While most people associate neurodegenerative disorders with diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson disease, there are actually hundreds of different neurodegenerative diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. As legalization continues to bring cannabis to the forefront, caregivers and loved ones of patients afflicted with neurodegenerative diseases are increasingly curious about whether medical marijuana can help alleviate symptoms. How might cannabis help the millions of patients diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder? 

Can Cannabis Treat Neurodegenerative Disease?

Because cannabinoids have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory qualities, many speculate that cannabis could prove useful in preventing, halting, or reversing debilitating neurodegenerative disorder.

Juan Sanchez-Ramos, MD, PhD, a professor of molecular pharmacology and physiology at the University of South Florida, is optimistic, noting that early laboratory studies have identified cannabinoids which, by virtue of their neuro-protective and anti-oxidative actions, have the potential to "slow the onset and progression...