Weed, also called marijuana or cannabis gained popularity during the mid-1970s when the usage of cannabinoids was more for lessening IOP (Intraocular Pressure).

IOP is the liquid pressure within the eye. Today, its utilization has raised owing to its pressure-including side effects. Also, after caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco, it’s popularly consumed drug among people, as per Michigan Medicine Ophthalmologist.

Since the year 2019, 23 states, as well as Michigan, have made it legal to use cannabis and some folks are substituting their glaucoma medicines with cannabis.

What Is Glaucoma?

In the US, glaucoma is the second major reason for blindness. This condition leads to optic neuropathy, which is a progressive loss of the visual field and causes permanent vision loss if not analyzed and provided the right treatment.

Treating Glaucoma with Medical Marijuana

There are many types of drugs that have been confirmed to be useful as medical therapies for glaucoma.

Besides medicines, there are many surgery alternatives for patients suffering from this condition. Xen gel stent is an example of such surgery. In this, a small tube is fixed within the eye to keep the vision, and the trabeculectomy, while a piece of tissue is taken out from the eye to make an opening to drain liquid. Let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cannabis glaucoma treatment.

Advantages:

1.     It might theoretically aid in averting the development of glaucoma. However, there are no longstanding data.
2.     It helps in lessening severe pain.
3.     It controls nausea
4.     It aids in lessening the anxiety related to any chronic ailment.

5.      It is also helpful in lessening ocular eye pressure temporarily.

Disadvantages

1.     This treatment is quite more costly than conventional treatments.
2.     It can annoy a patient’s eye.
3.     There are lasting side effects of weed that are still unfamiliar.
4.     With time, tolerance rises, and eye pressure variations are not as strong, causing high dosages of weed required for a similar effect.
5.     Tetrahydrocannabinol just helps in lessening eye pressure for about a couple of hours. For controlling eye pressure, a patient would require nearly 8 to 10 dosages of marijuana every day.

Different Types of Glaucoma

1.     Angle-closure glaucoma
2.     Normal-tension glaucoma
3.     Primary open-angle glaucoma
4.    Angle-closure glaucoma

Why Glaucoma Happens?

Age, race, and increased intraocular pressure are the risk factors associated with glaucoma. Those who are above the age of 60 years are most likely to get glaucoma. This is also the most common reason for permanent blindness, as we’ve mentioned earlier.

In a majority of cases, blindness can be averted with the right treatment. That’s why going to an eye specialist is vital, even for those who do not wear specs or contact lenses.

While an eye is working correctly, a clear fluid (aqueous humor) inside the eye circulates between the lens and the rear of the cornea. For those with higher eye pressure, the outflow of the liquid becomes limited.

Poor blood flow, cell dysfunction, medicines, surgeries, higher eye pressure, surgeries, etc. are all the reasons for permanent optic nerve damage and can cause glaucoma.

A majority of glaucoma therapies center on attempting to lessen intraocular eye pressure for averting it from resulting in blindness. The bad news is that the eye pressure in patients does not all the time slow the development of the condition. Glaucoma can take place and even develop with normal eye pressures, hence highlighting the requirement for specialty care in detecting and managing glaucoma.