Marijuana, weed, pot, cannabis-whatever you want to call it-has been around for centuries. It was used as a medicine in Ancient China and India, and is still used today to treat a variety of medical conditions. Despite its long history, there are still many things about marijuana that people don’t know. Here are 10 facts about medical marijuana that you may not have known.
1. “Medical Marijuana” Is A Modern Term
The term “medical marijuana” wasn’t coined until the late 1960s/early 1970s, making it a fairly new concept. Back in the day, cannabis was considered medicinal-but doctors didn’t call it medical marijuana. They usually referred to it as “cannabis indica”, “Indian hemp”, or other terms specific to the plant’s characteristics and origin (for example, “Cannabis sativa”). So really, there isn’t such thing as medical marijuana-there are just types of weed that have been used for thousands of years to treat illnesses.
This shows that many illegal drugs were initially thought to be safe for human consumption before they were banned by law. It also shows why some people think that some illegal drugs should be decriminalized or legalized.
2. Marijuana Can Help With Several Medical Conditions
Marijuana is effective at treating a variety of medical conditions, including: multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis and chronic pain, glaucoma and other eye diseases, HIV/AIDS, Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS), diabetes, cancer (especially the side effects of chemotherapy) and many more. Not only are there are countless studies that have shown this to be true-but doctors routinely prescribe marijuana for these illnesses. This is the reason why so many people are applying for Missouri Medical Marijuanas Card.
You may know someone who has cancer or has had cancer in the past. If you’re wondering whether they smoke weed to cope, the answer is probably a resounding “Yes.” It’s a personal choice that works for some people-but not everyone.
If you’re wondering whether marijuana is safe during pregnancy, it’s not recommended. Although there have been no studies on children born to mothers who smoke weed while pregnant, all signs point to potentially being harmful to an unborn child. In addition, smoking anything isn’t good for your child as they grow up. So, if you must smoke weed when pregnant or think you might be pregnant, make sure your doctor knows about your weed habit first.
3. Marijuana Has Been Decriminalized In Many States
In places where medical marijuana dispensaries are legal and a patient has a prescription from their doctor, they can buy cannabis from a dispensary, without fear of being arrested. In fact, some states that have legalized medical marijuana have decriminalized possession of under a certain amount of it. This means that people caught with a small amount of pot won’t be put in jail or face criminal charges, although they may still face fines and other legal punishments.
In places where medical marijuana is legal but there are no dispensaries so patients cannot get prescriptions from their doctors, sometimes they form “collectives”, which is basically an agreement between two or more patients who grow enough weed to supply the entire collective. Another way for some people to obtain weed legally is through growing it themselves. Canadian citizens can apply for a license to grow their own marijuana at home-although this depends on the condition their illness causes and the amount of weed, they need.
4. Marijuana Has Never Killed Anyone From An Overdose.
You’ve probably heard that marijuana is dangerous because it’s a “gateway drug” and can lead people to try harder, more dangerous drugs like cocaine and heroin. Well, this is one of the biggest misconceptions about weed-there’s no evidence that proves that smoking weed makes you want to do hard drugs later in life. In fact, if anything, smoking weed makes some people want less of these types of drugs (this is called substitution), not more. That said; please don’t go around self-medicating with illegal substances or mixing them without medical supervision. Some illegal drugs are deadly when taken with other medications or certain combinations.
5. Marijuana Won’t Turn You Into A “Pothead” Or Addict
One of the most common myths about weed is that it turns users into lazy, lethargic couch potatoes who only want to get high and eat-which is probably why many people refuse to try marijuana recreationally. But this isn’t true at all. Although some people who smoke weed regularly do become lazy, mostly because they feel like they can’t be bothered to do anything without smoking first, weed doesn’t create unstoppable cravings for good food or sleep. It’s less likely than cigarettes or alcohol to lead to dependency also. Weed has actually been used as an aid in recovery from addiction to other harmful substances such as heroin and tobacco. Plus, research shows that smoking weed actually helps people focus more.
6. Weed Can Help You Lose Weight
Some strains of cannabis are often used to suppress the appetite, which is great news for anyone who’s ever wanted to lose weight but couldn’t find the motivation to go to the gym or cook dinner instead of sitting on the couch watching TV. For years, researchers have been saying that THC works as an appetite suppressor because it interacts with CB1 receptors in your brain, which also happen to be found in your stomach and pancreas, among other areas. So basically, weed tricks your brain into thinking you’re full even when you don’t actually need to eat any food-which could save you hundreds or thousands of calories per day. If this sounds like it could work for you, make sure to talk to your doctor or local medical dispensary before trying weed.
7. Weed Can Get Rid Of Nausea
Since the days of being prescribed as an anti-nausea drug, marijuana has been used by cancer patients and others who are undergoing chemotherapy to ease their symptoms. The only negative side effect that some cancer patients experience when using marijuana for this purpose is dry mouth, which many people find makes eating more difficult anyway. But not everyone knows about weed’s ability to combat nausea, so patients keep taking dangerous drugs like ondansetron instead, even though they have unpleasant side effects like depression and seizures. Some cancer centers in the U.S. are now prescribing medical marijuana instead of ondansetron because it’s safer and the effects last longer.
8. Weed Helps People With PTSD
PTSD is a serious mental illness that can develop after exposure to extremely traumatic events, such as military combat or violent abuse. Many people who suffer from this condition try all sorts of therapies and medications in order to get relief, but for many patients, cannabis is the only thing that works. In several studies, weed has been found to help ease anxiety and insomnia caused by PTSD-and it doesn’t impair cognitive function like some other treatments do. So, if you know anyone who’s suffering from this devastating disorder, urge them to speak to their doctor about medical marijuana ASAP or look for one here. If they or you know a veteran who’s struggling with PTSD, a policy change by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs could be beneficial too. The VA recently decided to offer free weed to veterans in California and other states where it’s legal.
9. Weed Can Help You Sleep
Marijuana is well-known for being an effective sleep aid, which means that it can also help people who suffer from insomnia or other types of sleep disorders get enough rest every night so they feel refreshed and alert during the day. But one study found that pot has different effects depending on whether you’re an experienced user or not, so newbies should be careful if they decide to use marijuana as their pillow instead of Ambien. To some extent, it makes sense that weed would help people get a good night’s sleep: not only does it calm the mind, but it also decreases blood pressure and heart rate, which can ease anxiety that prevents you from falling asleep in the first place.
10. Weed Can Be Used To Treat Addiction To Other Substances
In case you haven’t noticed, this article mentions a lot of studies about drugs besides marijuana. But there’s a reason for that: medical weed is so effective at treating addiction to other substances that researchers have been studying whether or not cannabis could lessen cravings for alcohol and certain prescription medications too. Some experts even think weed should be part of treatment plans for problematic drug users struggling with an addiction. Researchers are currently testing this hypothesis by giving addicts various strains of weed, but they’re also looking into a less-orthodox treatment method known as an ibogaine injection, which is derived from the psychedelic root that’s used during rituals in West African countries. Although not many people have studied its effects, this alternative medicine has been found to help heroin addicts stop using and stay clean for up to six months after one dose.