3 scientifically proven benefits of marijuana

March 30, 2024

When we talk about the positive effects of drugs for health, it is common to find a debate between those who defend their use and those who do not.

Especially, when we talk about substances that have a playful and recreational purpose, as is the case of marijuana .

Research on the effects of marijuana

In the last years there are many studies that have been carried out regarding this drug, and some claim that it has benefits for our body . Those who defend this argument explain that this substance must be taken into account for the beneficial effects of its use as medicine.

Surely there is a deep moral debate about the legalization of cannabis, however, it is clear that it can be good for some people. But ... Look, it also has negative consequences! In this article we will deal with this topic: we will review the benefits of marijuana that have been scientifically proven and we will talk about some negative consequences of its use.

Not everything that is said is true

In subjects like the one that we are going to deal with, in which there are so many people who consume this substance, it is normal that the public opinion is positioned in favor of the normalized consumption of marijuana. To give an example, if you are a habitual consumer of cannabis, you will logically defend its use and consumption, since it is a substance that is pleasing to you and with which you enjoy and spend your free time.

This means that many times we listen to opinions that do not have any type of scientific endorsement and causes a lot of misleading information to circulate through the network. That is why the benefits that we are going to tell next are the result of some investigations.

Benefits of cannabis according to science

More and more countries are legalizing the use of this drug. Smoking a joint (also called colloquially: mai or peta) is possible legally in 16 countries. A large part of the compelling reasons for the consumption of this substance is its therapeutic and medicinal use .

That's why the US National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine has conducted a review of more than 10,000 investigations to really know what the medical benefits of cannabis are. The results have been presented in a 400-page report.

This work classifies the benefits of cannabis from these studies into different categories: conclusive evidence, moderate evidence and limited or no evidence. The most conclusive results affirm that marijuana is effective for the treatment of chronic pain , the reduction of nausea after chemotherapy and the reduction of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Marijuana and pain

The conclusions, therefore, seem to indicate that marijuana is effective for the treatment of pain. Especially in the case of chronic pain, opiate narcotics such as codeine, morphine, oxycodone and methadone are often used, which are highly addictive and to which patients can develop tolerance to their effects.

Although there are non-addictive synthetic analgesics (for example, acetaminophen), these are not strong enough to relieve this type of pain, and some of these drugs pose a serious risk of liver damage in excessive doses.

It seems that smoking marijuana can completely eliminate the need for the most harmful drugs like opiate narcotics.

Related article: "The 8 worst pains that humans suffer"

Other benefits of marijuana

In addition to these benefits, it seems that consuming marijuana also helps:

Relax : Smoking marijuana can have a relaxing effect, especially for those people who are highly active. These effects can be seen after a few minutes and, for example, it is hypothesized that it can be a useful phenomenon for people with anxiety problems.
Be creative: The frontal lobe is the executive director of the brain. Working memory, language, movement or self-consciousness depend on the frontal lobe, as well as originality and creativity. At half an hour of consumption of this substance this brain region is fully activated, so studies show that creativity improves. Additionally, cannabis helps connect abstract thoughts.
To sleep better : Cannabinoids such as THC induce sleep and extend the time in which you are in deep sleep. Deep sleep occurs during the third and fourth sleep cycles, and it is at the moment when the body is repaired. That is why it is called a restorative sleep, in which the immune system is revitalized and recharged.
Eat : Sometimes people when they are not well have less appetite. Marijuana, by stimulating receptors improves appetite.Although the entire mechanism is unknown, it is known that there is a high density of CB1 receptors in the paraventricular and ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus, brain areas involved in the regulation of appetite.
Reduce nausea : As the study of the "National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of the USA" states, the THC found in marijuana has a powerful antiemetic effect (reduces nausea and vomiting) and is therefore ideal for the treatment of patients who perform chemotherapy.
As an anticonvulsant : More and more research is being done on the benefits of cannabis as an anticonvulsant, and it is especially applied in diseases such as Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis.

The secret is in the active principle

Although there are many organizations in favor of the normalization of cannabis use, it must be borne in mind that the possible positive effects of this compound do not imply any concrete political action. nor that the consumption of the plant in any of its forms is desirable . In the face of clinical and pharmacological intervention, researching the therapeutic potential of marijuana serves to discover the active principle useful for certain patients and, thus, be able to isolate it and use it in the form of a conventional drug, in order to control the concentration and dose .

That means that the fact that marijuana can be very useful for extracting substances to treat sick people does not make smoking a desirable practice their consumption by smoke inhalation. This custom has several significant effects comparable to those of alcohol, many of which, surely, leave irreversible consequences if the substance is abused.

Negative consequences of cannabis

There seems to be, therefore, great therapeutic benefits in the use of marijuana. However, marijuana also has a number of detrimental effects on the body, especially when it is smoked and used frequently.

In the case of smoking, the consequences between harmful consequences can be found to worsen respiratory problems, and can trigger problems as serious as tobacco, with which it is usually combined for recreational use. Marijuana can cause temporary sterility in men and alter a woman's menstrual cycle.

This drug can not only have consequences on physical health, it can cause abnormalities of the brain , especially with long-term consumption. Neural changes can affect memory, attention and ability to learn.

In addition, cannabis can increase the likelihood of suffering traffic accidents, can contribute to the low birth weight of babies and increases the likelihood of suffering a psychotic outbreak (paranoia and schizophrenia), as explained in the article by psychologist Oscar Castillero: "Cannabis increases the risk of a psychotic outbreak by 40%."