By now, you must have heard something about marijuana for pain relief. The strain is full of tons of health benefits and advantages that can help almost everyone get better.
Moreover, before you purchase marijuana, it is essential to learn more about how it works, its benefits, and some risks. So, if you are looking to turn to medical marijuana to ease your pain, make sure to keep reading to learn more about its benefits and what are some things that you need to be careful of in the future.
What is Medical Marijuana?
Medical marijuana is what you probably already know as the regular marijuana plant. In addition, chemicals explicitly serve to treat diseases or conditions. So, it is pretty much the same product as recreational marijuana but used for medical purposes.
These medical effects are possible because the marijuana plant has over a hundred different chemicals. People know these chemicals as cannabinoids. Each cannabinoid has a unique and different effect on the body. For example, some cannabinoids such as Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the main chemicals present in the medicine.
How Does Marijuana Work for Pain Relief?
Marijuana, or cannabis, has particular compounds that can reduce pain and nausea and help with many other symptoms. Most studies focus on the pain relief abilities caused by cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
What Research Study Shows
There have been many studies done in the past few years to analyze the effects of marijuana on pain. On the one hand, certain studies used only some parts of the marijuana plant. That allows them to focus on the specific actions of the ingredient in that particular part.
Moreover, on the other hand, some studies have analyzed the entirety of the marijuana plant as a whole. When this happens, we must continue to investigate due to the entourage effect. It is what happens when all the parts work together to have more effect.
A 2015 review on using marijuana and cannabinoids to relieve chronic pain conditions has had excellent positive results. Scientists seem to insinuate that marijuana and cannabinoids are, in fact, effective in nursing some chronic pains, especially neuropathy, which people also know as nerve pain.
Not only this but another research paper was published in 2016. This paper found that using marijuana in cancer patients to reduce pain has had incredible results. It led to a 64% reduction in opioid use, improving quality of life and causing fewer side effects from medications. Plus, it allowed patients to have to take fewer medications.
In fact, of about 17,000 people with cancer, 70 percent improved in pain and overall well-being after using medical marijuana for pain.
In addition, there is still a lot of research missing to learn more about how marijuana works for pain. That includes things such as how different dosages work, the effects of different strains, and delivery methods.
Ways to Use Medical Marijuana for Pain Relief
There are many ways medical marijuana serves to relieve pain, most of which we list below:
- Smoking cannabis
- Inhale it through a vaporizer that turns it into a mist
- Consuming marijuana in the form of edibles
- Using CBD or THC oils
- Using topicals such as creams and balms
What Type of Pains Are Treated by Medical Marijuana?
Medical marijuana is not potent enough to deal with severe pain, like a broken bone. Medical marijuana is excellent for easing the pain of multiple sclerosis and nerve pain in general. Moreover, it is very effective when dealing with other types of chronic pain. Not only this, but also specialists say that marijuana for pain is a fantastic muscle relaxant.
There have been several users and patients that have talked about its benefits. Many of them mentioned medical marijuana’s ability to lessen tremors in pretty severe diseases like Parkinson’s disease. It has also worked wonders in diseases like endometriosis, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, and many additional conditions where the standard route is chronic pain.
To add, patients use marijuana also significantly when it comes to PTSD, a post-traumatic stress disorder. It presents itself in many veterans, many of whom have claimed marijuana has helped them improve significantly. In addition, medical marijuana for pain has also been used to treat pain associated with HIV, irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn’s disease.
Other Health Benefits of Marijuana
Not only is marijuana for pain excellent for dealing with chronic pain, but it is filled with other great health benefits. Most of these can be found listed below:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Sleeping disorders
- Eating disorders such as anorexia stimulate hunger
- Epilepsy
- Glaucoma
- Mental health conditions like schizophrenia
- Migraines
- Depression
- Muscle spasms
- Seizures
- Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
- Wasting syndrome (cachexia)
- Reduces anxiety
- Reduces inflammation
- It helps control nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy
- It kills cancer cells and slow tumor growth
- Relaxes tight muscles in people with multiple sclerosis.
Side Effects of Marijuana for Back Pain
Just as marijuana has numerous health benefits and advantages, it can have a lot of side effects as well, such as:
- Eye redness. That can be treated by using eye drops.
- Temporary loss of memory, which will go away as the treatment wears off.
- Heightened sensory perception, impacting a patient’s sight, hearing, sense of taste, and smell.
- Fatigue, which can be balanced with the use of low THC strains.
How Can You Get Medical Marijuana for Your Pain?
You may be interested in acquiring marijuana to help deal with any pain you may be experiencing. If this is the case, the first thing you need to do is talk to a doctor or health professional. You can then discuss whether this is the best thing for you to take or not. If they agree with you, they will prescribe you the amount you must take and show you stores near you where it can be purchased.
Best Medical Marijuana Strains for Pain Relief
You can check out the best marijuana strains for relieving pain below:
- Sour Diesel
- White Widow
- Blueberry
- ACDC
- Northern Lights
- Harlequin
- Master Kush
- Afghan Kush
- Cataract Kush
Conclusion
Medical marijuana is one of the best things you can take for dealing with chronic pain. It is full of multiple health benefits and can seriously help you deal with any health issues you may have. Moreover, it is essential to always check with a doctor whether this is the best path to take when relieving your pain.
Not only this, but you should check your state’s laws and regulations before purchasing marijuana to make sure it is legal to do so. So, if the strain is legal in your state and you have gotten the go-ahead from your doctor, you are ready to go. You will now be able to experience all of the advantages marijuana for pain has to offer and finally put an end to that pain.
