The Health Benefits of Marijuana
Marijuana usage is a hot topic in today’s society. Everyone is questioning whether or not it should be a federally legalized, which is a reasonable debate. There are arguments to both sides, but as we become more progressive as a nation, more benefits of marijuana are coming to light. The benefits of marijuana are not limited to just recreational activity. The drug can be useful for medical purposes as well. Both usages of marijuana are equally beneficial, though. Of course, all benefits can vary depending on the strain and potency, and your personality may cause you to react differently. But for the majority, people have found marijuana usage to be more helpful than harmful. Here, we will list three reasons why both medical and recreational marijuana usage is beneficial.
It helps relieve physical pain
Marijuana is known for its ability to make its user feel really good about themselves. But it doesn’t necessarily stop at just feeling well, and marijuana can relieve someone of their chronic pain more than over-the-counter drugs can. Out of all the chemicals the drug contains, the main one that makes the user feel so physically well is the cannabinoids. There are cannabinoid receptors in the human brain. After you use marijuana, the cannabinoid chemical binds to the brain receptors by going through the synapses backward and binding to a presynaptic neuron, which is then controlled by the cannabinoids. The cannabinoids then hinder the reception of pain sensors, so pain is no longer felt. So far, marijuana has been found most useful for chronic pains like nerve pains and cancer pains. Still, it has also helped those who have multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, and even Crohn’s disease.
It can help treat psychological disorders
Marijuana is notorious for being the ‘chill’ drug. It can be so chill that it can alleviate many psychological disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. It treats these disorders in the same way it works for pain by affecting the transmission of the synapses, and when these slow down, your thoughts quiet, and dopamine levels decrease. Cannabis causes your brain to slow down enough that your body isn’t feeling the effects of the mental disorder, which are usually caused by the brain not producing enough of the right chemicals or firing too many neurons at once. It’s important to acknowledge that marijuana cannot fix these disorders, but instead, it treats the high-stress symptoms of them. Either way, it helps many people who had all but given up hope of feeling better due to their illnesses.
It can lower blood pressure
While using marijuana, you will experience a slight rise in your blood pressure (depending on how big your dosage was). However, after the drug's main effects have left your system, your blood pressure lowers back down. For high blood pressure, marijuana has a more long-term effect on physical pains and mental disorders. High blood pressure is caused by constricted blood vessels, otherwise known as hypertension. The longer the drug is used over time, the more hypertension decreases, allowing for better blood flow and overall lower blood pressure.
It relaxes you
As seen with marijuana's effects on depression and anxiety, it is no shock that marijuana causes obvious feelings of relaxation. Many effects of marijuana are much like the effects of alcohol in that they cause an elated high. Still, marijuana gives all that without the horrible after-effects like hangovers or sickness. Many enjoy marijuana more than other options because other drugs and alcohol tend to make you feel very anxious, especially in social settings. Marijuana, however, mostly makes you feel relaxed and happy in your own space. Plus, society becomes more fast-paced every day, which means there is an unlimited number of stressors, so a little marijuana can help you cope with that and allow you to keep going without too much hindrance.
It enhances your senses
Marijuana also allows you to taste and smell better. There are controversies about whether the drug enhances or worsens your eyesight and hearing, but many say they can smell and taste their food ten times better than when they are not on the drug. Some have compared the sensation of heightened taste and smell to a vampiric state where they suddenly can smell everything and still differentiate among the smells.
It heightens creativity
Using marijuana regularly will eventually begin to affect you long-term. Still, as long as you are not addicted to it, it can be useful in changing the way you think.
For some, it may slow down your thinking and do the opposite because all effects depend on a person’s baseline personality. But for others, the heightened state of awareness and airy feeling in the head can make their creative side more appreciative of their surroundings. Most say they draw creative inspiration from this more open-minded headspace, and the mindset will bleed over to their lives when they are off the drug, which allows their everyday mindset to be more open and creative than before using the medicine.
To conclude, there are both pros and cons to the usage of marijuana. It is a personal choice to use it or not, but there is no doubt that it is becoming a staple in society for its future benefits. As long as it's used in moderation, there is nothing wrong with enjoying a little time with ‘Mary Jane’ every now and then.