With well over 15 states legalizing the use of marijuana, millions of American adults have the option to consume it if they so choose. While many people will consume cannabis in order to get the “high” feeling, there are actually some great health benefits that go along with the consumption of cannabis.
So whether you decide to smoke cannabis using your new equipment from a Me Time Box, or prefer to use edibles, here are five health benefits of cannabis that you should be aware of.
Helps Relieve Pain
One of the primary health benefits of cannabis is pain relief and reduction. Chronic pain is something that around 20% of all Americans have to deal with each and every day. It can be incredibly difficult to live a normal life with constant pain, and cannabis can often help. Chronic pain can include arthritis, migraines, fibromyalgia and others.
The reason cannabis helps to reduce pain is due to the cannabinoids in cannabis, and how they are made up chemically. Cannabis can help to alter how different receptors in the brain perceive pain, which can make pain less intense in many circumstances.
It Can Help Treat Glaucoma
Glaucoma is when an individual will suffer through a lot of pressure in the eye, which can eventually lead to blindness. It can be painful and also very damaging to vision for anyone, but especially older individuals. The use of cannabis has been shown to help reduce the pressure being applied to the eyes.
This will provide relief and can help reduce the potential of it becoming more serious. Of course, cannabis isn’t the only thing that you should utilize to assist with glaucoma, but it can certainly help provide some relief for a little while.
Cannabis Can Assist With Depression and Anxiety
Depression and anxiety are issues that millions of Americans suffer from. It can make it hard to focus, be productive at school or work and negatively impact your mood and relationships. Thankfully, cannabis has shown effectiveness in some cases when it comes to helping treat those with anxiety, depression, or related mental health issues.
Cannabis can often help to stabilize moods and also help people relax, which are very beneficial for those who struggle with their mental health. However, it is important to remember that everyone can experience cannabis differently. While it certainly helps with anxiety in many people, it can also lead to additional anxiety in others.
It Has Shown Promise in the Treatment of Neurological Disorders
Another major benefit of cannabis in terms of health is that it is often prescribed and used to assist with a variety of neurological disorders. These include multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, PTSD and Tourette Syndrome, just to name a few.
The reason why it has shown promise is because of how it interacts with the limbic system, which is the part of the brain that provides your emotional responses and the behaviors that you exhibit.
Help Control Seizures
Parts of cannabis have also been shown to help those with epilepsy. The cannabinoids can bind to the brain cells that regulate relaxation and can help to control seizures and manage them.
A part of cannabis, called CBD, has even been used to create a drug called Epidiolex. This is used to help control seizures in some rare types of epilepsy that struggle with other medications. Of course, there are side effects, but it was able to reduce the number of seizures that test participants suffered from.
While cannabis may not be right for everyone, there are certainly some major health benefits that go along with using it. This is far from an exhaustive list, but is enough to show that cannabis can certainly help a lot of people with their ailments.
*Photos by Alexis Zacharko
