Sight is one of the most precious of the 5 senses for most people. That’s not surprising giving the importance we put on our ability to experience visual stimuli. It’s for this reason that a diagnosis of glaucoma is so troubling for people. It’s a condition that causes damage to the optic nerve in the eye. The intraocular pressure it causes can lead to blindness within a few years if left untreated. Most people who suffer from this deteriorating eye disease have a genetic predisposition for it.
Fortunately, there are a number of prescription medications that reduce this ocular pressure and lessen both the discomfort and the blindness risk for sufferers. However, as is the case with all conditions these days there are greater numbers of people who would prefer a more natural relief alternative if there is one.
Cannabis legalization in Canada and the many reported therapeutic benefits of using it have led many people to look into weed for glaucoma. They’d like to know if it’s legitimately helpful for reducing the pain and discomfort of glaucoma’s ocular pressure. If it is, then they’ll want to try it and see for themselves. Perfectly natural, so let’s have a look at that today; weed for glaucoma – does it work?
Complementing Standard Treatments
The standard treatment approaches for glaucoma involve administering medicated eyedrops, and sometimes laser or incisional surgery is used in more severe cases where there is an insufficient response to the medicated eyedrops.
Weed for glaucoma comes into the picture here because cannabis’ therapeutic effects work well in conjunction with medications like Timoptic, Betagan, Ocupress, and Optipranolol. For some patients, however, these medicated drops can worsen asthma or emphysema or promote low blood pressure. For these people the way cannabis relieves glaucoma pain is invaluable.
Laser iridotomy is the most common form of laser therapy for glaucoma and it’s very effective for most people. What it does is make an opening in the iris of the eye to allow the built-up fluid to drain and prevent intraocular pressure. Laser trabeculoplasty is anther one, and it can make it so that some patients can reduce their number of eyedrops needed per day.
Medical marijuana can enhance the positive effects of these standard treatments for glaucoma. How is that exactly? Read on.
Alternative Therapy
The medical community has long understood that the cannabinoids in marijuana can lower intraocular pressure for glaucoma patients. Test findings indicated, however, that the reduction in IOP was only seen for a few hours after the individual had ingested marijuana. The consensus among the medical community has always been that cannabis oil provides only temporary relief from glaucoma symptoms.
However, that is for only treating the symptoms of glaucoma itself. Marijuana can be an effective pain reliever for pain that comes from intraocular pressure buildup. Here’s where anyone’s recommendation of weed for glaucoma becomes legit.
Let’s take a look at the 5 best strains of weed for glaucoma.
Best Cannabis Strains for Glaucoma Relief
- Euphoria
Euphoria gets top spot on this list because it’s a very gentle sativa that at 9% THC is just right for therapeutic benefits while not packing too much psychoactive punch.
- Plushberry
Plushberry is the #1 Indica strain on our list. It’s a good choice for glaucoma relief as its lower THC and CBD content is just enough for pain relief without being overpowering. It is well suited for frequent, everyday use as needed.
- Fast Eddy
Fast Eddy is the best choice for anyone who has more severe pain from the intraocular pain of glaucoma. That’s because of its balanced 1:1 THC to CBD ratio. A ration that gives it added pain relief qualities from the higher THC content and an equal amount of neuroprotection from the CBD.
- Chernobyl
This hybrid cannabis strain is also a good choice for glaucoma symptom relief. While it’s THC and CBD levels are quite ordinary the reason it makes the list is its genetic makeup makes it so that Chernobyl’s effects onset more gradually in comparison to other stronger cannabis strains. Like a damaged nuclear reactor? Not sure about that, but you can decide.
- XJ-13
XJ-13 is a sativa dominant hybrid cannabis strain that’s well suited for glaucoma pain relief. Its 13 to 15% THC content is in the ‘just right’ zone for relieving general body pain. This makes it a good choice for eye pain for glaucoma the same way it would be for any type of generalized eye pain.
We’ll conclude here today with a note from the Glaucoma Research Foundation of America that states that smoking marijuana does indeed lower eye pressure, but as mentioned the duration of the effect is only 3 to 4 hours. It also mentions that smoking marijuana also lowers blood pressure. Older people who might be considering cannabis as a glaucoma treatment alternative should consider this. For this reason, some people might find the IOP of their glaucoma becomes WORSE as a result of ingesting marijuana.