Cannabis is a plant that has been used for thousands of years. The leaves and flowers are what we consume primarily, but they can also be made into oils, waxes, tinctures, edibles, or even smoked as dry leaves or flowers. If you run, plan on running, or work in dispensary, this information will be valuable to you.
Benefits of THC
The main active chemical in the plant is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is what gives users a psychoactive “high.” However, many other beneficial chemicals are found in cannabis that can help with pain relief and actually reduce how much THC you need to get high. One of the many benefits of THC is that it has been shown to help reduce anxiety and depression. It also helps to ease nausea and vomiting. THC is also beneficial for those who suffer from a loss of appetite.
Benefits of CBD
In addition to THC, cannabis plants contain cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD), and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV). The cannabinoid CBD is the most abundant, accounting for up to 40% of cannabis extract. It has shown anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects through multiple studies.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is another chemical found in cannabis that provides therapeutic effects without making users high, making it very beneficial for many people as they do not want to be intoxicated or feel impaired when using medical Marijuana from a reputable source likeĀ Santa Ana Dispensary.
In addition to reducing anxiety and depression, cannabinoids also help reduce pain and inflammation. It also helps with seizures caused by epilepsy or other neurological disorders while reducing the negative side effects associated with prescription medications to treat these conditions. Cannabis oils used medicinally typically contain both THC and CBD, but the ratio depends on what symptom you are hoping to address, whether it’s more like psychological symptoms like stress and anxiety or physical ones such as joint aches and pains.
It can help with epilepsy and seizures and even reduce and sometimes stop what’s called “drop attacks” that children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome suffer from. It also helps with anxiety, depression, cancer, pain relief, and neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as PTSD in veterans.
CBD can be used to help with insomnia without what’s called a “hangover” the next day. Approximately 65% of all cannabis used recreationally is THC dominant, so if you are out for pain relief or sleep enhancement, CBD could be what you’re looking for. It can also benefit those who want to reduce their smoking and even improve athletic performance while giving what’s called a “runner high” as it promotes what’s called vasodilation.
Cannabis also benefits those with other medical conditions such as cancer, Crohn’s disease, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It can help reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and stimulate appetite in HIV or AIDS patients. Cannabis may even be what you’re looking for if you suffer from migraines!.
We can use cannabis to treat conditions such as nausea, vomiting, chronic pain relief, multiple sclerosis symptoms like muscle spasms or stiffness, epilepsy seizures, and Crohn’s Disease. Cannabis also helps with insomnia by reducing anxiety caused by stressful thoughts preventing sleep from occurring properly. There are many other medical uses for this plant, so research more about what it has done for people!
Legality
Many more chemicals in cannabis have medicinal purposes, but they’re not as well researched yet because Marijuana remains federally illegal across North America. However, this hasn’t stopped individual states from legalizing its use for both recreational and medical purposes within their own borders over the past few years. This legal grey area between federal law against weed vs. state legalization.
There has always been a fear around what cannabis could do due to the psychoactive effects that THC gives users, but now we are starting to see its many benefits thanks to research into CBD, which shows us what it really does to us as opposed to made-up stories and propaganda.
Even though it is illegal federally in the United States, it is legal in many states, both recreationally and medically. There are 15 states that allow for total recreational use. There are 48 of the 50 states that have some form of medical marijuana laws.
Still, the United States prison system is flooded with people who have unjustly been arrested for possession or use of Marijuana, even in states where it’s legal due to it being illegal federally.
Pop Culture
Weed has been a constant topic in what’s what in pop culture lately. There have been many movies and TV shows that have covered what Marijuana is and what it can do. Ellen Degeneres was even featured on a recent episode of her show, “Ellen,” talking about what weed does to the body for laughs which caused her audience to break out into laughter. It is also what you might have seen in a recent episode of what’s what on Netflix called “Disjointed,” where the main character creates her own version of what weed does and how it helps people.
In addition, there were also many famous celebrities who smoked Marijuana which included Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, and Bill Maher. They’re not afraid to be associated with what pot can do, but they’re still keeping what they say light-hearted and comical.
It’s also been found that the great William Shakespeare had remnants of weed residue found in his home. Even the very first President of the United States, George Washington, used to grow hemp. He had farms located in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and would make fishing nets, rope, clothes, and many other things out of the resilient hemp.
Notable celebrities across the globe that promote Marijuana include Bob Marley, Snoop Dogg (Lion), Wiz Khalifa, and even Whoopi Goldberg. They are all extremely well known for what they do with weed, whether it’s smoking it or using the benefits of THC to help their ailments without having to use pharmaceutical drugs that can have harsher side effects on them which may be worse than what benefits cannabis could give them.
World Use
According to the United Nations, close to 160 million people across the globe enjoy weed. To put that into perspective, that’s almost 4% of the population of the entire world. Despite this, Marijuana is illegal in most countries except for a few scattered around the world, which includes Argentina, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, and many more. Depending on which country it’s illegal in, some penalties for marijuana use include fines, prison time, and even the death penalty. This is why it’s more important than ever to educate the world on cannabis. The fact that people die from this completely harmless plant is a crime in of itself. It’s important to spread awareness across the world so that everyone knows what this plant does for us instead of perpetuating fear-mongering.
Cannabis was originally found in what we now call China and used for religious rituals. It didn’t get to Europe until the 17th century where colonizers from Africa and Asia brought it. There are even strains known as Afghan Kush from its origin of Afghanistan. Mary Jane might be the only lady to have traveled the entire globe, including remote places.
Across the world, the number of crimes relating to Marijuana has been on a decline. Mexico has seen a drop in what they’ve called ‘drug-related violence.’ This is because marijuana legalization takes away what cartels use as their main source of income, which was illegal drug sales, including weed and many other types of drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, etc.
Even though it is becoming more widely accepted across our world, there are still people who would persecute those involved with cannabis, whether for recreational or medical purposes, and even purposeful misinformation online about it.
Weed is not only harmless, it’s helpful for millions across the world. Cannabis is used for medicinal purposes, recreational use, or even spiritual practices like meditation by those who follow religions such as Rastafarianism, which sees cannabis as a gift from God that should be respected for its many benefits to human beings. There are so many uses and reasons why we turn to this plant!