[DB]

Interesting. But there are different types of glaucoma. For some it causes severe pain to the point that they cannot function. Sufferers claim that marijuana gives them relief. And most of these people are people that would not otherwise ever considering using marijuana. There are other drugs that help significantly with the blood flow and the pressure issues. Those don't necessarily make the pain go away.

Just for the record, I have glaucoma. Fortunately for me, so far anyway, it is controlled with conventional treatment (Lumigan eye drops). I have no pain from it. I've had episodes of complete but temporary blindness in one eye or the other. That is how I found out I had it... When sleeping the slightest pressure on the eye would cut off the blood flow... A bad way to wake up... I did have some pain before treatment but I thought it was just eye strain.

With treatment all detectable symptoms have gone. My eye pressure is still higher than normal but not damaging.

[robertpaulsen]

As you say, there are other drugs. Why someone would take a chance with their vision by using marijuana is beyond me.

"Neither smoked marijuana nor THC are viable approaches in the treatment of glaucoma."
-- American Medical Association, Report of the Council on Scientific Affairs, 10-1-97, Conclusions

"The dose of marijuana necessary to produce a clinically relevant effect in the short term appears to produce an unacceptable level of undesirable side effects such as euphoria, systemic hypotension, and/or dry eye and conjunctival hyperemia in the majority of glaucoma patients in whom the drug has been carefully studied."
-- National Institutes of Health Report, page 12

"Presently, there is no scientifically verifiable evidence that marijuana or its derivatives are safe and effective in the treatment of glaucoma. The availability of a wide variety of alternative treatments that do not have marijuana's psychoactive and other specific side effects argues against the use of marijuana for treating glaucoma. Marijuana offers no advantage over currently available glaucoma drugs and indeed may be less effective than these agents."
-- The National Eye Institute, Fact Sheet on the Therapeutic Use of Marijuana for Glaucoma

Finding - "The American Academy of Ophthalmology Committee on Drugs presently finds no scientifically verifiable evidence that the use of marijuana is safe and effective in the treatment of glaucoma."