AAO urges people to not use marijuana for glaucoma treatment

The American Academy of Ophthalmology has again established that they do not recommend using marijuana for treating glaucoma.

Based on analysis by the National Eye Institute and the Institute of Medicine, the Academy found no scientific evidence that marijuana was an effective long-term treatment for glaucoma, particularly when compared to the wide variety of medication and surgical treatments available.

Ophthalmologists also caution that marijuana has side effects which could further endanger the user's eye health.

Gregory L. Skuta, MD said that ophthalmologists were focused on providing treatments that will give patients the very best results.

He further explained that recommended therapies such as medicated eye drops or surgery have been proven safe to alter the course disease for a long time and no research exists to date, which demonstrated that marijuana can deliver this level of efficacy.