Marijuana is the rave of the moment as it begins to find more favorable regulations regarding its use. It is derived from the Cannabis plant. Even thou the Food and Drug Administration is yet to give approval concerning the use of medical marijuana. We have several states decriminalized its use or made it legal for the purpose of medicine.
Medical marijuana is usually deemed safe to use, however, as marijuana doctors will tell you that cannabis is still considered a drug. That means similar to other prescribed drugs, there is bound to be an interaction of medical marijuana with other drugs when used together. The interactions between some of these drugs could turn fatal.
The ways drugs interact
As we take in drugs, liver enzymes work on them through metabolism after which it is eliminated. The cytochrome P450 (CYP) set of enzymes is the particular enzyme that deals with drugs. The most rampant enzyme of the CYP enzymes is the CYP3A4 that carries out about half of the prescribed drug’s metabolism when they were utilized in a clinical trial.
In addition, CYP enzymes are the reason for many clinically related interactions between drugs. During some drug-to-drug interaction, some certain drugs react by obstructing drug metabolism, while others react by stimulating the metabolic process of the enzymes. The result of this is a change in the drug concentrations in the patient body. This comes with certain side effects too.
You can get your medical cannabis weed card online after consulting with marijuana doctors, and it is obtainable as a pill, nasal spray, oil, and vaporized liquid. The treatment procedure that makes use of marijuana include nausea, and chronic pain as well as vomiting linked to the treatment of cancer. The active compound of the cannabis plant, which is CBD and THC is metabolized by the CYP enzymes. However, when CBD is used with some particular drugs. The CBD and THC can stimulate or obstruct the drug metabolic process.
Warfarin
As said earlier, the use of marijuana can either stimulate or obstruct the CYP enzymes. In the case of warfarin (a blood thinner), it obstructs the metabolism of the drug. As a result, the effect of the warfarin drug is increased. Therefore, the combination of marijuana will result in a higher risk of bleeding for individuals on warfarin. The more reason why marijuana doctors evaluate your options for you.
Valproate
This drug had proven useful in battling epileptic seizures as well as the treatment of a hectic session of bipolar disorder. The use of CBD with this drug will result in increased enzyme levels in the liver, which may result in liver damage. Clinical trials demonstrated that 21 percent of individuals that were on CBD and valproate reported raise level of transaminase at three times higher than the normal acceptable reading.
CNS depressants (Sedatives)
The combination of medical marijuana with CNS depressants like clonazepam (Klonopin) can result in addiction. Additionally, the use of marijuana can result in drowsiness and sleepiness so combining with another drug known for sleepiness will result in higher sleepiness.
As the research into marijuana uses progress, we will begin to have a clearer picture of the drug-to-drug interaction with several other drugs. (800) 303-9916.