medicine, and no allergies have been reported.”
With the easing of Federal regulations prohibiting medical marijuana research in the U.S., the healing properties of marijuana will hopefully find their way into mainstream medicine.
