What is medical cannabis?
Medical cannabis or medical marijuana is the use of cannabis to relieve symptoms or treat illnesses or diseases. It is a type of therapy that is prescribed by doctors, so patients must have a prescription in order to have access to cannabis treatment. Medical cannabis has been used to treat many various illnesses and diseases.
How is medical cannabis different from recreational cannabis?
There are many chemicals present in the cannabis plant, each having a different effect. The main chemicals involved in medicine are CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). Medicinal cannabis usually has a higher ratio of CBD than THC – which is known for producing most of the healing effects. Whereas, recreational cannabis contains higher amounts of THC to CBD and is more likely to produce psychoactive effects and the ‘high’ that users experience.
Benefits of medical cannabis
There is no doubt that cannabis has healing powers. Medicinal marijuana has numerous benefits. Dr. John Hicks, an experienced holistic health practitioner describes the root cause of most diseases as ‘inflammation’ – and further explains how inflammation can progress into various diseases. Furthermore, he talks about how CBD can treat and stop the inflammation and thus the disease.
A few named diseases and illnesses that have been treated via cannabis are:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Anxiety and Stress
- Schizophrenia
- Glaucoma
- PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
- Depression
- Huntington’s disease
- Insomnia
- Pain
- Eating disorders such as anorexia
- Epilepsy
- Seizures
- Nausea
- Different types of cancers, etc.
Numerous researches have concluded that cannabis promotes neuroplasticity, and modulates cognition and emotions in regards to learning, motivation, muscular and digestive functioning with a very low chance of addiction to the drug.
Research also suggests that cannabinoids – active chemicals in medical cannabis – have similar properties to already existing chemicals in the body that are involved in regulation memory, movement, appetite, and pain. Thus cannabinoids may reduce inflammation and pain, kill cancer cells and reduce the growth of tumors. Furthermore, it may control nausea experienced by people taking chemotherapy, stimulate appetite and promote weight gain for people with eating disorders or cancer patients.
All in all, medical cannabis when taken in the prescribed dosage is more preferable than recreational cannabis. Not only does it decrease chances of getting addicted but medical cannabis is regulated more strictly than recreational cannabis – this is due to the fact that the latter is produced only for medical purposes due to which consistency is crucial. Recreational use, although may have many temporary advantages such as a feeling of joy, heightened sensations, feeling of relaxation, etc. but has more long-term disadvantages such as addiction, depression, anxiety, etc.