For decades there has been a movement within the United States which has prevented the honest and factual discussion about cannabis. Thankfully, in recent years the misinformation concerning this healthy and beneficial plant has been countered with research, statistics, and data. We've included ten surprising facts that many people may not know, but may be interested to learn.
Cannabis has been an element of human culture going as far back as around 3000 BC, being introduced to America by the Jamestown settlers, and being used in American medicine until 1937. Only relatively recently did politics and misinformation obscure this harmless plant's attributes.
Treatments using medicinal cannabis are carefully planned for each individual patient so that every use and user are uniquely matched. Through such considerations cannabis can successfully treat body pain, appetite, anxiety, or depression and provide relief for insomnia, nausea, headache, or skin irritation.
Cannabis is an incredibly complex plant containing more than 60 cannabinoids. Despite common misconceptions, many of the active – and medically beneficial – compounds in cannabis have no psychoactive qualities.
Lotions infused with cannabis often shock patients in their efficient treatment of conditions which have traditionally been difficult to overcome. From acne and eczema to psoriasis and general skin redness, lotions can provide fast, non-psychoactive, and amazingly effective relief.
Research is ongoing but animal models and bench science research have shown cannabis to possess properties which kill cancer cells and prevent tumor growth while sparing normal cells.
Eight months after starting medicinal cannabis treatments, two-thirds of new users reduced the usage of various other medications. In one study, 75% of people using opiates drastically reduce their opiate consumption within their first year using medicinal cannabis[i].
Cannabis generally interacts well with traditional treatment options. In fact, cannabis is most effective when used in combination with a multi-dimensional approach to wellness.
The smoking of cannabis is actively discouraged as a way of medical treatment. The combustion process creates dangerous toxins that are unnatural to cannabis, destroys some beneficial properties, and is very inefficient. Topicals, edibles, and vapor inhalation are safer, healthier, and more effective alternatives.
In a society filled with unnatural and addictive substances – be they tobacco, alcohol, fast food, or many modern medicines – cannabis is far more natural, less addictive, and more beneficial.
Most studies show that the average age of medicinal cannabis users is over 35-years-old. Since the adoption of medical and adult usage of cannabis in the United States, the number of underage users as dropped and in some categories is the lowest it has been in two decades[ii].
[i] “75% of opioid-dependent medical cannabis users reported experiencing ‘a lot or almost complete overall relief’ from opioid dependency…” Troutt WD, DiDonato MD. Medical cannabis in Arizona: patient characteristics, perceptions, and impressions of medical cannabis legalization. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2015;47(4):259–266.
[ii] “Past-year use of marijuana reached its lowest levels in more than two decades among 8th and 10th graders in 2016…” https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/monitoring-future-survey-high-school-youth-trends