I asked someone how she feels about cannabis and she just replied with "That's weed, it's bad" and when i asked her how and why they think so she replied "I don't know i heard it's bad and when you take it you loose yourself". Now according to wikipedia, Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant intended for medical or recreational use. Note "drug" and "medical".
THE ORIGIN OF CANNABIS
The oldest known written record on cannabis use comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. Ancient Greeks and Romans were also familiar with cannabis, while in the Middle East, use spread throughout the Islamic empire to North Africa.
MEDICAL USE OF CANNABIS
The topic of legalizing marijuana for medical use is a controversial issue since the therapeutic properties of marijuana are presently at question when claiming medicinal purpose. Medical cannabis can be administered using a variety of methods, including liquid tinctures, vaporizing or smoking dried buds, eating cannabis edibles. It is also noted that it helps with:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pain
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Helps reverse the carcinogenic effects of tobacco and improve lung health.
- It can be used to treat Glaucoma.
- It can help control epileptic seizures.
- It may decrease anxiety.
- It lessens side effects from treating hepatitis C and increases treatment effectiveness.
- It relieves arthritis discomfort.
- It keeps you skinny and helps your metabolism.
- Marijuana protects the brain after a stroke.
- It can help eliminate nightmares.
- Marijuana can help people trying to cut back on drinking.
What Marijuana Does To Your Body And Brain
The high you get from marijuana mostly comes from a chemical called Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, which is found in varying potency in different strains of cannabis.
Most of THC's effects happen in the brain, where the chemical interacts with receptors on brain cells called cannabinoid receptors. Our bodies actually make chemicals very similar to THC, which are used in normal brain function and development. THC co-opts these natural pathways to produce most of its effects.
IS CANNABIS BAD FOR YOU?
The science behind using marijuana and our physical health is still developing. one study found that marijuana smoke has just as many cancer-causing chemicals in it as tobacco smoke. Another found that marijuana smokers, like tobacco smokers, have evidence of inflammation in their lungs—a condition which can be a precursor to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD.)
And yet, there’s no evidence that people who smoke weed go on to develop lung cancer at the same rates as tobacco smokers, and evidence is conflicted about COPD. But as with all things in science, there’s more going on here than meets the eye.
Marijuana research is ridiculously complicated because while some researchers show that it is totally harmless some researchers also think the opposite so the question now is if it really is harmful why do some countries legalize it?