Cannabis

While recreational marijuana has gotten a lot of attention recently, it's important to remember that the great bulk of cannabis legalisation and decriminalisation movement has been driven by the wonderful plant's medicinal properties. Stories of cannabis curing cancer and other life-changing medical advances are becoming increasingly difficult for governments to ignore, and in an effort to help that cause, we've outlined five of the numerous potential medicinal advantages of cannabis use.

Cannabis reduces pain and inflammation

Despite the fact that only a few studies have been conducted, cannabis and its many chemical compounds have shown significant benefits in reducing inflammation and pain, particularly in people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), arthritis, and even internal inflammation-related gastrointestinal issues such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Much of the medical legend around cannabis is made up of anecdotal reports of significant life benefits, even in non-clinical usage – this just emphasises the need for more research, which is complicated by cannabis' federally illegal status.

Cannabis helps keep you slim

Despite the conventional caricature of stoners indulging in midnight munchies, the data appear to support the concept that cannabis users are (on average) slimmer and healthier than non-users. A 2011 research published in the Journal of Epidemiology made headlines when it revealed that frequent cannabis users had a 37% reduced prevalence of obesity.

Though a variety of lifestyle differences may be at work here, a recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that cannabis users had lower insulin levels to go along with their smaller waistbands – a significant finding given that nearly 30 million Americans have diabetes and an estimated 86 million are pre-diabetic.

Cannabis reduces seizures

This is probably the most visible medical benefit of cannabis, thanks to the plethora of videos on the internet showing children and adults suffering from Dravet's Syndrome and other epileptic disorders thriving after finally seeing reduced seizures thanks to cannabis treatments (primarily CBD only, which we'll discuss later). Cannabis terpenes have anticonvulsant characteristics, and linalool in particular has been found to have this property.

Cannabis improves lung function

Cannabis smoke, unlike tobacco smoke, appears to counteract many of the detrimental effects of breathing smoke in general due to its anti-inflammatory and expectorant (mucous thinning) qualities. Moderate marijuana usage appears to have no negative effects on pulmonary function and, in fact, appears to improve lung function in most users at low dosages. Furthermore, THC has been demonstrated to alleviate bronchial constriction, which might be quite beneficial if you suffer from asthma.

Cannabis can help fight cancer

Many cancer patients are conflicted about whether to undergo radiation or chemotherapy, owing in large part to the fact that the treatments are virtually as terrible as the disease in terms of quality of life. Fortunately, the cannabis plant contains THC, CBD, and hundreds of other cannabinoids, as well as terpenoids and flavonoids, all of which have medicinal benefits of their own. These ingredients operate in unison to give natural cannabis its distinct qualities, whereas synthetic equivalents such as Marinol simply reproduce one piece of the jigsaw (THC).