Marijuana’s incredible healing properties come from its high cannabidiol (CBD) content and critical levels of medical terpenes and flavonoids. It also contains some tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the molecule that gives the psychoactive effect, which most recreational users are after. Through traditional plant breeding techniques and seed exchanges, growers have started producing cannabis plants that have higher levels of CBD and lower levels of
THC for medical use.
Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved medical marijuana, more and more physicians are starting to reverse their stand on the issue and swear by its effectiveness and health benefits.
Cannabis & Mental Health
A common misconception of cannabis is that has detrimental effects on mental health. It is possible that high doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) could trigger anxiety in some patients, and some believe it could expedite the onset of predisposed personality disorders, but this has yet to be proven by any reputable studies.
The recent trend in the mental health field has been to investigate our relationship with cannabis. In turn, studies have linked cannabinoids to a number of mental health concerns. The research catalog is still growing, but a few mental health conditions for which cannabis could be beneficial are as follows:
Alcoholism and Cannabis
Opiate Withdrawal and Cannabis
Depression and Cannabis
Phobias and Cannabis
Schizophrenia and Cannabis
Your Brain On Cannabis
Not only has cannabis been linked to mental health, but cannabinoid receptor activity in the brain before birth also suggests that the compounds could be playing a role in brain development. Cannabis has been linked to the creation of new neurons in the brain, neurogenesis, and overall brain plasticity. In addition to its role in brain development, medical cannabis is believed to have neuroprotective properties that help treat the following conditions:
Alzheimer’s Disease and Cannabis
Parkinson’s Disease and Cannabis
Oxygen Deficits and Cannabis
Migraines and Cannabis
Mood disorders
Degenerative neurological disorders such as dystonia
Multiple sclerosis
Parkinson’s disease
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Seizures
CBD also works as an
Medical Marijuana For Cancer
One of the most intriguing potential applications for medical marijuana is cancer treatment. It has long been prescribed to counter the side effects of chemotherapy, but oncologists across the world are working on trials to determine whether cannabis can be used to treat cancer itself. Many patients choose to take the Rick Simpson Oil treatment plan in an attempt to cure cancer, but there are many different methods of going about treatment.
Health benefits
Medical marijuana is available in several different forms. It can be smoked, vaporized, ingested in a pill form or an edible version can be added to foods such as brownies, cookies, and chocolate bars.
Because the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has classified marijuana as a — meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no legitimate therapeutic uses — it is exceptionally difficult to do high-quality studies on its medicinal effects in the United States, said Donald Abrams, an integrative medicine specialist for cancer patients at the University of California, San Francisco.
But the idea that marijuana may have therapeutic effects is rooted in solid science. Marijuana contains 60 active ingredients known as cannabinoids. The body naturally makes its own form of cannabinoids to modulate pain.
The primary psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana is, or tetrahydrocannabinol. THC targets the CB1 receptor, a cannabinoid receptor found primarily in the brain, but also in the nervous system, liver, kidney, and lungs. The CB1 receptor is activated to quiet the response to pain or noxious chemicals.
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