5 Health Benefits of Marijuana

Recreational marijuana consumption is highly criticized around world and to some extent, for valid reasons. However, some concur – including CNN’s medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta – that it can also be beneficial to your health more so at improving an individual’s quality of life. More than 23 states in the U.S. have legalized medical marijuana with others expected to slowly follow suit.
In fact, some cities such as Seattle and Denver admit that recreational marijuana actually plays a crucial role in the economy.

Here are 5 known benefits of marijuana:

Vaporizing Marijuana Boosts Lung Health

A recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that contrary to common perception, pot doesn’t have any negative effects on the lungs’ overall functionality and in fact, can go a long way in boosting your lung capacity. Researchers found that those who indulged in cigarette smoking for twenty years had deteriorated lung function, while on the flip-side, marijuana consumers over the same period showed increased lung capacity.

Vaporizers come in all shapes and sizes and some are better than others. Websites such as Cannavapos provide information about vaporizers.

Using a vaporizer is a great way to get all of the medicinal benefits of marijuana without harming your lungs or getting bad breath (which is what smoking marijuana is known for).

Mitigates Cancer Growth

Another study by the California Pacific Medical Center based in San Francisco identified that Cannabidiol – a chemical found in marijuana – works at mitigating the spreading of cancer by basically switching off a gene referred to as Id-1. The cancer cells in a patient’s body are known to duplicate the gene in thousands – more than the non-cancerous cells – and hence, enhancing the spread of the deadly cells. After treating breast cancer cells with Cannabidol, the researchers noted significant reduction in the generation of the Id-1 gene and generally, the spread of cancer.

Anxiety and Stress Relief

A recent study conducted by the Harvard Medical School pinpointed that the drug’s ability to enhance the smoker’s mood and reduce anxiety while at it may actually be the main reason behind its sedative prowess. Worth noting, though, is a higher dose of marijuana can also increase anxiety through paranoia.

Treatment of Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a common eye disease known to exert pressure in the eyeball, which impairs the optic nerve before causing total loss of vision eventually. According to the National Eye Institute, marijuana can significantly mitigate the exerted pressure inside the eye by reducing intra-ocular pressure (IOP) – it also happens to smokers with normal pressure. The drug’s ability to slow Glaucoma progression can therefore go a long in preventing blindness altogether.

Controls Epileptic Seizures

After inducing synthetic marijuana and marijuana extracts to epileptic rats, Robert J. DeLorenzo – a researcher at Virginia Commonwealth University – found that the drugs actually got rid of the seizures; even though for 10 hours. Some chemical agents in marijuana combated the seizures by bonding to the brain cells behind relaxation regulation and excitability control.

These are just a few of the many benefits to using marijuana. A lot has been said about the negative effects of marijuana, but the bottom line is, the benefits greatly outweigh the negatives.