Is Marijuana Good For You Or Are There Health Risks?

Before we get into the heart of the article, let me say that there have not been a lot of studies done on marijuana and its benefits and risks. The problem is that in the US it is still not legal on the Federal level so there is not much funding being done on the studies needed to be sure to a high degree about what marijuana has to offer and what the risks are for certain people.

Oddly, marijuana has been used for millennia and its benefits seem to be very well understood at least in a folk medicine sense. People have been using it for many different types of ailments over the centuries so we do have anecdotal evidence that it does work.

But, there are of course risks to using any type of medicine even if it is an herb and all natural. In this article, we will go over what we know about marijuana and if it is a good thing overall for you to be using.

Concentration

Many artistic and creative people love to take a hit on their heady glass and then get to work as they feel it helps their creativity come through. Some college students claim that they are able to study more effectively as it helps them concentrate more effectively.

While nobody can say that an artist isn’t more creative when they take marijuana, we do know that it has a negative effect on concentration. When you are on marijuana, for at least the first three hours, it hurts your concentration and even memory. Luckily, it is not a long term effect and even heavy marjuana users don’t suffer from memory loss or lack of concentration when they aren’t using it.

If you have concentration issues, then using marijuana when you need to focus is probably not going to be a good idea. If you are looking to get the creative juices flowing then this could be the ticket and worth trying.

This advice goes for adults, of course. There is a lot of evidence that teens can end up with long term issues with learning impairment and memory loss. This is because the brain is still developing and the use of marijuana can take its toll on a young person.

Great pain killer

One of the reasons the opioid epidemic was able to take hold of large portions of the US is because some people that had pain didn’t actually need to use an opioid. They easily could have been prescribed marijuana and gotten many of the same pain relief benefits. And, it is not addictive so much of the drug problem could have been avoided.

If you have chronic pain in the joints from an old sports injury or even some ailments like arthritis you can treat it with marijuana without any risk or affliction or many side effects to speak of.

It does depend on the level of pain, however. For instance, if you had surgery for a broken bone, then this is not likely to give you much relief. Likewise a car accident or something serious like that will be too much pain for marijuana to handle.

Basically, when taking ibuprofen is not going to do the trick then marijuana will likely handle it well.

Respiratory problems

Whenever you are combusting a material and then inhaling the smoke, you are putting yourself at risk of some respiratory problems. Even though marijuana is more natural than cigarette tobacco with all of its additives, it still is not exactly healthy.

Long term smokers report problems like chronic bronchitis and frequent lung infections.

Luckily, there are other ways to consume marjuana without needing to smoke it at all. You can now vape concentrates of marijuana or even eat edibles that contain THC, the main compound that gives you the psychotropic effect.

This way you can avoid respiratory problems and still get many of the benefits of the marijuana. However, these other methods of consuming it may not give you the potent effect so you may need to take more than if you smoke it.

Of course, more research is needed when it comes to vaping as to what the risks are there. It’s still very new and not enough research has been done to determine if this is a healthier way to go. It does seem that even with any potential risk that it is still better than smoking it, however.

Good stress reducer

Just like sitting back at the end of the day with a glass of wine can relax you and help you beat stress, having a quick toke of marjuana can also help.

It is used as a way for people to just relax and not get worked up over life’s big problems. It shouldn’t be a crutch to avoid problems, either. Yet, when you are having a tough day it can be a great way to relax the mind and even the muscles as it does tend to loosen you up all over.

In fact, it can help you get better sleep if your stress is keeping you up at night. Since it relaxes your body as well as your mind, people report that consuming marijuana a couple of hours before bedtime helps them get rest without taking sleeping pills. Taking it too close to bedtime may have the opposite effect, however.

These factors are also highly dependent on the person. Some people end up feeling hyper or, even paranoid after consuming marijuana so your results may vary.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that marijuana is not for everybody. And if it is illegal where you live then it is better to not risk trouble by taking it. However, if you feel like you could benefit from it and it is legal where you live then it is definitely worth a try. Since it is not an addictive drug like an opioid then there is little risk of any problems being caused by taking it a couple of times to see how it affects you.