4 ways cannabis is good for your brain — and may save your life
Current investigations are showing that marijuana extracts help to protect and benefit the human brain. Here are some ways scientists are revealing that marijuana actually helps to keep your brain safe from sickness, dementia and in some cases death
#4 – Cannabis promotes new brain cell growth
Government scare campaigns more times then not claim that cannabis kills brain cells, but now we are discovering the truth. Those studies in the ’70s were not given credit, by the use of strapping a gas mask on the mouth of a monkey and delivering hundreds of joints worth of marijuana smoke. The monkeys experienced lack of oxygen, and that was the cause of why their brain cells died.
Modern investigations are now showing the opposite. The main compounds in cannabis spur the development of new brain cells! Back in 2005, Dr. Xia Zhang at the University of Saskatchewan presented that cannabinoids cause “neurogenesis” – which is defined as they aid new braincell growth
“Most ‘drugs of abuse’ suppress neurogenesis,” stated Dr. Zhang. “Only marijuana promotes neurogenesis.”
Scientists in Brazil found more on this research, showing examples, in 2013 that CBD, another compound in cannabis, also causes new braincells to grow, Researchers in Italy then had the same conclusion with CBC, another “cannabinoid” found in marijuana resin.
Now there is no question that cannabinoids cause new brain cells to sprout up in the hippocampus. This helps explain prior investigations displaying that cannabinoids effectively help mood disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress – they are all in connection to a lack of adult neurogenesis.
#3 – Cannabis prevents Alzheimer’s
Close to 5 millions Americans are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. There could be light at the end of the tunnel. Modern analysis reveals that utilizing marijuana helps prevent the cause of Alzheimer’s and dementia by cleaning away beta-amyloid “brain plaque.” A study conducted about cannabis and Alzheimer’s was headed by Dr. Chuanhai Cao, PhD, a neuroscientist at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute. “THC is known to be a potent antioxidant with neuroprotective properties,” said Cao, explaining that THC “directly affects Alzheimer’s pathology by decreasing amyloid beta levels, inhibiting its aggregation, and enhancing mitochondrial function.”
This proved earlier research, for example research from 2008 which discovered that THC “simultaneously treated both the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.” This study relate was, “compared to currently approved drugs prescribed for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, THC is considerably superior.”
These investigations used very low levels of THC to find these answers – the levels you might find in a marijuana user that doesn’t smoke often. So where are the headlines displaying “Smoking Cannabis Prevents Alzheimer’s”?
#2 – Cannabis prevents brain damage after strokes and trauma
Multiple recent investigations have discovered that cannabinoids defend the brain from permanent damage after severe medical conditions. Research found in 2012 and 2013 showed that a low dose of THC give protection to mice’s brains from suffering by carbon monoxide and head injuries. Researchers show that THC “protected brain cells and preserved cognitive function over time” and influenced the idea that it could be used preventively, for ongoing defense.
Research in 2014 found that people with low amounts of THC in their body were near 80% less likely to die from major head trauma than those without. This last study is really quite phenomenal and should have been headline in the news. Scientist analyzed blood samples from hundreds of people who had suffered head trauma, and discovered that people with small amounts of cannabinoids in their system were 80% less likely to be killed from head injuries.
This means that in a group of occasional marijuana users and a group of abstainers who have similar brain injuries, the marijuana users will have only 2 deaths for every 10 suffered by the whodo not use marijuana. There are 52,000 fatalities every year from traumatic head injury in America. This investigation showed that if every adult American had a pull of marijuana once a week, 20% of those deaths would not occur – that’s close to 41,600 people that could be saved, every year. Still this hasn’t made front page news?
#1 – Cannabis extracts treat brain cancer
One interesting use of cannabinoids is in the aid of cancer treatment. Repeated laboratory and animal research have discovered that cannabinoids eliminate cancer cells and shrink the size of tumors, while aiding to defend normal cells. New information involves a 2012 study displaying that CBD blocked metastasis in aggressive forms of cancer, a 2013 investigation showing that a mix of six cannabinoids eliminated leukemia cell, and a 2014 study revealing that THC and CBD could be mixed with traditional chemotherapy to produce “dramatic reductions” in brain tumour size.
Using marijuana extracts for brain cancer is nothing that hasn’t been known to the medical world. Research in 1998, found that THC “induces apoptosis [cell death] in C6 glioma cells” – an aggressive type of brain cancer. A 2009 study dave details stating that THC acted “to kill cancer cells, while it does not affect normal cells” in the brain. The medical advantages of cannabis and cannabinoids are infinite, and we are in a day and age where everyone is allowed full access to this wonderful healing plant. You never know? One day maybe we will even get to use outdoor-grown cannabis to develop vast quantities of pure, cost efficient cannabinoids for the millions of people across the nation who need them.
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