Can Medical Cannabis Help?
Jay R. Cavanaugh, PhD Hepatitis C (HCV) is a blood borne pathogen that presently infects some four to eight million Americans making it the leading blood borne virus in America. HCV is the primary cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis and kills over 10,000 Americans each year. Hepatitis C is the leading factor in patients who require liver transplant. Some 80% of those who contract HCV will go on to develop chronic infection and 20% of these will develop cirrhosis, liver cancer, or liver failure. A slim 20% of those infected will eliminate the virus from their body on their own. Patients can contract Hepatitis C from using shared needles, accidental needle stick injuries, blood transfusions (prior to 1990), and to a minor degree from unprotected sex. HCV can be transmitted from an infected tattoo needle, dental instruments, or tools used in commercial nail care. Anything that assists the transfer of HCV infected blood from one person to another can be a vector. The blood of a patient wit
