Cannabis for Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is a disease related to the pancreas, a relatively small gland located behind the stomach and in front of the spine that opens into the duodenum (neck of the small intestine). Of all the glands in the endocrine system, the pancreas, along with the adrenals, sits directly in the body’s center. The pancreas produces hormones such as insulin and glucagon as well as digestive enzymes that break down food into basic sugar molecules usable as food/energy by each cell of the human body.

Traditionally, orthodox medicine categorizes diabetes into three kinds: Type I, Type II, and gestational diabetes. Type I diabetes was once called juvenile diabetes because it occurred mostly in children or adolescents. In Type I, the pancreas stops producing the hormone insulin. Without insulin the body cannot use the food life depends on, cellular sugar. Treatment in the orthodox paradigm consists of daily insulin injections, normally administered by the patients themselves.

Type II diabetes, or adult-onset diabetes, is the most common form of the disease. In Type II the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells are insensitive to the presence of insulin and ignore it. This prevents the body from converting sugar into energy. Early Type II usually does not require the use of insulin; modern medical practitioners generally prescribe oral pharmaceuticals instead.