How Does Cannabis Affect the Body?

Cannabis is a fairly old plant that comes from Cannabis Sativa L. and has miraculous medical qualities as well as recreational benefits. This plant is commonly grown, harvested, prepared, and sold to dispensaries in legal countries and territories around the world.

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people in Africa and the rest of the world that cannot enjoy the benefits of cannabis due to legal constraints. Most of the fear behind cannabis and ingesting it is getting “high”, but this is not the only reason cannabis is useful. It also can affect the body in multitudes of ways. How does cannabis affect the body?

Cannabis has a lot of beneficial effects on the body and works by affecting the endocannabinoid receptors in the human brain. Most cannabis plants have chemical compounds including terpenes and terpenoids that have the greatest effect on the body when combined with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is the compound responsible for creating the psychoactive effects in the central nervous system. The effects felt from cannabis on the body can almost be felt immediately including relief of pain, inflammation, and nausea.

How Cannabis Works

Cannabis, or marijuana, can be smoked, eaten, or applied as a topical use cream or lotion. Marijuana is typically rolled up and smoked or extracted into concentrates. The concentrates can then be heated at high temperature with a vaporizer and inhaled or added to baked products like cookies, brownies, or candies and gummy-textured supplements and eaten.

Smoking or Consuming by Mouth

Cannabis affects the body almost immediately when it is smoked. THC is quickly carried through the lungs to the heart and then through the blood-brain barrier within seconds to minutes after smoking. Edible products that contain cannabis usually take longer to kick in because they have to be absorbed through the digestive system. This can take forty-five minutes to an hour longer than smoking to feel bodily effects

Endocannabinoid Receptors

THC and its chemical counterparts meet with the endocannabinoid receptors in the human brain. They provide a quick release of the chemical dopamine that provides the overall “feel good” sensation that many use cannabis products for. The “feel good” sensation is not the only benefit, as the chemical components of cannabis go to work in the body as well.

Cannabinoids affect the central nervous system resulting in relief from problems like nausea, pain, anxiety, and tightness in muscles. People who suffer from seizures can benefit greatly from cannabis because it dampens the neuron impulses that cause seizing activity. Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is usually used to treat most medical conditions including seizures and chronic pain, in order to help the person avoid the “high” that can interfere with tasks like driving, cooking, working, or just plainly existing.

CBD oil contains little to no THC and will not inhibit a person mentally in any way. It is reported that CBD does offer relief from anxiety and depression in some cases, but doesn’t provide the stimulation in the brain of being euphorically “high”.

The benefits of cannabis are not felt all in the mind, although anxiety and depression are readily treated with medical cannabis. Starting with the mind, though, makes way for improvement in the body, and the relaxing effect of most cannabis strains helps to relax the body. When the body is at its relaxed or resting state, it can readily repair and heal itself. The compounds in cannabis pair with this need for relaxation and less stress, providing a great place for the rest of the beneficial physical effects to start taking hold.

Fighting Cancer

There are tons of cancer fighting compounds found in cannabis plants. These compounds can slow cancerous tumour growths, and can almost annihilate cancer by prohibiting any further growth and then “turn off” the cancer cells to deactivate them. Although there is no cure for cancer yet, cannabis can be of great help to someone who has developed cancer.

Whether by halting tumour growth, or providing much-needed pain and nausea relief from chemotherapy treatments, cannabis is a great medical tool that should be utilized for every patient who wants to try it world-wide. A lot of people in the United States have migrated to legal states where they can seek medical treatment devoid of unnecessary pharmacological interventions.

The Stigma of Reefer Madness

Most of the literature available on the surface of the internet provided by government funded health organizations (at least in the United States) heavily tout against cannabis products, citing problems with health and mental stability that can occur when used recreationally.

It seems that, unfortunately, despite the wide amount of medical and scientific research and literature out there, the stigma around Reefer madness still continues today. Where there are warnings about the use of cannabis recreationally, there are even more confusing articles involving the medical studies and benefits of marijuana that contradict the same warnings. Of course, everything is best in moderation.

Conclusion

Cannabis affects the body with compounds that target the human brain’s endocannabinoid receptors. This releases dopamine and affects the central nervous system affecting multiple pathways in the body. Terpenes and terpenoids combine with cannabinoids to create soothing and long-lasting effects on the body.

Because cannabinoids target the central nervous system and bloodstream, they offer relief from medical issues like glaucoma, nausea, and chronic pain. The chemical components of cannabis offer these benefits regardless of the way it is consumed. However, some methods of ingestion will exhibit the beneficial effects much sooner than others. People have been known to smoke and eat cannabis. It can also be applied as a topical cream to soothe aches and joint pains.

Although the stigma of using cannabis remains, it cannot be denied any longer that cannabis use can benefit and affect the body in great ways. This includes inhibiting the growth of cancers and tumours, easing chronic pains unaffected by most over-the-counter painkillers, and offering mental ease and respite. Physically, the effects of cannabis can help to ease pain, inflammation, and nausea associated with most chronic or debilitating illnesses.