Is Marijuana Bad For You? Well, that’s what our parents say, but science completely disagrees with this stigma that’s been staining the reputation of marijuana or cannabis. Science has proven it that people have been using cannabis for the past 3,000 years either for recreation, spiritual, and medicinal purposes.
However, some government agencies claimed that the medicinal properties of cannabis have not yet been proven to be effective to treat various medical conditions. This is even though cannabidiol or CBD has been approved three years ago to treat people with epilepsy.
Although there is still a lack of scientific backing that cannabis can indeed treat various ailments, however, there is a widespread claim and belief of its efficacy which created a negative impact on its fight for legalization.
Currently, there is less than 30 states in the United States have legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes while some added recreational purposes in legalization.
Because of major public health problems, the use of cannabis has increased tremendously across the United States where a portion of it was linked to addiction. However, does the increase should become a concern? Well, there is no direct data that suggests marijuana is addicting since this is used for medicinal purpose, however, is marijuana bad for you?
To give more information regarding this matter, keep reading our post to learn the benefits and the downsides of marijuana so that you can personally weigh-in your judgment on this herb that created a divisive opinion around the world.
Benefits of marijuana
The main reason why marijuana is being legalized is to make it available for people for medicinal purposes while the rest of it is for recreation. So, what are the benefits of marijuana you can get?
It helps in managing chronic pain
Marijuana or cannabis contains cannabinoids that are an active substance that triggers receptors in our brain to relieve chronic pains caused by inflammation, multiple sclerosis, muscular and joint pains. Currently, marijuana is mainly used by more than 25-million American adults to cure their chronic pain as alternative medicine.
Aids people in rehab
There is a comprehensive review that found out that marijuana is being used to help people suffering from alcoholism and substance abuse. They use marijuana to slow to move away from being dependent on other recreational drugs and illegal substances. However, there are contentious results about this claim as marijuana can also be abused if there’s no proper monitoring from a health expert.
It helps people with psychological problems
People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and stress rely on the relaxing and uplifting effects of marijuana. It generally helps people with mental health conditions. Currently, people with this kind of condition are using CBD oil concentrate to relax their mind and body every time they are aggravated with their conditions. There are already countless medical studies that provide concrete proof of people getting better and better after they received medication using cannabis.
Also, people who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), along with other mental ailments such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and dementia is benefiting from the positive effects of marijuana.
It helps people with cancer
Marijuana helps people with cancer indirectly by effectively alleviates the brutal effects on the cancer patient’s bodies from chemotherapy and radiation therapy. People suffering from cancer slowly deteriorate after their chemotherapy and radiation therapy due to the effects that include vomiting, nausea, and severe joint and muscle discomfort. Marijuana’s potent soothing effects help people with cancer get enough rest and recovery after their respective therapies. This also helps them improve their appetite.
It controls epileptic seizures
People with epilepsy suffer from involuntary muscle control that is very difficult to treat. However, marijuana’s well-known relaxing and uplifting effects that mainly targets the muscle and the mind are being harnessed to help people with epilepsy. This is due to CBD that helps relax the nerves, muscle, and brain of an epileptic particularly people who have the rare types of epilepsy called Dravet and the Lennox Gastaut syndromes. There is already an approved CBD-based medicine for epileptic called Epidiolex that is only obtainable through a doctor’s prescription.
It helps people with anorexia
Marijuana is a well-known appetite booster that is why there is an increasing number of anorexic people in the US use this to improve their appetite. If you ask stoners, they always prepare food whenever they have pot sessions because they generally feel hungry and crave something to eat after hitting a blunt.
What are the negative effects and health risks associated with marijuana?
On the other side of the spectrum, various findings suggest marijuana has negative effects on our health depending on use.
Causes mental problems
Aside from being associated with addiction and substance abuse, marijuana is believed to be the cause of developing symptoms linked to mental problems such as bipolar disorder. Although there is no direct history of this condition, there are pieces of evidence that are linked between cannabis and the development of bipolar disorder.
Small pieces of evidence have suggested that frequent use of marijuana can lead to negative thoughts such as isolation, depression, and suicidal tendency, especially those who abuse it. With that in mind, moderation and proper prescription from doctors are highly needed to prevent these mental problems to develop.
It is linked to developing cancer
The type of cancer linked to using cannabis is lung and testicular cancer. Lung cancer is very common among chain smokers, how much more for frequent marijuana users? Since smoking contains a lot of hazardous substances, a person likely develops a respiratory disease that likely results in lung cancer eventually if he or she doesn’t shift to safer alternatives such as concentrates, edibles, and tinctures.
When it comes to testicular cancer, there are pieces of evidence that suggest that smoking marijuana increases the risk of developing a subtype of testicular cancer called the slow-growing seminoma.
Conclusion
Generally, marijuana’s positive and medicinal effects outweigh the negative effects; however, this can only be achieved with further scientific studies, moderation, and proper use. So, is marijuana bad for you? It’s really up to you to weigh-in based on the information we provided but enjoy its benefits.