Cannabis as a Preventative Drug Cannabis has been widely touted as a cure for insomnia, stress, chronic pain, arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy, anxiety, and more! Cannabis has many benefits (beyond producing a high) including anti-inflammatory properties, antioxidant effects and both mental and physical stress management. But does this mean for cannabis as a preventative drug?
Prevention of Age-Related Diseases
By maintaining the body's endocannabinoid system and supplementing imbalances with cannabis, is linked to the prevention of various ailments, specifically age-related conditions such as Alzheimer's or dementia. There are a variety of cannabinoid receptors, such as CB1, located throughout the brain. These receptors can be found in the hippocampus, which is an area particularly vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease and damage that can result in memory and learning problems. Cannabinoids, such as those found in cannabis, are actually able to induce neurogenesis in this area of the brain1, thereby healing previous damage. Studies, including one published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease2 and one from the Salk Institute3, have shown THC as being an effective agent against beta-amyloid proteins. It is these 1 2
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028668 https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad140093
proteins that are believed to cause Alzheimer’s as they create a buildup of plaque and cellular inflammation in the cell4. This is where cannabis comes in. A 2016 study5 proved that THC is able to reduce the levels of beta-amyloid proteins as well as to stop the resulting inflammatory response, thereby allowing the nerve cells to survive.
Prevention of Cancer
A study released in 2009 found that “using marijuana over a period of 10 to 20 years drastically reduces the risk of planocellular head and neck cancer”6. Planocellular cancer is typically associated with tobacco and alcohol use, but not cannabis. Additionally, individuals who use tobacco and alcohol, along with marijuana, remain at a lower risk than individuals who do not also consume marijuana. An additional 2012 study7 that tested the lung function of 5115 young adults, backs this up. The 2012 study began in 1985 with participants between the ages of 18 and 30 and reviewed them again 20 years later. The test found that tobacco smokers expectedly had an reduction of lung function. However, the study also revealed that occasional marijuana smokers actually had an increase in lung capacity. Therefore, showing that smoking marijuana does not lead to lung cancer and can actually reduce the risk.
3
https://www.salk.edu/news-release/cannabinoids-remove-plaque-forming-alzheimers-proteins-frombrain-cells/ 4 https://www.greenrushdaily.com/cannabis-can-remove-alzheimers-plaque-brain-cells/ 5 https://www.nature.com/articles/npjamd201612 6 https://cannasos.com/news/health/cannabis-as-a-preventativedrug?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharing 7 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1104848
These studies (and others) show that the cannabinoids found in cannabis are potent enough to be able to reduce damage caused by alcohol and tobacco and contain the spread of cancer cells.
Stress Management
There have been many studies on stress and the impact it can have on health. One thing is very clear - stress is a silent killer. Chronic stress essentially wears out the body, taking a toll on everything from your luscious locks to your heart. Essentially, stress fuels a "stress response" that is ingrained in all living beings. This stress-response in humans is characterised by the release and reaction of various hormones, including adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol. These hormones play various roles in the body, but when triggered they increase heart rate and respiration and enact the well-known “flight or fight” reaction. Unfortunately, these responses use up a great deal of energy and can even shut down digestion, reproduction, physical growth and aspects of the immune system to divert energy into the stress response. In the past, these situations of “fight or flight” would pass quickly - ie: hunting or being chased by a wild animal - and systems would return to normal. However, in today’s society, stress is part of everyday life. What were once rare situations where the body needed to react, has become part of daily living but instead of being chased by a wild boar, we are being chased by financial stress, achieving goals, managing work and home, etc. In some cases, this can cause hypersensitivity to stress and lead to more severe conditions like anxiety. Fortunately, cannabis is a powerful anti-stress agent that not only is able to calm the mind and lift the mood, but is also able to communicate with the endocannabinoid system to help balance hormones, reduce the stress response and inflammation, and even result in neurogenesis within damaged cells.
Cannabis for Overall Health
Prevention in a lot of ways is its own cure. By doing all you can to manage stress and ensure your body and hormones are functioning at optimal, balanced levels, many ailments can be avoided. Fortunately, cannabis is a growing market in North America and legalization will soon allow all Canadians access marijuana for recreational and medical purposes. Fair Canna Care is an online cannabis dispensary that believes marijuana should be an affordable option for all Canadians. This is why we offer grams as low as $2 (up to $7 depending on the strain), as well as $15 to $25 shatter alongside edibles, distillates and hash. Fair Canna Care makes it easy to buy cannabis online and are here to help you start living a healthier life, today. Sources: https://cannasos.com/news/health/cannabis-as-a-preventativedrug?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharing https://www.livescience.com/2220-stress-deadly.html