18 Benefits of Taking Marijuana – Health Benefits and Risks

Marijuana causes the never ending debates between those who are pros and those who are cons about the health benefits of taking marijuana whether this herbal plant is giving more or less benefit to human health. The problem is the lines of statements that have been proven scientifically are still surrounded by myths believed by people who are pros to this plant. It is true that marijuana has been used as part of herbal medication since ancient time which is a solid proof that this herbal plant is beneficial to human health. However, no matter how beneficial something is if the harmful effect is much bigger, at least you should consider looking for the alternative.

What is Marijuana?

Marijuana is a herbal plant which is also well known as weed, grass, bud, ganja and the most popular one is Mary Jane. This herbal plant has scientific name Cannabis sativa from the family of flower plant Cannabis. Before marijuana is used in the recreational term, this flower plant has been widely used as part of traditional medication and as additional ingredients of foods and beverages and sometimes also used as part of religious rituals. In modern world, marijuana has been used as medicinal drug and more widely used for recreational purpose as cigarette due to its high feeling effect. Moreover, some countries have legalized the use of marijuana and this fact triggers those who are pros to fight for the same purpose to legalize the use of marijuana as well.

Health Benefits of Taking Marijuana

It is true that there are some health benefits of taking marijuana and some of them are for medicinal drug purpose and this fact has been proven scientifically. There are two compounds that found in marijuana that become the reasons why this plant is great for medication.

Cannabidiol (CBD) which has strong impact for brain even in small dosage.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is the reasons why marijuana is effective pain relief.

In other words, those two chemical compounds give this flower plant medicinal potential. Perhaps some information below may tell you more about how beneficial this plant is for human health.

Acts as Anti-depressant

It is not a myth but proven scientifically that marijuana could act as anti-depressant to help dealing with conditions like anxiety. However, it is supposed to be strictly prescribed by a doctor because in high dosage instead of treating anxiety, marijuana could worsen the condition.

Acts as Anti-cancer

The CBD found in marijuana is effective to stop the spreading of cancerous cells. This kind of treatment has been proven to be effective in treating breast cancer but it doesn’t mean you could smoke it out whenever you want because it could cause lung cancer.

Acts as Pain-relief

One of the compounds that found in marijuana is THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol which is an effective pain relief. Conditions like arthritis and multiple sclerosis could be relieved by using marijuana.

Acts as Anti-inflammatory

Inflammation could be the root of some chronic diseases. Marijuana could act as anti-inflammatory which is not only able to treat the conditions but also deal with the inflammation.

Beneficial for Chemotherapy

Some side effects from chemotherapy are including nausea and vomiting. Marijuana is one of the prescribed drug to help patients dealing with the symptoms. Furthermore, it also able to improve appetite.

Prevent Alzheimer

One of the main causes of Alzheimer is when the ability of brain to memorize is blocked with certain protein. However, according to studies the THC compound found in marijuana could prevent the blocking and reduce the risk of Alzheimer.

Solution to Parkinson

The main symptoms of Parkinson are the pain and the tremor. Though there are a lot of drugs that could be used to deal with the symptoms but marijuana is still one of the most effective solution to Parkinson.

Treats Glaucoma

Severe glaucoma could lead to blindness or vision loss so it is not a condition you could take for granted. One of the ways to deal with the symptoms which mostly come with throbbing pain is by taking marijuana.

Promotes Lung Health

Believe it or not the right dosage of marijuana could promote lung health. So, should you smoke marijuana for lung health? Of course not, because it may increase the lung capacity but still there are more harmful effects contained that are not good at all for your lung.

Parts of Stroke Treatment

Based on the animal studies, marijuana could be used as part of stroke treatment because certain compounds found in marijuana could help protecting the damaged area in the brain.

Treats Concussions

Concussion is a traumatic injury that sometimes is not easy to deal with. However, right now marijuana has been used as part of the treatment.

Solution to Nightmares

Having nightmares is normal but if someone is keeping having nightmares almost every night is not normal at all. Marijuana has been proven to be effective solution to this condition though of course talk to the doctor first is highly recommended.

Treats Epilepsy

Some studies have shown significant result of marijuana to treat epilepsy. According to those studies marijuana could help controlling the epileptic seizures due to the THC compound found in this flower plant.

Controls Muscle Spasms

Marijuana is also effective to control muscle spasms because of the THC compound that could help in reliving the muscle pains caused by the condition.

Reduces the Symptoms of Hepatitis C

The main problem of this condition is the symptoms which could be awful from fatigue, loss of appetite up to depression. Well, marijuana is the solution to all of those symptoms.

Weight Loss Solution

The reason why marijuana is great for weight loss is because it could improve body metabolism and only those with healthy metabolism could keep their body in ideal body shape.

Treats Lupus

One of the symptoms of lupus is when immune system is too active and according to some studies some compounds found in marijuana could provide the calming effect to immune system.

Acts as Creativity Booster

Why do you think a lot of people who are working in creative industry are active users of marijuana? It is because marijuana could act as creativity booster to help them working optimally. However, in long term, instead of creativity marijuana is only bring harmful effect to the users.

Cautions of Taking Marijuana

Well, surely you have known what the health benefits of taking marijuana are. However, before you take side between pros and cons surely you need to see it from the whole angels. If you have seen the benefits of taking marijuana now is the times to find out what are the cautions or the health risks of marijuana that become the reason why most countries in this world prefer to ban marijuana instead of legalize it. Actually, taking marijuana has short term and long term harmful effects and those effects are not only affecting the user mentally but also physically.

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The short term harmful effect of taking marijuana is included heightened mood which is not always bad but if it could change someone perception, surely it could be really dangerous no matter how short the effect is.
Marijuana could make someone feeling so high which is no different with taking any psychotropic drugs. This kind of feeling is not only causing the chance of perception but also could cause someone suffering from short term memory lost.
The first harmful effect when the effect of marijuana is starting to worn out, the user will start feeling disorientated that could lead to anxiety and paranoia.
The most dangerous effect of marijuana is the psychoactive compound found in this flower plant. It is kind of compound which is also well known as mind-altering chemical that gives intoxicating effect to the users. Unfortunately, this dangerous effect is actually the reason why a lot of people are seeking from marijuana.
In long term harmful effect, taking marijuana could cause addiction. Well, addiction is not an easy condition to deal with so it is better to avoid it in the first place.
Using marijuana in long term could cause the decreased of mental ability. That’s why those who are regularly taking marijuana have problems in controlling their temper and other mental attitudes.
Even in short term, marijuana could cause a short term memory lost, just imagine what happen to your brain in long term. It is likely the active users of marijuana will have poorer memories.
Not only mentally, marijuana could affect the physical appearance of the users as well like impaired motor skills, dry mouth and their skins will suffer from premature aging.
Just like smoking cigarette, taking marijuana could be harmful for your lung as well and one of the biggest contribution to lung cancer.

Actually the list of harmful effects of marijuana could be endless but some cautions mentioned above are surely will happen if you take marijuana whether it is in short term or long term unless you take it for medication purpose and specifically prescribed by a professional, other than that taking marijuana is considered to be for recreational purpose only which is strongly illegal in most countries.

In summary, marijuana may beneficial for medication purpose as have been mentioned in some researches about this flower plant but compared to the harmful effects, surely you need to consider finding the alternative because there are so many things in this world that provide more benefits than the health benefits of taking marijuana but has less harmful effect than this plant.