Cannabis is still an illegal substance at the federal level, which doesn’t actually make sense given so many studies emerging every now and then determining the possible benefits of the herb. Moreover, the plant is in the category of schedule I drugs, which means it is considered highly addictive. And this too doesn’t really match what the data says.
Evidently, until the plant is illegal in so many different parts of the world, the research on it will remain slow. However, medical marijuana programs in several states of the US are proving to be quite helpful for people. Every day we are receiving hundreds of applications for a medical marijuana card New York. Plus, this step has paved way for some significant, and really important, research on the herb too.
The research on cannabis until now has busted several myths and stereotypes surrounding the plant. And it has proved the plant’s worth in helping people manage several of their medical conditions.
So, today, we are going to put some light on a few mind-blowing studies on marijuana that you probably have never heard of.
Cannabis Stops Opioids Reaction
As per the reports by the CDC, opioids kill over 47 thousand people every year. And recently, the government has put this problem into the category of epidemics too. According to the estimates by the CDC, the government is spending at least around $78 billion every year to curb this problem of opioid abuse.
Surprisingly, the solution to this problem is right on our doorsteps.
There were some findings published in March 2018 by the Minnesota Department of Health on the basis of their experiences during the first five months of their launch of the medical marijuana program. As per the reports, during this time, the state saw a whopping 63 percent reduction in the number of people using opioids painkillers.
There was a report in the year 2016 too from the experiences of Michigan state. The report said that the opioid usage was less by 64 percent in the state since cannabis was made legal.
Many north-western states also saw a reduction in opioid use up to around 77 percent.
In the year 2020, 19 states where marijuana is legal medically were selected and a research team did a comparison of their current opioid prescription rates to the previous year ones. The study found that out of these 19 states, in 15, the rate of opioids prescription was lesser.
It’s quite remarkable seeing how marijuana is playing such a great role in eradicating the opioid epidemic.
Medical Marijuana Can Help Treat Chemotherapy Side-Effects
Recent research on cannabis proves that marijuana is quite effective in helping people manage their symptoms of chemotherapy side effects too. There are many studies suggesting the same.
A 2014 study by Lynch and others concluded that medical cannabis can be very effective against various symptoms that are caused while treating cancer. The study majorly focused on neuropathic pain due to chemotherapy, and the researchers studied a total of 16 patients. As a result of these trials, the researchers saw a significant reduction in the pain felt by the patients after using cannabis.
In another study that was published in the year 2018, it was found that medical cannabis can help chemotherapy patients manage their pain, vomiting, and nausea. In this study, the researchers observed around 3000 chemotherapy patients who were using medical marijuana between the years 2015 and 2017. Out of all these, 1200 patients continued their cannabis use for more than six months. And around 96 percent of them saw a significant improvement in their overall condition.
Given the above observations, a lot of chemotherapy patients are applying for a medical marijuana card New York. And there are many other states that have cancer as one of the major qualifying conditions for an MMJ card.
However, if you are thinking of using marijuana to treat chemotherapy side effects, you need to be a little careful. Remember that THC and CBD may interact with your other medications in the liver. You may avoid this issue by using some other way of consuming the herb that doesn’t involve the liver, such as vaping.
Alcohol is More Harmful to Your Brain Than Cannabis
Can you imagine living in a world where you can use a harmful substance without any trouble, and a healthy substance is illegal and banned? Well, you don’t have to. Because we already are living in such a world.
It’s true that alcohol is more harmful to the human brain than cannabis.
There was a study conducted by the University of Colorado Boulder that analyzed the effects of alcohol as well as cannabis on the human brain. The research team studied both adults and teenagers. And the participants consumed varying amounts of alcohol and marijuana.
Alcohol, as we all know, can be healthy if consumed in a limited amount. But at higher levels, it may be a threat to your brain health. And the same was found during the research too. However, with marijuana, the research saw there was no long term negative effects.
Now, we don’t recommend using too much cannabis. However, the chances of harming your brain with cannabis use are quite less as compared to alcohol.
Cannabis May Help Autism Patients
There was an open clinical study conducted in Israel to check how cannabis may help people manage Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). And the researchers published the results in January 2019. The research concluded that cannabis may have the potential to help people with ASD.
The researchers in this study looked at the effects of medical marijuana on the kids who were suffering from Autism. 188 patients were given cannabis oil that contained 30 percent CBD and only 1.5 percent THC. And they studied if there was an improvement in their overall behavior.
The study was found quite safe and effective. And it helped patients find relief from a wide number of issues, including depression, tics, restlessness, seizures, etc. The research found that within six months of treatment more than 83 percent of patients start seeing improvement in their condition. And around 30 percent of patients saw a significant relief from their symptoms. The oil also helped them improve their concentration and sleep. And most patients involved in this study claimed to live a better life after six months of their treatment.
All in all, the research proved that cannabis, or CBD in particular, can be quite helpful in helping people with Autism.
Marijuana is NOT a Gateway Drug
Even after so many years of the legalization of medical cannabis in different parts of the country, there are people who are afraid of using it. And one of the major reasons behind this is “the gateway theory.” This theory suggests that the usage of cannabis can lead people to use some other hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.
But this is actually far from reality. Yes, there are a lot of people who use cannabis before using other drugs. But it doesn’t mean cannabis has made them do it. There are many places where cannabis is not available so easily. For instance, Japan. In Japan, cannabis isn’t readily available. Yet, the problem of drug abuse is there.
In simple terms, we cannot blame marijuana for making people use harder drugs. There can be many other factors that may play a role here. This may include, genetics, society, personal issues, etc.
Furthermore, a lot of people are using cannabis to help them stop using opioids and other such drugs. As we read above, cannabis is playing a major role in helping authorities combat the opioid addiction problem. Then how can we say that marijuana is a gateway drug?