5 Health Benefits of Medical Marijuana

One of the biggest markets in the world right now is the marijuana industry, sitting at an estimated $61 billion and rising. Aside from the fact that the success is partly related to the number of consumption methods and products on the market, like those available at Smoke Cartel, medicinal marijuana plays an important part too. Due to the illegality of consuming the herb in the past, many people don’t know the health benefits of medical marijuana, or what symptoms it treats, and more information can be found here at Medical News Today. Here are 5 health benefits of medical marijuana, and the reason it is being used to treat various conditions.

Improved Appetite and Sleep

Something that many people who consume marijuana have experienced is an increased appetite, and while this might not affect consumers who don’t have anything wrong with their ability to eat food, it certainly is an improvement in health for those that do. Many conditions can cause a loss of appetite, which range from irritable bowel syndrome to asthma, diabetes, underactive thyroid, and even Crohn’s disease.

Marijuana increases appetite by influencing a number of the body’s functions; enhancing food palatability through the limbic forebrain, changing how food intake is regulated via the rhombencephalon and hypothalamus, as well as enhancing the pleasure received from eating through the basal ganglia, to name a few.

Relief From Pain

One of the reasons cannabis was made legal for medicinal use, and why the medical marijuana industry has become so successful is because marijuana provides extensive relief from pain. Throughout our lives, many of us either acquire injuries, or underlying conditions manifest symptoms that cause pain. For many people, relief from that pain comes from cannabis.

The reason marijuana is effective at doing this is because it blocks the pain signals by interacting with the body’s natural cannabinoid receptors. This means that it can help with a lot of pain caused by systemic inflammation that traditional medications can’t. The effectiveness of cannabis depends on a variety of factors, such as how much is consumed and what strain is being consumed, as different strains have varying amounts of THC, as shown in the research available at WebMD.

Helps PTSD and Anxiety

Another reason why marijuana was made legal for medicinal use was because of its effectiveness at treating patients with PTSD and anxiety, and there is overwhelming evidence that supports this notion. While PTSD might only affect a relatively small portion of the population at 3.5% of adults in America, anxiety is far more common and affects 18.1% of the adult population.

Research shows that the reason cannabis can do this is because it changes the way the brain handles responses caused by threats and does this by reducing the activity in the amygdala. While only 36.9% of those affected by anxiety are being treated now, more will follow as cannabis legalization spreads.

Autism and Seizure Treatment

One medical health benefit that cannabis provides, which isn’t known to many people, is that it helps treat autism. Autism is defined by the challenges that are faced such as speech, communication, social skills, and repetitive behaviors. The research is still very much in the early stages, and there are many questions to be asked, such as what is the best ratio of THC to CBD, do terpenoids and THC affect the effectiveness, and can be used without the other.

Regardless of these questions, recent studies have shown that children being treated with marijuana show a 50% improvement over those who are not. More than this, Epidiolex, more can be seen here, which is a cannabis-derived drug, has been showing remarkable progress in treating children who suffer from seizures.

Helps Concentration

According to many statistical reports, the number of people who have ADD and ADHD is rising by the year, from a prevalence of 0.43% to 0.96% in 2019, making a total of more than 2.8% of adults worldwide. In children, this number is currently sitting at around 9.4%, meaning that many people around the world suffer from concentration problems.

For adults, marijuana can provide the opportunity to concentrate and this is due to its ability to increase levels of dopamine within the brain. Creativity, productivity, and focus are all the results of increased dopamine levels, which is why marijuana is being prescribed to those who suffer from ADHD.