A video series of a man with Parkinson’s disease trying marijuana for the first time – which seemingly alleviates all of his symptoms – has gone viral.
Larry Smith, who previously served 26 years in law enforcement, has been battling Parkinson’s for 20 years. As Larry’s disease progressed and worsened over the years, he explored every possible avenue to try and ease his symptoms.
As one of his last resorts, Larry and his wife Elizabeth travelled to San Diego to try medical marijuana for the first time as cannabis is not legal in their home state.
Larry’s symptoms are very pronounced: he has trouble walking, he has difficulty speaking and is in obvious pain as he tries to control his severe shaking.
After placing only one drop of cannabis oil under his tongue, what happens next is truly incredible and could pave the way for a possible cure for the debilitating disease in the future.
Within just a few minutes, Larry’s body completely relaxes. His shaking stop, he can speak normally and is completely alleviated of pain.
Here’s the full video. To see Larry try the cannabis oil, skip to 5:23.
The video, which at time of writing his been viewed over 40 million times, is testament to the fact many people are getting on the medicinal marijuana bandwagon and the possible benefits it has for treating not only Parkinson’s, but other debilitating, difficult to treat conditions.
“A person like me could really use marijuana,” said Larry, “and it makes me pretty angry that I can’t get it in my home state.
Dr. Daniele Piomelli, pharmacology professor at UC Irvine medical school, is behind the push to legalise medicinal marijuana.
“The number one frustration that I have is knowing that there is this untapped potential – that comes from what marijuana is teaching us – to generate new medicines, and being stuck because of financial issues or political issues. That is extremely frustrating,” Piomelli said.
The reason behind the opposition to marijuana? You guessed it: money. There is little to no money to be made on a plant that is so cheap and easy to grow.
“Pharmaceutical companies have no interest in marijuana because they cannot sell it,” said Dr. Piomelli.
As the research continues and the war for the legalisation of medical marijuana wages on, this video can only be seen as a ray of hope for the future.
