WEED FACTS!!

1. Is it true that Marijuana has medicinal properties?

FACT: Marijuana has been proven helpful for treating the symptoms of a variety of medical conditions. The body's endocannabinoid system may explain why.

For many seriously ill people, medical marijuana is the only medicine that relieves their pain and suffering or treats symptoms of their medical condition, without debilitating side effects.

Marijuana’s medicinal benefits are incontrovertible, now proven by decades of peer-reviewed, controlled studies published in highly respected medical journals. Marijuana has been shown to alleviate symptoms of a wide range of debilitating medical conditions including cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s Disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), epilepsy, Crohn’s Disease, and glaucoma, and is often an effective alternative to narcotic painkillers.

Evidence of marijuana’s efficacy in treating severe and intractable pain is particularly impressive. Researchers at the University of California conducted a decade of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials on the medical utility of inhaled marijuana, concluding that marijuana should be a “first-line treatment” for patients with painful neuropathy, who often do not respond to other available treatments.

Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma. There is also appreciable evidence that marijuana reduces muscle spasticity in patients with neurological disorders. Marijuana has also been shown to help with mental health conditions, particularly PTSD. In 2013, both Maine and Oregon added PTSD to the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana. A synthetic capsule is available by prescription, but it is not as effective as smoked marijuana for many patients. 

Our bodies contain a regulatory framework called the endocannabinoid system. This system is responsible for maintaining balance or homeostasis in the body. Some scientists theorize that a deficiency in the endocannabinoid system may contribute to certain diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, which may explain why the introduction of Phyto-cannabinoids (from the marijuana plant) to help alleviate the symptoms of these conditions. 

Although an overwhelming majority of Americans support medical marijuana, the federal government continues to impede state medical marijuana laws. Marijuana prohibition has also thwarted research within the United States to uncover the best and most effective uses for marijuana as a medicine, making efforts to reform medical marijuana laws particularly difficult.

2. How strong is today's Marijuana? 

FACT: Marijuana regulation allows for a wider variety of THC levels in products 

Although marijuana potency has reportedly increased in recent decades, this is largely due to prohibition. When access to a particular substance is sporadic, risky, and limited, both consumers and producers are incentivized to use or sell higher potency material. We saw a similar trend during alcohol prohibition when beer and cider were largely replaced by spirits and hard liquor, which was easier and more profitable to transport. When access is regulated and controlled, like in medical marijuana states, we see a wider variety of potencies, including marijuana with virtually no traces of psychoactive THC but high in cannabidiol (CBD), which is highly therapeutic but not psychoactive. While THC is virtually non-toxic to healthy cells or organs and is incapable of causing a fatal overdose, marijuana's health impact is wide-ranging and depends on the way marijuana is ingested, as well as the specific constituents in the marijuana. The health effects of marijuana are related to the route, dose, frequency, and duration of marijuana use. Currently, doctors may legally prescribe Marinol, an FDA-approved pill that contains 100 percent THC – but, critically, lacks other therapeutic, non-psychoactive compounds found in marijuana. The Food and Drug Administration found THC to be safe and effective for the treatment of nausea, vomiting, and wasting diseases. When consumers encounter strong varieties of marijuana, they adjust their use accordingly and smokeless.

#Marijuana #weed #cannabis