While the recreational use of marijuana is controversial, science is convinced that the plant must be legal for medical use. Many countries around the world have legalized medical marijuana, during this process many experts have changed their minds assuring that this plant actually does have curative “powers”.
However, we bear in mind that there are negative effects of smoking too much: When used in excess, it can lead to dependence, modify your memory and emotions.
Marijuana contains two active chemicals that researchers claim have medicinal applications. These are cannabidiol (CBD) that improves brain situations and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that eliminates pain.
Now we present to you some of the benefits that science has found:
- Can be used to treat glaucoma
The use of marijuana can be used to treat and prevent ocular glaucoma, a disease that increases pressure in the eyeball, damaging the optic nerve and causing loss of vision.
Marijuana lowers pressure inside the eye, according to the National Eye Institute: “Studies in the early 1970s showed that marijuana, when smoked, lowered intraocular pressure (IOP) in people with normal pressure and people with glaucoma.” These effects of the drug can slow the progression of the disease, preventing blindness.
2. It can help reverse the carcinogenic effects of tobacco and improve lung health
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, marijuana does not impair lung function and can even increase lung capacity.
3. Helps control epileptic seizures
Marijuana use can prevent seizures, said a study published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Cannabinoids, like the active ingredients in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (also known as THC), control seizures by binding to brain cells responsible for controlling excitability and regulating relaxation.
4. A chemical found in marijuana prevents cancer from spreading
CBD can help prevent the spread of cancer, reported researchers at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Cannabidiol cancels cancer by turning off a gene called Id-1.
5. Decrease anxiety
Medical marijuana users claim that the drug helps relieve pain and suppresses nausea, the two main reasons it is often used to ease the side effects of chemotherapy.
In 2010, researchers at Harvard Medical School suggested that some of the drug’s benefits is reduced anxiety, which improves the smoker’s mood and would act as a sedative in low doses. But be careful, as higher doses can increase anxiety and make you paranoid.
6. THC slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease
Marijuana may be able to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, say scientists at the Scripps Research Institute. The study published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics found that THC, the active chemical in marijuana, slows the formation of amyloid plaques by blocking the enzyme in the brain that produces them. These plaques are what kill brain cells and cause Alzheimer’s.
