Pain is a normal part of life. You experienced it as a child and occasionally into adulthood. However, it can become abnormal when it begins to take away from your quality of life. If you find it difficult to enjoy the things you used to because of pain, you might want to consider buying medical hemp flower.
According to a Pew Research study, nearly 43% of Americans currently live in a state where cannabis is legal. The question that remains unanswered is whether cannabis is a legitimate answer for the type of pain you are experiencing.
What is Cannabis?
Cannabis, which is more commonly known as marijuana, is a naturally occurring plant with psychoactive properties. In other words, smoking cannabis can produce the sensation of being “high” because of a compound called Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
However, there are more applications for cannabis than the effects of THC. For example, it can help relieve anxiety, depression and increase your appetite. Cancer patients and AIDS patients find comfort in consuming it because it can also relieve pain.
You can consume cannabis by smoking, vaping, ingesting, and through skin transmission. In recent years the consumption of marijuana has grown considerably. The popularity of Cannabis can be comprehended by the fact that since its debut in 2018, Massachusetts dispensaries and recreational cannabis stores sold over $1.5 billion of cannabis.
What’s the difference between cannabis and cannabinoids?
Throughout your body is an elegant endocannabinoid system that communicates with your central nervous system. When cannabis is introduced into your body, it sends substances that interact with your cannabinoid receptors. Read more about kanye west merch.
A cannabinoid is anything that binds and interacts with cannabinoid receptors in the brain. They can come from dried leaves of cannabis, hemp, synthetic, and medicinal cannabinoids.
The effects can range from euphoria, dry mouth, deep contemplation to more holistic ones. Two of the most common cannabinoids found within cannabis are THC and CBD or cannabidiol.
While THC is the psychoactive element found within cannabis, it’s helpful to realize THC is one of the hundreds found in it. One common misconception is that CBD oils, which have become very popular, contain no elements of THC.
While CBD may not make you high, it does come from the same place, and depending on purification processes, some oils may contain trace amounts of THC. This means the quality of CBD oil might look different depending on where you shop.
Try to remember that cannabinoids function a lot like opiates in that they can disrupt the regular flow of signals throughout the body. However, despite the word disruption, sometimes it is what’s needed to ease chronic pain.
For example, fibromyalgia is among the common conditions in which a hypersensitive brain can cause senseless pain. The use of cannabis can help ease the pain by binding with receptors that would otherwise communicate pain signals throughout the body.
Three Kinds of Cannabis
There are traditionally three distinct categories of cannabis. They are Sativas, Indicas, and Hybrids.
These three terms describe different species of cannabis. The term Sativa, which originates from Europe and Eurasia during the 18th century, described hemp plants.
Indica comes from India, which is commonly associated with the psychoactive and intoxicating varsities of cannabis. Today, Indica and Sativa help in categorizing the different types of cannabis.
For example, Sativa cannabis typically has long, narrow leaves. Smoking a Sativa is believed to be associated with higher energy levels and senses of euphoria.
On the other hand, Indica cannabis plants have broad, thick leaves. If you enjoy a high that is both calming and whole-bodied, an Indica may be what you desire.
However, there is also another class of cannabis known as a hybrid. These are typically genetically engineered to contain both Indica and Sativa strains. The effects of this can be twofold, combining both a calming and euphoric experience to better assist with pain management.
So, is cannabis the answer for pain?
The jury is still out when it comes to a consensus amongst researchers. However, research is continuing to show that cannabis can help relieve pain.
While it might not be a complete substitute for opiates, it may offer relief if you find the pain is taking away from your daily life.
So, while it may not be a miracle drug that cures your afflictions, it might help you reclaim your life, before the pain.
Andrea Parker is a reporter for Zobuz. She previously worked at Huffington Post and Vanity Fair. Andrea is based in NYC and covers issues affecting her city. In addition to her severe coffee addiction, she’s a Netflix enthusiast, a red wine drinker, and a voracious reader.
