Next time someone thinks poorly about Cannabis or Medical Marijuana, show them this!!

[MacDawg347]

I used to be one of those people back in high school who made fun of others who smoked weed, until one day I got into an argument about Cannabis and cancer. Obviously I laughed hysterically and tried to say that the kid was crazy, but since I'd always been a science orientated person I didn't want to continue an argument without either A) proving him wrong the RIGHT way (through direct research) or B) find out the truth... now there was no way in hell I thought I would find dozens upon dozens of articles that actually DID state very clearly that cannabinoids did indeed kill cancer! And not only that but quite efficiently!! Through cell apoptosis and much more! -And if you aren't familiar with that, it basically means that cannabinoids cause cancer cells to literally EAT THEMSELVES to death... and it does all that without harming your healthy cells! Now if that isn't impressive, I'm not sure what is!!

Anyways, after that debate and another 5 hours of calculus homework (I was a senior then), I decided to see what else is up with this plant that I once was told was terribly bad for you, and absolutely caused cancer and many many other health problems!

Little did I know this would spark a chain reaction for a 3 year+ full out, constant obsession to know more, study after study, top to bottom, dictionary handy!

Now let's fast forward to now, I've read so much, I've tried cannabis a few times, but only will use it for medical reasons now a days (I've also never drank alcohol and yes I'm of age, I'm just not the party/ let's get intoxicated type, that's all) I have little interest in indulging in 90% of cannabis, but I do look out for high CBD strains (they have much more powerful medicinal effects without the lethargy or over stimulation that THC can give(these strains leave your head clear with little to no head high at all), also they can actually have a memory boosting effect and they seem to enhance focus at the same time, all with a subtle but effective body buzz) Not too much has really changed since then, I'm in school for Computer Engineering, school work is my life but for the most part things go pretty good, but now a days when I hear someone say something negative about cannabis, disapproval and skepticism; looking down on people who find great relief from Medical Marijuana, absolutely every claim they state sounds like a joke. If I were to be asked to reclassify cannabis from a schedule 1 dangerous controlled substance, I would immediately tell you that it deserves to be considered nothing less than a straight up health supplement, unless you're sensitive to high THC, though even that isn't a problem, you just need a higher CBD to THC ratio, -try high CBD strains like Harlequin mixed WITH high THC strains if you get anxiety from cannabis, that and a good setting should help you immensely.



NOW, HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN SHOW FAMILY, FRIENDS, ANYONE WHO IS SKEPTICAL, THIS IS ALL SCIENCE:


LIES: Cannabis damages the brain.
TRUTH: Cannabinoids are actually EXTREMELY powerful antioxidants, far more powerful than the current most famous antioxidants that receive so much praise and recommendation and are currently among the most effective chemicals (many scientists consider it the single MOST effective thus far) to slow, stop or even potentially reverse degenerative diseases such as dementia and alzheimer's; they have even been shown to stop and prevent alcohol-induced brain damage and degeneration.

LIES: Cannabis use kills brain cells.
TRUTH: Cannabis is currently the only drug that has been shown to actually spur the growth of NEW brain cells! And this is not just an assumption, it is now very thoroughly demonstrated!

LIES: Cannabis causes memory problems.
TRUTH: Cannabinoids have actually recently been shown to BOOST memory over time, lab rats may have had an acute, temporary short term memory deficit but over time their short and long term memory had actually improved significantly better than the control group (non medicated rats) allowing them to recall more clearly and learn quicker!

LIES: Cannabis is harmful to the immune system.
TRUTH: Cannabis is actually now considered an immune system booster, as it helps modulate the immune system. Cannabis has actually been shown to stop the immune system from going out of whack when it doesn't need to be. A good example of this is in patients with AIDS and HIV, this is basically their immune system thinking that it needs to be fighting something (itself) and becomes very overactive, cannabis has been shown to be very effective at stopping the immune system from doing this and not only that but it can eliminate the ability of the virus to spread and mutate, which is a very important thing. Also, not only this but many people who are regular cannabis users or Medical Marijuana patients report getting sick much less, this is actually because cannabinoids have a lot of antimicrobial, antibacterial and even antiviral properties!

LIES: Cannabis harms lung function and decreases lung capacity.
TRUTH: Over 5,000 people were involved in two decade study to determine the effects of smoking Cannabis and Tobacco. As it turns out smoking tobacco is very harmful to lung function and takes nearly no time at all for this to occur; though on the contrary, smoking cannabis regularly (not "heavily" but regularly -up to the equivalent of a "joint a day for 7 years") actually had no ill effects on lung function and even IMPROVED lung capacity! This is for a few reasons, one being that although cannabis has more tar than other plants when burnt, it is smoked usually by only taking a few hits instead of fully smoking dozens upon dozens of cigarettes per day(average tobacco users), and also most importantly, though smoke is always harmful to your lungs, cannabinoids (that are deeply inhaled) are considered bronchodilators and actually relax your lungs to allow for more oxygen to pass into your blood.

LIES: Cannabis is isn't medicine, medicine isn't something you smoke.
TRUTH: Though cannabis in regular/moderate use does not actually harm lung function, smoke is and will always be harmful to inhale and I never would recommend smoking anything BUT, there are many ways around this that are nearly excuse-less if you are a regular user whether it be medicinal or recreational. VAPORIZATION is an incredibly effective method of consuming cannabis without smoke, studies show it can eliminate nearly 100% of carcinogens since the plant matter is heated BELOW COMBUSTION, this is the absolute only true negative to cannabis and not only does smoking (light to moderate use) apparently cause little harm, but there is a complete alternative and not only that but there are slim portable vaporizers that can be charged and fit in your pocket! Not only do vaporizers virtually eliminate the harm of smoking cannabis, but they also conserve your stash, and you will be spending less on your bud or medicine! Always very well worth the investment, if you try one you won't go back!

LIES: Cannabis will make you crazy and even cause schizophrenia or anxiety.
TRUTH: The chemical CBD, which is the second most predominant chemical in cannabis, is actually potentially MORE effective than our leading atypical antipsychotics with absolutely no side effects or high. Cannabidiol (CBD) is extremely effective as an anxiolytic compound (anti anxiety) and can far counteract the potential anxiety inducing effects of strains high in THC for most people (others who are sensitive to the stimulation effects of THC will require more CBD to cancel out this effect IF it occurs)

LIES: Cannabis is addictive and will cause dependence.
TRUTH: Study after study has shown that long use of cannabis does not cause dependence and is it is not considered an addictive substance unlike the near majority of pharmaceutical drugs doctors readily prescribe everyday

LIES: Cannabis use can cause insomnia and depression.
TRUTH: Cannabis sativa(stimulative) AND cannabis indica(relaxing, sedative) BOTH aid sleep and are incredibly effective to actually treat insomnia, and do not show signs of dependance after prolonged use. Not only that but BOTH main component of marijuana, THC and CBD have marked antidepressant effects (more effective at lower doses, for depression always stay at lower doses because the effectiveness as an antidepressant decreases as the dosage is increased).

LIES: Cannabis is a gateway drug.
TRUTH: Cannabis is in no way a gateway drug and I sincerely hope people don't still think this now a days because this is by far the stupidest of all the myths... The only reason it can seem like a gateway drug is because people who are naturally inclined to do drugs and experiment with drugs just happen to start with cannabis because of how safe and widely used it is, and it's not hard to come by even though it's illegal. The only way cannabis could remotely become a gateway drug for some people is because kids are told that Marijuana is very terrible and is a very dangerous drug that they need to stay away from, and after all those lies, when they finally DO happen to try it, they remember everything they were told and how none of it was true and because of that (if they were stupid enough to try smoking marijuana after only knowing what they heard from the government and their parents) they will assume that other drugs are just like that, and are no where near what people say about them and they will try them and potentially ruin or severely and negatively alter their lives. Though that would never even be possible if it wasn't for previous government sponsored lies and poor parenting, it's that that actually allowed for the potential to turn a non-gateway drug into a gateway drug, yet again completely irrelevant from cannabis itself.

LIES: Cannabis makes you lazy and unproductive.
TRUTH: Cannabis has two major types, these being indica and sativa; if the strain is high in THC (nearly 100% of strains now a days, excluding high CBD strains like Harlequin, Cannatonic, Omrita, Sour Tsunami, ect ect) indicas will give more a sedative and relaxing impairing stoney high and a sativa will actually give an energetic euphoric, motivating, focused and sometimes giggly type of high. The only reason smoking cannabis indica can give you a "tired" "lazy" feeling after returning sober is actually not from cannabinoids at all, it is actually from the carbon monoxide in the smoke and that can be resolved by vaporizing. Since sativa strains have an uplifting and stimulating effect, that "burn out" feeling from the carbon monoxide is actually masked. Studies have shown that light to moderate cannabis indica use does not cause lethargy in the long term. The only true way people become lazy is through their own lifestyle choices and personalities, and cannabis has been shown to not change or have any remote effect on people's personalities, the only exception is they may be slightly happier and less apt to get frustrated quite as quickly since cannabis relaxes the body, relieves tension and reduces blood pressure.

LIES: Medical Marijuana is just a front for legal pot. Surely it can help with a couple things, but it doesn't do a lot for people, they just want to get high.
TRUTH: After less than a tenth of the research that's been conducted, cannabis is EASILY the absolute most valuable plant medicine ever discovered. The amount of conditions and diseases that cannabis can help with is truly amazing. Since there are multiple types of cannabis with all sorts of varying ratios of cannabinoids (and many more to come) and since the endocannabinoid system completely regulates the body and keeps it in balance, there is almost an endless amount of problems cannabinoids can help with. Here are a few more common ones: Migraines, headaches, acute or chronic pain, muscle tightness, mild to severe muscle spams, autoimmune disorders, lethargy, depression, anxiety, insomnia, mood disorders, psychosis, abnormal or negative/suicidal thoughts, degenerative diseases such as alzheimer's and dementia, severe nausea, epilepsy and SO many more.

LIES: Medical Marijuana cannot be used to treat conditions effectively without getting high
TRUTH: There are multiple ways of using Medical Marijuana with little to no psychoactive effects, as most people know the psychoactive effects of cannabis are usually something people do NOT have a problem with, but for those of you who are not so keen on being high all the time or absolutely need to be as sober as possible, there are definitely solutions to this. The best solution I know of if you need fast relief from a condition that sporadically gets worse is to have a portable vaporizer on hand with some high CBD cannabis(I.e. Harlequin, Cannatonic, Omrita), CBD has no psychoactive effects at all and counteracts the psychoactive effects of THC itself, and not only that but CBD is actually potentially MORE effective medicinally for an even greater amount of conditions. Strains like these can have little to no high at all, since the CBD content usually exceeds the THC content(normal Medical Marijuana usually is around 30:1 for it's THC to CBD ratio oppose to high CBD strains being 1:2 or even 1:10, THC:CBD) Also other methods that people have found to be very effective (if not more effective) are juicing raw cannabis and making oil concentrates (RSO, PTO) and taking a minuscule amount of oil daily to stay below psychoactive levels.



These are just a FEW things that came to my mind when writing this, I did not really brainstorm too much or anything, I just thought it would be cool to post this for anyone (mainly) who struggles with disrespect and disapproval for using a plant that is PURELY antioxidants with invaluable medical benefit for those in need, this is something I want to share with the people who find relief from their symptoms and conditions they struggle with that other pharmaceuticals could not offer in the way something so natural and native to our systems like cannabis can.

Thank you all for reading!

Peace!


-Md



SOURCES:


Antioxidant properties:

Cannabidiol and (−)Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol are neuroprotective antioxidants

Alzheimerâ??s prevention; halting disease progression: Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology by Cannabinoids: Neuroprotection Mediated by Blockade of Microglial Activation

Halting Mad Cow disease: Pot Compound Protective Against

Promotes growth of new neurons:

JCI - Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects

Memory effects not permanent, and strains higher in CBD have no impairment due to stopping negative effects of THC and causing a memory boosting effect:

http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/197/4/285.full.pdf

Cannabinoid receptor stimulation is anti-inf... [Neurobiol Aging. 2008] - PubMed - NCBI

Evidence actually suggests that marijuana does indeed make you a better gamer(LOL): Does marijuana make you a better gamer? | Technically Incorrect - CNET News


Does not harm lung function:

Moderate Marijuana Use Does Not Impair Lung Function, Study Finds - NYTimes.com
Bronchodilation effects: Characterization of the effects of cannabinoids on guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle tone: role in the modulation of acetylcholine release from parasympathetic nerves

Protects against immune system problems:

Cannabinoid-induced apoptosis in immune cells as a pathway to immunosuppression

Magnitude of stimulation dictates the cannabin... [J Leukoc Biol. 2012] - PubMed - NCBI

Anti-psychotic effects of Cannabidiol:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store...3yotq&a94c081b

Medical use of cannabis. Cannabidiol: a new l... [Drug Test Anal. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI

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Study: Pot May Improve Cognitive Functioning in Bipolar Disorder - Lindsay Abrams - The Atlantic


Cancer treatment and Addiction potential(addiction potential is hard to find, it's talked about in MOST studies and is always considered nearly non existent all together):
Box2 : Cannabinoids: potential anticancer agents : Nature Reviews Cancer

Cannabis is as an antidepressant:

Antidepressant-like effects of cannabidiol in... [Br J Pharmacol. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

JCI - Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects

Cannabidiol is an Excellent Antidepressant


Cannabis for insomnia:

Most importantly, testimonials: Marijuana and sleep - Grasscity.com Forums

Effect of cannabidiol on sleep disruption ... [Neuropharmacology. 2012] - PubMed - NCBI

Inhaled Cannabis Reduces Pain, Improves Sleep In Patients With Neuropathy, Study Says



Cannabis is actually pretty interesting, huh?

MacDawg347 Reviewed by MacDawg347 on 04-04-2013. Next time someone thinks poorly about Cannabis or Medical Marijuana, show them this!! I used to be one of those people back in high school who made fun of others who smoked weed, until one day I got into an argument about Cannabis and cancer. Obviously I laughed hysterically and tried to say that the kid was crazy, but since I'd always been a science orientated person I didn't want to continue an argument without either A) proving him wrong the RIGHT way (through direct research) or B) find out the truth... now there was no way in hell I thought I would find dozens upon dozens Rating: 5

[MacDawg347]

Just because it'd be funny to hear people's reactions after learning all of this if they were against cannabis, post em if you happen to show this to anyone! LOL :thumbsup:

[High-and-Seek]

Good job man!!! This needs to be at the top of Google results when searching for the truth on pot.

[HydroBro]

Your Honor, I am just doing it for my health.... It may work. :smokin:

My entire young life I was so dead set against MJ. I am glad I was wrong though. It let me grow up differently.

Great post man. I enjoy finding truth and not speculation.

[nascarmike]

[align=left][/align]thanks for the post. It's nice to know that there is tons of research to be found if your willing to put in the time.

[iworshipdirt]

showed your post to my hubby who is as straight-laced as they come. he's never smoked anything or taken any meds not prescribed for him and is very much a science nerd (i use the word "nerd" with all due respect!) now he has taken an interest in the benefits of marijuana and although he won't use it, is more accepting of my claims that it relieves my pain better than the crap the pharmacies push. thanks for your research!

[MacDawg347]

I'm huge on math and science, engineering, all things of the like and I can't stand it when people spread false information haha. And with cannabis, where it can help so many people so much, it's a terrible thing that people don't know truth, people just go from whatever they've heard people try to tell them and most of the time (since it's illegal...) it's all negative speculation. Therefore I decided to make this to hopefully spread the AMAZING and AWESOME things that science has shown us.

If it wasn't for politics, this would be all over the news literally day after day with every new discovery, I'm astounded every time I read something new about this plant!

Thanks everyone!

[firstaid]

Ill tell you another thing too let the anorexics use it they will damn sure eat then..

[Smokeyjoetravel]

Great read. I love that you took the time to do your research instead of criticizing and looking down on those so called stoners. Ill make sure to bookmark this for future debates with the non believers. Thanks!

[buzzy1959]

Thank you for sharing. I printed it up for my oncology doctor to see. She is very much against medical marijuana.