Medical marijuana or MMJ has been used for decades now to help people afflicted with serious medical conditions that include, but are not limited to glaucoma, cancer, epilepsy, AIDS, and MS (Multiple Sclerosis). As one of the most effective agents that help people cope with chronic pain, medical marijuana offers patients relief from extreme discomfort by alleviating their symptoms.
Understanding the science behind the effectiveness of marijuana is important in order to dispel these myths and make a well informed choice about what it truly offers. When administered under the supervision of a qualified and competent doctor or medical practitioner, medical marijuana reduces the pain and nausea that various health problems cause. Scores of people believe that medical marijuana is extremely addictive and it increases the dependency on the drug.
Research indicates that there is no evidence to support this belief because to start with, medical cannabis does not even have any chemicals that may trigger addiction in people who use it as a part of their treatment process. Then there are other misconceptions that MMJ may also lead to the use of hard drugs such as cocaine and like the former, this is also just a misconception. While medical marijuana can be smoked, this is not the only way that it can be used.
Right from prescription drugs and pills that contain synthetic forms of medical marijuana to other alternate treatment methods, cannabinoids such as THC can be delivered to the body without smoking MMJ. The flowers and leaves can be soaked in a mixture of alcohol to extract the cannabinoids in marijuana. This infusion can either be added to drinks and food or absorbed through skin patches and in this form; it takes MMJ as little as a half hour to produce the desired effect. The active components can also be transferred into cooking oil and butter by simmering the plant in them for several hours. This is usually used to bake cookies and brownies or make other types of food that a patient might find appetizing.
Thought there are tests that show that Medical cannabis can cause short term memory loss in some patients who are undergoing treatment, the truth is that the effect is only temporary. Medical marijuana neither reduces their intelligence nor does it affect their long term memory. Though medical cannabis is an all-natural substance that is obtained from plants, the misconceptions about it are quite controversial and baseless.
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