Health Benefits of Cannabis You Should Know About

People are often surprised to find that cannabis can have many health benefits for a wide variety of long term illnesses. Its use can even significantly improve the quality of life of someone with a painful chronic disease. Usually, cannabis can be taken with limited side effects, so can be a good alternative to other medications. 

The role of cannabis in the medical field

To understand how cannabis can have a role in improving your health, you need to be aware of some of the ingredients that give cannabis its effects. Cannabis is made up of cannabinoids with cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) being two of the most active chemicals. 

Tetrahydrocannabinol

THC is the cannabinoid that is responsible for causing the well-known high or hallucinations that recreational cannabis users can experience. For people who use cannabis products for the health benefits alone, THC can be seen to cause unwanted side effects. So for medicinal treatments THC is removed to the lowest possible levels, which enables users to carry on with their daily life, while also benefiting from the positive effects of cannabis. 

Cannabidiol 

CBD is the part of cannabis that is responsible for the positive health benefits that can result from using certain cannabis products. When separated from THC, CBD can be taken without you needing to worry about any side effects affecting your state of mind. To have a look at some of the cannabis products that are available check out this resource on Canada’s legal weed market. They even offer delivery straight to your door. 

The health benefits from taking cannabis

There are a growing number of medical conditions with severe symptoms that can be significantly improved as a result of patients using cannabis. Many studies into the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes are still relatively new, so this is a rapidly growing area where we are likely to see an increased number of positive benefits for using cannabis in the future. 

Pain Relief

The pain relief properties that the CBD component of cannabis can offer to people suffering from life long chronic illnesses can be life-changing. It can also be a safe treatment option for people who cannot take other pain relief medications due to their side effects.  

There are many conditions that cannabis can be used to provide pain relief.

• Arthritis 
• Migraines 
• Fibromyalgia 
• Endometriosis 
• Parkinson’s Disease – reduces the pain associated with tremors 
• Multiple Sclerosis 

Often cannabis will also have other effects, alongside pain relief that will provide additional improvement for the symptoms of certain chronic diseases. For some conditions, cannabis will also provide muscle relaxant properties that can also contribute to the pain relief experienced. 

Reduce Inflammation

Cannabis can also reduce the inflammation that is often associated with many chronic illnesses. It is thought that cannabis improves the users immune system, which enables any inflammation caused by the disease to be improved. 

Diseases where cannabis may be able to reduce inflammation

• Crohn’s Disease
• Ulcerative Colitis 
• Rheumatoid Arthritis 
• Alzheimers Disease – slows disease progression

Mental Health

There are a growing number of mental health conditions that can be improved through the use of cannabis. This is an area that has a lot of research dedicated to investigating the effects of cannabis, so is one to watch for the future. 

Mental health conditions that may be helped with cannabis 

• Depression
• Anxiety 
• Epilepsy – particularly childhood Epilepsy
• Multiple Sclerosis 
• Parkinson’s Disease 
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – This is an area with ongoing research
• ADHD/ADD

Additional health benefits

Cannabis can also be used to help treat a range of other symptoms that may or may not occur as the result of a chronic illness. 

• Nausea 
• Insomnia 
• Glaucoma 
• Cancer treatments 

The use of cannabis for glaucoma treatments and cancer treatments are still in the very early stages, so we will have to wait and see what the follow-up results are, after the very promising early signs that cannabis treatment has been showing. 

The risks from taking cannabis products

The risks from taking cannabis are low but there are few potential side effects that you should be aware of, as they may impact on your daily life. 

• Hallucinations – These can affect your ability to drive and operate heavy machinery. When taking cannabis it is illegal to drive while under the influence, so you should not drive even if you do not suffer from this side effect. 
• Concentration effects – Occasionally taking cannabis can cause problems with your concentration and your ability to focus on tasks. 
• Lack of coordination 
• Stimulating effect – Occasionally cannabis can cause hyperactivity and over-stimulation. 

There are many exciting uses for cannabis to help treat many chronic and life-limiting illnesses. In the future, we are likely to see an increased number of health benefits for cannabis use.