The good news is that it is our job to educate the general public and let them know the wide range of benefits medical marijuana has to offer. So here are 10 positives medically when taking Cannabis:

1. It Is An Excellent Anxiety Suppressor

“THC appears to decrease anxiety at lower doses and increase anxiety at higher doses.”

“CBD appears to decrease anxiety at all doses that have been tested.” Susan A Stoner, PHD (great name by the way…)

Even way before I began writing for this magazine, I was a solid advocate for using marijuana for treating anxiety. It creates feelings of calm, which is the most important thing when you begin to lose control and have panic attacks.

For those who don’t have anxiety, you are lucky. It strikes seemingly at random for illogical reasons, until you are convinced something with a minuscule percentage chance of happening will happen. When it takes over, it is so hard to get back to a calm thought process. But Ganja in its many forms helps you simply feel at peace with everything and everyone around you.

2. It Relieves Sufferers Of PTSD

PTSD is a horrific disease that grinds away at your psyche, and causes problems such as:

• Nightmares
• Panic Attacks
• Hypervigilance
• Detachment from others 
• Destructive behaviour
• Overwhelming emotions
• Suicidal thoughts and tendencies

Having that kind of mental anguish eating away at you, you would give anything to give yourself a break from all that. Fortunately, Wayne State University in Michigan did a study to test the effects of Cannabinoids on three groups of people, with one of those showing signs of PTSD. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32162103/ ) They found that:

“The authors conclude that the research suggest ‘that THC modulates threat-related processing in trauma-exposed individuals with PTSD’ and add that the drug ’may prove advantageous as a pharmaceutical approach to treating stress- and trauma-related psychopathy” 

3. It Combats Seizures

Seizures are equally terrifying, and can obviously be fatal. So anyone who has seizures, or has friends or family that suffer from them, would want to do anything to limit the risk as much as possible.

Unlike some psychotropics, Cannabis has not been linked to seizures. As a matter of fact it can be used as a form of medicine to prevent them. CBD can help prevent seizures for people who suffer from serious debilitating disorders such as Dravet syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex and Lennox Gastout syndrome.

In a study involving Epidiolex (a medical prescription containing 99% Cannabidiol) involving all three of these medical conditions, they found:

1. Dravet syndrome – A significant drop in seizure frequency (39%)
2. Tuberous sclerosis complex – Median improvement was 48%
3. Lennox Gastout syndrome – Half of the participants experienced 44% fewer seizures
4. It Has Colossal Chemotherapy Benefits

The inevitable treatment for cancer is Chemotherapy, which has a multitude of draining side effects, including nausea and vomiting.

There have been a number of studies that show marijuana can be helpful when treating both nausea and vomiting after having chemotherapy. There have also been studies that suggest both THC and CBD slow the growth and/or cause death in certain types of cancer cells.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, and he told me a story about how sailors would take Cannabis to hord off any feelings of seasickness while at sea. It seems unlikely when you first hear it, but when you see the evidence that it can reduce or even stop nausea and vomiting after Chemotherapy, it makes sense that it could settle your stomach after being at sea for prolonged periods. Although admittedly all I have in this instance is a second hand anecdote.

5. It Eases Chronic Pain

If you have chronic pain for issues like arthritis, Cancer pain, migraines or just a lingering pain that won’t budge; the best course of action is usually a heavy opioid.

Or so they say…

There have been studies that suggest that Cannabis is a more than able alternative to opioids for chronic pain. A study in 2020 ) tested on patients that relied on opioids for over a decade, and found that due to:

• Easier accessibility of the product
• Better outcomes
• Far less severe side effects
• Lower effects from withdrawal

That, “Half of the adults were able to stop all opioids. A third of them cut back on them”.

6. It Has Unexpected Nutritional Benefits

You wouldn’t think that marijuana has numerous nutrients when you consider it has been illegal for some time, but Cannabis is a plant. Vegetables are plants too. Of course, I’m not saying that marijuana is a vegetable; but they both grow out of the ground, so when you look at it from that perspective, it actually makes sense that there are lots of vitamins and minerals inside the flower that can be extracted. For example fresh raw marijuana contains:

• Calcium
• Fibre
• Folic acid
• Magnesium
• Iron
• Riboflavin
• Potassium
• ZInc
• A rich source of vitamins A, B12, D and E

   

7. It Fights Insomnia

“Preliminary research into Cannabis and insomnia suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of insomnia.” Taken from a study on literature on Cannabis and specific sleep disorders.

We’ve all had it. We’d love to be a Sim and instantly fall asleep when our head hits the pillow, but sadly it isn’t as simple as that.

For some people it is even worse; tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep and that becomes a vicious cycle. I’ve had issues with sleeping in the past, but never as bad as sufferers of insomnia. 

Initial tests look promising though, and hopefully more research will come out in the near future supporting the fact that insomnia can be effectively treated with Cannabis.

8. It Heightens Your Senses

Ganja – as it is known in Thailand – when used can give you a sense of euphoria. This certain type of euphoria awakens your senses so you are more perceptive to everything around you. This helps with many psychological and mental health disorders whether they are mild or severe, as it helps you connect with the world around you and lose focus on possible past traumas.

9. It Can Improve Symptoms Of MS

“One in five people with multiple sclerosis (MS) surveyed in 2014 told us they’d used Cannabis to help with their symptoms. They said it can help with muscle spasms or stiffness (spasticity) and pain.” Taken from the MS Society website.

In fact, in the UK, they already use a Cannabis infused mouth spray called Sativex as a primary recommendation for sufferers of MS to help with spasticity.

There is currently no cure for MS, but people who struggle with the illness find relief from marijuana for reasons listed above such as helping with sleep deprivation and the easing of constant pain.

10. It Stimulates Appetite And Weight Gain For Serious Diseases

In the study titled ‘New Prospect For Cancer Cachexia: Medical Cannabinoid’, the scientists discovered that CBD use actually assisted weight gain for wasting illnesses like tuberculosis, cancer and AIDS, (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6360413/ )

This was obviously very encouraging since cachexia is a key complication in these diseases, and can lead to death. Without proper management, this can be fatal, so to have a natural alternative to combat such a dreadful disorder is such a lifeline for people who suffer from diseases like HIV and cancer.

The legality of Cannabis for medical use even on a global scale is fairly recent, which means research on the complete benefits is still limited. As the world opens up to more marijuana use over the next couple of years we as a society hope to have access to far more information that will be advantageous to possibly even more diseases and syndromes in the future. Not only that, but that the information regarding all of its natural assets will be common knowledge for the average Thai person.