Gone are the days when there was a stigma around smoking cannabis. With medicinal properties of cannabis being highlighted and propagated everyday by health experts and anecdotal sources, smoking cannabis is no longer a taboo.
Yet, a large number of people are unaware of its benefits, due to mainstream media being reluctant to promote it. You will be surprised to learn about the medical benefits of cannabis. Check this infographics to know more about the benefits.
Let’s discuss the key 5 health benefits of cannabis here in this article.
An organic pain reliever
Pain can be caused by a multitude of reasons. Diseases related to bone, internal organs, and muscles and soft tissues can cause unbearable pain. Standard treatment fails to cure these conditions, only manage the symptoms. As the underlying condition remains untreated, the pain persists. There’s no effective solution to lessen the pain other than pain relievers. But long-term use of pain relievers is detrimental to health.
Enters cannabis. It contains organic substances that heal chronic pain, and because it is non-steroidal, there are no side effects associated with its use. The way cannabis eliminates pain is quite unique. Cannabis releases neurotransmitters (more on this later) that numb the pain receptors. The nerve pathways connected to the sensation of pain stop sending signals to the brain.
Prevents stress and anxiety
Life has become overly competitive. Living with stress and anxiety is the new normal, and taking antidepressants is now extremely common.
Cannabis can flip the script. I am not saying that cannabis is an alternative to a healthy diet, regular workout sessions, and sleeping for eight hours – all of which are essential to beat stress. I am saying that cannabis is a great alternative to psych meds, sans the side-effects. If you are stressed by the modern lifestyle, cannabis can momentarily put your mind at ease, which is what psych meds do.
Cannabis is a relaxing agent. It releases cannabinoids that bind with neural receptors to speed up the secretion of certain neurochemicals that lighten up the mood, and cause all the distress and panic to gradually disappear.
Of course, oral consumption is recommended, and the dosage must be administered by a medical professional.
Treats developmental disorders
People on the spectrum find simple tasks related to speech and communication hard to accomplish. Plus, they have attention disorders, and lack social intelligence. Recent studies show that cannabis effectively treats problems associated with developmental skills.
There’s scant research on how cannabis cures autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other developmental problems. But there are anecdotes detailing its success. Some of the anecdotes are hard to dismiss as they are coming from medical professionals.
The truth is that developmental disabilities are not well understood; even after running numerous quantitative tests, scientists are still not able to pinpoint what causes them. We can infer that cannabis affects the brain and its neuronal processing to treat developmental and learning dysfunction, but we are yet to understand the complete mechanism.
Unleashes artistic abilities
Many artists are regular cannabis users. Cannabis helps them unleash their true potential. Artists of all types – from painters to music composers, novelists to bass players – are fond of cannabis. During the semi-catatonic state induced by cannabis, their minds nosedive into deeper layers of the subconscious and disentomb artistic treasures that are later praised by art critics.
Artistic creations require focus and imagination. CBD, a neurotransmitter found in cannabis, binds with the CB2 receptor and increases the ability to focus. THC, another neurotransmitter, triggers the euphoric feeling and vivid mental imageries. Together, they help artists discover their innate talent and manifest it in the form of captivating art.
Cannabis prevents cancer
The CBD-THC combo can fight off cancer. Studies have shown that THC-heavy strains of cannabis are really effective against cancer, regardless of cancer’s staging. Even people suffering from stage 4 cancer have benefitted from smoking/vaping cannabis and taking cannabis oil orally.
The Canadian-American actor Tommy Chong is one of them. Back in 2012, he announced that he’s been battling prostate cancer and that he is 99% cancer free after taking CBD oil – a cannabis product.
There’s no consensus among doctors over cannabis’ effectiveness against cancer. Some recommend low dosage to patients suffering from debilitating pain while others recommend conventional treatment. But they all agree that cannabis, being rich with neuroprotective antioxidants, offers relief from chemotherapy side effects like pain and nausea.
More research is needed to understand all the benefits of cannabis. The legalization process has just begun. It might take a couple more decades for its usage to become mainstream.