Does cannabis use destroy or damage the immune system?
There is no valid scientific or medical evidence to support the fear that cannabis damages the immune system. On the contrary, a review of the history of cannabis medicine demonstrates the opposite. For example, cannabis is used quite successfully to treat Crohn’ s Disease. Although the cause of this inflammatory bowel disease is not yet known, Jeff Hergenrather, M.D., stated on page 3 of the 2005 Autumn O’Shaughnessy’s, “What can be said about [Crohn’s Disease] is that the immune system in the GI tract is overreactive, misguided and destructive to the intestine. Components in cannabis are thought to exert some of their beneficial effects by interacting with cannabinoid receptors in the intestine. Cannabis-using Crohn’s patients…are also able to reduce the amount of immunosuppressive medications…” Physicians who practice cannabis medicine consistently describe it as safe and non-toxic. A list of chronic conditions treated by cannabis, compiled by Tod Mikuriya, M.D., and printed on
