What are the medical benefits of marijuana?

Updated on May 6, 2020

That weed can be good for your health or at least treating some medical conditions and ailments is a fact supported by thousands of people who have benefited from it. Yet its acceptance among the medical fraternity remains restricted in use for pain management only, which has brought medical marijuana to light. It is mainly due to a lack of scientific knowledge of its effects. But things are changing fast as more and more states in the United States are legalizing marijuana mostly for medicinal use and some legalizing it for recreational use too. 

However, over the years, researches have yielded results that point to its possible use for the treatment of some medical conditions. But consult your physician before you set out to get weed @ XpressGrass to use it for some medical condition that you might be facing. Here are some health benefits that you can derive from marijuana.

Chronic pain

For thousands of years, marijuana has been in use for the treatment of chronic pain, which remains the cause of disability that affects more than 25 million adults of the country. A review of 10,000 scientific studies on the medical benefits and adverse effects of medical marijuana has revealed that marijuana that contains CBD or cannabinoids that act on the brain receptors is effective in alleviating chronic pain.  

Fighting drug addiction and alcoholism

There is enough evidence available from various studies that show that using marijuana can help people with opioid and alcohol dependencies to come out from their addictions. However, there is no conclusive evidence about its effectiveness because there are some other studies that show contradictory results as there could be chances of increasing the risk of abusing. There can be high chances of people developing a dependency on other substances in their quest for getting rid of alcohol or opioid.

PTSD, depression, and social anxiety

 According to reports based on the investigation of published scientific literature, there are encouraging signs of marijuana being useful in the treatment of symptoms of mental illness. There was evidence about the use of marijuana, helping in relieving depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, one must act with caution because marijuana is not suitable for the treatment of some other mental conditions like psychosis and bipolar disorder.

The report also suggests that there is some evidence of marijuana alleviating symptoms of social anxiety. Still, other reports point to the fact that regular users of cannabis are more at risk of suffering from social anxiety.

Cancer

Marijuana users are at an advantage to counter the side effects of chemotherapy that results in nausea and vomiting, as found in some small studies. Other studies suggest that cannabinoids can either kill some types of cancer cells or slow down its growth.  However, studies in humans are yet to corroborate this finding.

The most prominent use of medical marijuana is evident from the FDA approving in 2018 the use of a medication containing CBD or cannabidiol, a strain found in marijuana to treat two rare types of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.