Smoking tobacco is injurious to health. We all know it. We’ve always been told to say no to smoking and how 7,000 chemicals burn everytime you light a cigarette. It’s not just harmful, it’s worse. It’s cancerous. But do you ever wonder, ‘how about marijuana’?
Is it the same thing? Well, not at all. Does it cause the same amount of damage? Not really. Marijuana or cannabis, whatever you call it, is a naturally occuring herb. It is one of the oldest crops that man ever grew. It’s birth dates back to over 30,000 years ago. And humans have been co-evolving it for more than 12,000 years now.
That sounds like a lot of time, doesn’t it? The point is, is it of any use? Are the Doctors prescribing cannabis to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) patients doing the right thing? Well, we will find that out. First let us see what happens to the human body when it inhales marijuana smoke.
What happens to your body when you inhale cannabis smoke?
You would’ve heard that there are two types of Marijuana. C. sativa and C. indica. Although, there are arguments relating to that, looking at the bigger picture, their effects are same to an extent.
What happens is when you burn the marijuana plant, it produces chemicals. These chemicals are called cannabinoids. And the most important of these chemicals are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
These chemicals are those which make you feel the way you feel after smoking weed. The feeling of a high comes in from the THC. Talking of cannabidiol, it is good for reducing pain and muscle spasticity. Also, it is known to make one feel more relaxed than normal. It attracts most attention for medical use of marijuana.
Some might say that CBD is good and THC is bad for it’s supposedly artificial ‘high’. The truth is, both of these add to each other’s value. Just that the researchers are trying to find out the perfect ratio of both these chemicals for using marijuana for medicinal purposes.
But why is it being prescribed by the Doctors?
Believe it or not, this is happening. PTSD is real and so is marijuana’s relaxing effect against it. Post-traumatic stress disorder is an illness which results in intense stress reactions after a trauma. This trauma can be due to extreme experiences such as war, combat, or assault.
The person suffering from PTSD at times has to deal with extremely stressful situations and anxiety. Talking of how bad it can get, it can cause a life-threatening illness. But how does marijuana help? And does it even help in the first place? Let us find out.
How does it work?
The fact of the matter is that your body already makes chemicals as those released from marijuana. It’s just that, when you smoke or consume weed in any prescribed way, those chemicals work better.
The function of these chemicals is to ease the pain and make you feel relaxed. Also, cannabis helps relax muscular pain.
How is it used/consumed?
Well you would even have seen people use marijuana. The usual way is by smoking it up along with a smoking bud. But then as it is a smoking bud, it might contain carcinogens (chemical compounds which can cause cancer).
For that reason it is advisable to use a pax vaporizer uk instead of a smoking bud (smoking as a joint). Also, the other ways of using medical marijuana are as follows:
By eating (usually in the form of cookies or candy)
Taking it as a liquid extract
That was enough about how it works and how it can be used. Not is the time to talk about why is it prescribed.
Why is it prescribed?
As mentioned in the sections above, smoking marijuana produces chemical compounds known as cannabinoids. THC and CBD interest the most out of these. The reason is their respective psychoactive and relieving effects.
Patients suffering from PTSD might feel very anxious and stressed out at times. This amount of stress is not generally bearable for the human body. Marijuana in limited quantities can help in acquiring relief in such situations. This is the reason why some doctors might prescribe smoking cannabis with a dry herb atomizer uk to some PTSD patients. The decision of allowing/prescribing depends on how stressed out they feel in extremely stressful conditions.
Final words
Smoking cannabis or smoking up as people generally label it might sound like a bad idea to many. For the sake of medicinal treatments, the doctors have started adding it to their prescriptions.
Along with THC and CBD giving the effect of high and general relief, some of the other cannabinoids may cure cancer and wipe out problems like bronchitis.
Caitlyn Bell is an Arts student whose experiences in life make her really tougher than anyone else. She can lend you expert tips on diverse topics ranging from relationship to fashion, making money, health and so on. Her write-ups are a window into her thoughts and knowledge.