Latest News On Cannabis: 5 Medical Benefits Of Marijuana Use, As More US States Allow Legalization
Based on the latest data, 20 percent of Americans are now living in a state where the use of marijuana is legal for recreational purposes. And just recently, more states have legalized the medical use of cannabis, bumping the number to more than half of the total number of U.S. states.
Given this new figure and the seemingly more tolerable views of more and more people in the country over the use of the previously decried plant, let us take a closer look at the potential medical benefits of cannabis.
It Could Help On Mental Health Problems
Based on the findings of a recent study, published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review, a group of researchers from North America, conclude that there is evidence that medical marijuana can, indeed, have positive effects on patients suffering from depression, social anxiety, and PTSD, wrote Time.
"This is a substance that has potential use for mental health," according to Zach Walsh of the University of British Columbia. "We should be looking at it in the same way [as other drugs] and be holding it up to the same standard."
Medical Marijuana As A Pain Reliever
There has been a lot of buzz recently, especially in the sports community, after two prominent figures in basketball confessed to having used marijuana to help alleviate back pain. Both Phil Jackson of the Lakers and Steve Kerr of the Warriors said that they previously resorted to the use of medical cannabis after surgery.
Lester Grinspoon from Harvard University said that there are a number of studies that suggested the link between medical marijuana use and pain relief. Although he also cited other studies in contradiction to this, The Guardian reported.
The Cannabis Oil Can Help in Arthritis Treatment
The oil extracted from the flower and leaves of the plant may have anti-arthritic effects according to a study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), the Alternative Daily wrote. The cannabis oil has immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects to help in preventing the progression of arthritis.
The Oil Extract May Also Be Good For The Heart
It helps that the cannabis oil contains high concentrations of antioxidants that could be beneficial to heart health and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. This was supported by the findings of a 2014 study, published in the Journal of Pharmacological Research, suggesting that the 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) from the oil has a relaxation effect that could help in lowering blood pressure and improve circulation.
Treatment For Glaucoma
Medical Cannabis may play a role in the treatment of glaucoma, which is an eye disease wherein the optic nerves are damaged due to increasing pressure and may lead to blindness, according to a Business Insider report.
"Studies in the early 1970s showed that marijuana, when smoked, lowered intraocular pressure (IOP) in people with normal pressure and those with glaucoma," says the National Eye Institute.
