What is Medical Cannabis and its Benefits?

Many people know about cannabis. In common parlance, it is called Vijaya, Bhang, or Ganja. Most of you may also know that it is an addictive substance, but very few people know what exactly cannabis is and how it works.

Cannabis is one of the most widely used substances for intoxication in the world. On the other hand, it is used to make medicine, which can cure many diseases.

Some people think that since cannabis is not illegal in some places, it might be safe, but for those people, let us tell you that if you use cannabis in excess, it can do a lot of damage to your body. Is. Even if the medicine made from it is taken in excess quantity.

The main purpose of this article is to clear up some of the misconceptions people have about cannabis. By reading this article completely, you will be able to know what exactly is the difference between cannabis and medical cannabis. Also how it works, how medical cannabis is beneficial, and how consuming cannabis in the wrong way can harm the body. In addition, you will also learn how to get rid of cannabis addiction.

(Read More - Alcohol: Side effects on the body and benefits)

  1. What is cannabis?
  2. Types of cannabis
  3. Uses of cannabis
  4. Effects of consume cannabis
  5. Benefits of medical cannabis
  6. Side effects of consuming cannabis
  7. How to get rid of cannabis addiction
  8. Takeaway

What is cannabis?

Cannabis is known by many names in English such as Marijuana, Weed, Herb, Pot, Grass, Bud, Mary Jane, and many other such code words are also used. Cannabis is a greenish-brown mixture of dried flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds of a plant called Cannabis sativa. Cannabis is also called hemp.

Although many people use the term 'marijuana' when talking about cannabis in general, marijuana is just the dried flowers and leaves of this plant. Some people who use cannabis also use hashish, which is made from the plant's gum-like "resin" or hash oil.

Selling, using, or transporting any part of the cannabis plant in any form for any purpose is strictly prohibited under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and is a punishable offense. Cannabis is the most abused illegal substance worldwide and is widely trafficked.

Wherein, when it is used in the treatment of a disease, it is called medical cannabis. Cannabis contains more than 100 chemicals, but only a few chemicals have medicinal properties, due to which they are used to make medicine. In such a situation, instead of being an intoxicant, Cannabis becomes a medicine.

Types of cannabis

If you're familiar with the cannabis plant, you've probably heard two common terms used to describe different types of cannabis - indicas, and sativa. These terms refer to two different species of the cannabisp plant, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis sativa.

Both indicas and sativa plants have different odors, tastes, and textures. Indicas are short and stocky plants in size, while sativas are tall and slender.

There are also different types of cannabis according to their different forms and they are known by many different names. They are as follows -

  1. Weed
  2. Hashish
  3. Hashish oil

Weed

It is also often called the pot. Weed is the unprocessed form of cannabis. This is the most common form and is usually smoked by cigarette smokers due to the high concentration of THC (a chemical found in cannabis, explained in more detail later in this article). Weed consists of the leaves and buds of the female Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica plants. The only process to make weed is to dry the leaves and buds of these plants.

Hashish

Hashish is made from the resin of the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plants. The resin is dried, forming an oily solid called hashish.

Hashish oil

Hashish oil or hash oil is the strongest form of cannabis and is the least commonly used form of the drug. It is sold in small bottles or sealed plastic bags.

Uses of cannabis

Cannabis is used by people to smoke with the help of hand-made cigarettes, pipes, water pipes, etc. People also smoke it by filling it in a hollow empty cigar.

To avoid breathing the fumes, some people are using vaporizers. These devices draw the active ingredients (including THC) from the cannabis and collect these as vapor particles in a part of the device called a storage unit. After this people take these vapor particles. Some vaporizers can also collect these particles in liquid form.

Many people think that bongs are less dangerous because the water makes the smoke less potent, but in reality, all forms of smoking can increase the likelihood of respiratory diseases.

People mix cannabis into edibles, such as brownies, cookies, or candy, or even drink it as tea.

Medical cannabis, also known as Marinol (dronabinol), is a synthetic form of cannabis used as a medicine. It is used to treat loss of appetite and weight loss in people with anorexia.

Synthetic cannabis is used to treat patients with the disease AIDS. Synthetic cannabis is also used to treat people receiving chemotherapy for cancer who are experiencing nausea and vomiting that are not responding to standard treatments.

(Read More - How to Quit Alcohol)

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Effects of consume cannabis

The effects of consuming cannabis can vary from person to person, with some people feeling happier, talking more, and feeling less self-conscious than usual, while others may experience sleepiness, vomiting, and less self-control Or you can feel a mixed effect of all these.

The cannabis plant can alter your mind. The plant contains hundreds of compounds that have intoxicating effects, one of them being tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

THC can have the following effects on you -

  • It can make you feel a sense of joy.
  • Can make your senses more active, such as colors becoming more vivid to you.
  • There may be a change in your understanding of time.
  • You may feel anxious, scared, or nervous.
  • You may have hallucinations.

Another compound in cannabis is CBD, also known as cannabidiol. A lot of studies have been done on this too. The effects can work the opposite of those from THC and can make you psychotic or anxious instead of making you more active.

(Read More - Harmful effects of smoking)

Benefits of medical cannabis

The cannabis plant has been used as medicine for hundreds of years. Researchers are trying to find out the potential benefits of cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabidiol is a cannabinoid found in cannabis that has been shown to treat various health conditions with no negative effects on the patient's brain.

Some studies have shown that THC is useful for treating nausea and vomiting, but its adverse effects may limit its use.

According to the researchers, cannabis as a medicine can help in the following conditions -

  • Cannabis is used to treat glaucoma because cannabis lowers the pressure inside the eye. This was proven by research in the 70s. Cannabis prevents blindness by slowing the progression of the disease.
  • Cannabis can also be of great help concerning epilepsy. Epileptic rats were given a dose of cannabis and the results showed that the drug prevented seizures for up to 10 hours.
  • Cannabis is also a great way to help people with nervous system disorders.
  • The CBD found in cannabis may prevent the spread of cancer because it deactivates a gene called ID-1. The ID-1 gene is where the cancer cell can make more copies and spread more rapidly in the patient's body.
  • Problems of anxiety, depression, stress, and insomnia can be reduced.
  • THC slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease by blocking "amyloid plaques," the disease responsible for killing brain cells in Alzheimer's patients.

(Read More - Smoking Addiction symptoms)

Side effects of consuming cannabis

If you keep using cannabis for a long time, you may get respiratory diseases. Your memory may get affected and you may feel unmotivated. This can also affect your work, your social life, and your family relationships.

Researchers have found no link between smoking cannabis and cancer in the lungs, head, or neck. However, some limited evidence suggests that excessive cannabis use may lead to a type of testicular cancer.

Regular cannabis use can cause you to have a persistent cough and phlegm. They may get better again when you stop smoking. It is not clear whether cannabis can cause asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Babies born to women who smoke cannabis while pregnant are more likely to have low birth weight. Babies can be born too early, requiring neonatal intensive care.

How to get rid of cannabis addiction

There are currently no drugs available to stop cannabis addiction, but behavioral support is effective. Treatment with the following practical treatments has been somewhat effective -

  1. Cognitive-behavioral therapy
  2. Contingency management
  3. Motivational Enhancement Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy. In this therapy, people are taught strategies to identify and correct the root of the problem to increase self-control, stop drug use, and address other problems.

Contingency management

Under Contingency Management Therapy, the behavior of the affected person is continuously monitored. He is motivated by positive rewards for small successes in striving for self-control.

(Read More - Smoking Effects on Teeth)

Motivational Enhancement Therapy

Motivational enhancement therapy is a systematic approach designed to produce rapid, intrinsically motivated change within the individual. This therapy does not attempt to cure the individual, but rather stimulates the individual's inner potential to engage with and benefit from the therapy.

In addition to the individual behavior-based therapies described above, one or more family therapies are often used to treat adolescents with cannabis use. These include Multi-Dimensional Therapy, Multi-Systemic Therapy, Family Support Network Intervention, and Brief Strategic Family Therapy. They all use techniques that are designed to teach the person with the addiction and their family members how to discourage cannabis use.

Scientists are continuously researching to develop medicine for its treatment. New drugs may soon be developed to help reduce cannabis withdrawal symptoms, block the effects of cannabis, and prevent relapse.

Takeaway

Cannabis is a type of plant, in which different types of chemicals are found. When these chemicals are used to make medicine, it is called medical cannabis and not an intoxicant. Medicines made from hemp are prepared under government guidelines, due to which they can help in curing the disease. At the same time, using cannabis as an intoxicant can cause many types of health damage.

(Read More - Side effects of chewing tobacco)

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