"My friend still smokes several times a day for his glaucoma, but from my understanding the pharma drugs are actually better for this than marijuana at this point. He is anti pill and likes his weed. We argued about this last week and I want a doctor’s opinion so we know who is right."
Traditional medications are well-established for the treatment of glaucoma. It is important that you determine a target intraocular pressure with your ophthalmologist and then be followed closely. First line therapy is typically pharmacologic or laser therapy (not surgery). If pharmacologic therapy is chosen one current recommendation is topical prostaglandin. If mono therapy is not sufficient, another topical (beta blocker) may be added.
From what we know, I would consider marijuana to be a complimentary or supplemental therapy to your medication; and this decision should be arrived upon with the guidance of your ophthalmologist. Cannabis does decrease intraocular pressure, and it also has neuroprotective properties, so it may be helpful in the treatment and prevention of progression in glaucoma.
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