Asthma Therapy: Marijuana Vs Corticosteroids and Beta Agonists

Marijuana wins hands down.

Courtesy: buydutchseeds.com

(PORTLAND, OR) - The subject of asthma has been a huge controversy almost since it was first defined by Hippocrates about 450 b.c. It was recognized as a disease in ancient Egyptian medical texts. In the U.S., the first medical article published, was in 1872. In 1886 a Doctor Bosworth thought there was a connection between asthma and hay fever. There also seems to be a connection with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).

Ephedrine, known in China as Ma Huang has been used as a bronchiolar dilator for probably thousands of years. Ephedrine is like a long-acting Epinephrine which has a very short but effective biological half life for asthma attacks. It has been superseded by salbutamol (Albuterol) and salmetarol and formoterol, which have far less dangerous heart stimulation.

Corticosteroids such as Beclomethasone are used in inhalers usually twice a day.

Most information about cannabis/marijuana as medicine came fro the U.S. government office NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) which has printed bad and false information about the dangers of marijuana use. In fact, one of the top researchers in this field, Doctor Donald Taskin, a lung specialist, stated, "Over and over again, all the bad things we've been told about marijuana are revealed to be not only false, but often the precise opposite of truth".

Dr. Tashkin found not only that marijuana did not cause lung cancer, but that it was protective against cancer. The U.S. government owns the patent for marijuana treatment of lung cancers.

The fact that smoke from poor grades of marijuana cause bronchiolar irritation and coughing does not equate with causing cancer, which has been the U.S. government position!

If a person uses a vaporizer or eats brownies, he or she will not have irritation or coughing.

My first asthma article was Medical Marijuana: Asthma Therapy, carried by Salem-News.com, August 30 2007, which generated 18 important comments with ten giving glowing remarks about the benefits of marijuana over corticosteroids and epinephrine beta agonists.

I consider the use of these medications to be relatively benign but they probably cost a lot more than home grown grass. The comments of the asthma victims in this article are worth reading.

My second article on this subject was, COPD, Asthma, Bronchitis and Marijuana Therapy with nine positive responses. It was like a retread of the earlier article, April 23 2009. I checked my computer, which indicated that these three diseases can occur in any combination.

We have about 16 million cases of COPD per year and about 100,000 deaths. Marijuana would help!

Asthma affects about 300 million people globally per year and about 250,000 deaths throughout the world. In western countries, rates are much lower because of the available medications. Asthma does affect about 7% of Americans, many of whom have discovered the benefits of marijuana for asthma.

The corticosteroids and Epinephrine like drugs have serious adverse affects whereas, marijuana has the safest record of any medicine.

Got a question or comment for Dr. Leveque?
Email him: Newsroom@Salem-News.com

More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole".
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier

If you are a World War II history buff, you don't want to miss it.

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King and Dr. Phil Leveque.

Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com:
Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

Salem-News.com Marijuana Coverage

Where and How to Smoke Legal Marijuana without Fear of Arrest in the U.S.

Eulogy of a Great Warrior: Hoss Plourde

The Ripple Effect How Marijuana Laws Are Impacting Society

Audit the Audit

Welcome Home, Tom

Comments Leave a comment on this story.

Name:

All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.

[Return to Top]

---

©2025 Salem-News.com. All opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Salem-News.com.