The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread across the globe and left people terrified for their health and well-being. The early stages of the pandemic were anxiety-provoking, and isolating provoking, and has left mental health sufferers at risk.
In fact, according to a report on Healthline, experts agree that “the high level of stress associated with the pandemic is making people more vulnerable to depression and anxiety”. That being said, some experts are endorsing an alternative medicine that can be used as an effective treatment for a variety of psychiatric conditions: cannabis.
While many use cannabis recreationally, cannabis stigma remains.
What is a stigma and how does it relate to cannabis? A stigma is disapproval or discrimination against a particular person, place, or circumstance, in this case, cannabis. Yet, its healing properties and positive effects on the mind are hard to deny.
Cannabis Stigma Slightly Lessens During Pandemic
With a global pandemic and marijuana legislation loosening up in certain parts of the world, the cannabis stigma is lifting. In times of COVID, many people are choosing medical cannabis to treat mental illnesses such as depression, PTSD, and generalized anxiety at home. In fact, medical and recreational dispensaries in Canada are offering weed delivery services, making medicinal marijuana even more accessible. And what better time for cannabis to make an impact than during a global pandemic when anxiety is high, and people are looking for alternative ways to beat the blues.
So what are the main mental health benefits that come from medicinal cannabis use? Read on to get the high on the incredible healing properties of medical marijuana.
Cannabis Can Improve Your Brain Function
Stoners have been notoriously pegged for being lazy. It’s such a bad rep to have carried all these years. Luckily, as a glorious redemption, studies are now demonstrating that cannabis can actually improve brain function and fight off neurodegenerative diseases. A study highlighted in Medical Marijuana News observed the effects of THC on elderly mice after administering them small doses of the compound. The results were astonishing. The small THC dosing actually, “reversed the age-related decline in cognitive performance” in the elderly mice. In other words, small doses of THC could have the power to positively change our brain chemistry, helping with cognition, mental clarity, and reverse signs of aging.
Aside from revolutionary findings of weed’s anti-aging properties, there is also emerging evidence that cannabinoids in marijuana can help your brain grow. According to a report in Medical Jane, a recent study in Italy showed that “ a lesser-known chemical in marijuana, called cannabichromene (CBC), can boost the growth of developing brain cells”. As a result, these new brain cells help boost brain function and health.
So tell me, who wouldn’t want to jump in line for a chance at a bigger and more youthful brain?
Cannabis To Treat Depression
More and more studies are showing that cannabis can help improve mood and brain function. Now researchers are exploring whether medical cannabis could be used as an effective treatment for depression. Even more promising is that researchers believe that cannabis use could help with mood stabilization and depression caused by chronic stress. One study featured in Healthline and published by the University at Buffalo found that “introducing cannabis into the system (of an animal test group) may help restore normal levels and function” and therefore ease symptoms of depression.
Cannabis and the role it plays in reducing depression is still in the early stages of investigation. So far all the evidence points to the use of medical marijuana as an effective treatment against depression. Saying that, with isolation on the rise during a great pandemic, the use of marijuana could provide some relief for depressive-like symptoms experienced by people affected by depression.
Cannabis For Anxiety
If you are a long-term sufferer of anxiety you most likely understand the agony of having an anxiety-related disease. And did you know that anxiety has been coined as the world’s biggest mental health problem, according to the World Economic Forum, “with an estimated 275 million people suffering from anxiety disorders”. With that said, one can imagine how anxiety has skyrocketed around the world amidst a global pandemic. Because of this, many are using cannabis to help combat the most debilitating symptoms of anxiety.
So what anxiety symptoms do cannabis studies show to treat? Nervousness, chronic stress, agitation, and irritability. Moreover, some studies link cannabis to be an effective treatment for insomnia, PTSD related nightmares, delayed sleep phase disorder, as well as promoting the amount of time spent in stage 4 sleep.
The Verdict On Weed
Despite the overwhelming support and legalization of cannabis in some territories, cannabis stigma is real, and the negative backlash it receives has been going on for decades. For cannabis activists and long-time cannabis consumers, the verdict is clear: marijuana and its medicinal properties are a great way to improve mental health. Therefore, it’s time to lift the social stigma surrounding cannabis and focus on how it could be an alternative and potent solution for treating common mental afflictions around the world.
