20 Health Benefits of Cannabis for Physical and Emotional Well-Being

Smoking cannabis isn’t just for recreational purposes. It has equally beneficial impacts on your physical and emotional health. From being available in tea form to supplements and extract, the use of cannabis has grown at an exponential rate. 

The active ingredient in the cannabis strains, CBD and THC, have prominent effects in not just improving overall physical health, it has equally promising impacts on one’s emotional well-being.

While CBD impacts the nervous system and brain functions more, THC helps in alleviating discomfort, pain and inflammation in the body.

However, the health benefits of cannabis are quite diverse and this guide will walk you through each of them in detail.

1. Alleviates chronic pain

Struggling with chronic pain is discomfort no one wants to bear throughout their life. However, thanks to the cannabinoids in the cannabis plants, they directly affect the areas when the chronic pain is maximum and suppresses that pain over time.

The advent and popularity of medical marijuana stem from its importance in alleviating the complaints of chronic pain in patients. 

Supplements and extracts with a CBD rich composition have potent benefits in reducing the pain over time in the patients.

2. Promotes weight loss

As weird as it sounds, cannabis has direct impacts in promoting active weight loss in patients. Besides reducing appetite to an extent, cannabis also has a direct connection with insulin regulation and formation in the body. This significantly reduces insulin-resistance enabled weight gain, thereby contributing to a fitter body.

As the insulin levels are regulated, it also reduces the calorie intake in the individual, reducing the risks and complaints of overeating that many complain about.

3. Improves the lung capacity

There’s a difference between smoking cigarettes and smoking cannabis. Unlike cigarettes that have nicotine in them, cannabis has active chemical compounds like CBD and THC, both of which don’t impose ill effects on the lungs.

Studies have found that smoking cannabis sparingly has beneficial impacts in improving a person’s lung capacity. These require a detailed and more comprehensive scientific analysis for a better conclusion.

4. Might prevent cancer

Although the studies are pretty inconclusive about the correlation between cannabis and the prevention of cancer, there are a few studies that highlight the positive link between the two. The active ingredients in cannabis, which are cannabinoids, have positive impacts in preventing the risks of developing carcinogens in the body. 

These cannabinoids have antioxidative properties, which alleviate the risks of oxidative stress in the body, thereby reducing the risks of cancer in the smoker. However, this, as we said before, needs more conclusive studies to ascertain a solid link.

5. Regulates Diabetes

If you are diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes and want a more holistic way to regulate your blood sugar levels, the use of cannabis can help. As we said before, cannabis supplementation is linked with optimal insulin levels regulation in the bloodstream.

So, patients with type-2 diabetes or individuals who are prediabetic due to insulin resistance have heightened benefits with cannabis. Keep in mind that this falls under the usage of medical marijuana, which should be prescribed by a consulting physician only.

6. Improves signs of autism

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the child’s normal development rate. However, besides the mental development, autistic individuals are subject to throwing anger tantrums and have other frustrations that reflect physically and put them at risk of danger and physical hurt.

Cannabis has potent benefits in soothing impacts on such people. It has mood regulatory benefits too, which helps in keeping autistic individuals in a happy and calm mood. If you have an autistic child that has very rough mood swings, medical marijuana extracts can help.

7. Fights depression

As we said before, cannabis doesn’t improve physical well-being but has equally promising impacts on the mental well-being of an individual. The most prominent benefit is with alleviating symptoms of depression in individuals struggling with it.

The cannabinoids have nerve suppressing properties, which calms down the person, reduces stress and allows them to compose and process their emotions more healthily. The endocannabinoid compounds in cannabis have mood-regulating properties, which helps in a way too.

8. Reduces risks of seizures

From epilepsy to rare conditions like Moya Moya, cannabis extracts have amazing benefits in reducing the onset of life-threatening seizures in them. There are potential benefits of cannabis in treating epilepsy, which is a severe chronic condition that causes seizures in the affected patients.

More studies are needed to find the correlation and link between the onset of the seizures and how cannabis helps in regulating the future onset of the seizures. However, current yet limited scientific studies show a positive correlation between the two.

9. Help tackle ADHD/ADD symptoms

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a very common neurological disorder that makes it difficult for people to focus on their available tasks at hand. It is a neurodivergent condition and affects a lot more people than you know or assume.

People struggling with ADHD have issues with their cognitive efficiency and also have a hard time concentrating on a single task at hand. Cannabis has potent impacts in calming down the overdrive of sensory neurons and reducing the lack of focus and concentration in individuals. It is a lot safer alternative than most of the other medications.

10. Helps with mending bones

Would you believe that if you have broken bones or even a sprain or crack, cannabis can effectively help with the recovery? Sounds like a hoax, right? Well, studies from researchers at Tel Aviv say otherwise. According to the study, the active compound in cannabis, cannabidiol has potent impacts in supporting quicker healing of the bones. 

Besides quicker healing and mending of the bones, cannabis also strengthens the bone structure to prevent further risks of damage and cracks in the future. It also ensures to reduce the risks of breaking a bone in the future.

11. Alleviates signs of anxiety

The correlation between anxiety and cannabis doesn’t require a separate introduction. When people started looking into the health benefits of cannabis, the most potent benefit turned out to be that of alleviating anxiety. However, there is a fine line with using cannabis for alleviating the signs of anxiety.

If taken in uncontrolled dosage, cannabis can have very detrimental and opposite effects and lead to signs of anxiety. However, when taken in moderate dosage, it can calm the nerves and reduce signs of anxiety in the patients to a great extent. 

12. Treats glaucoma

If you aren’t aware, glaucoma is a common eye disorder that is marked by damage to the optic nerve. This results from increased fluid pressure inside the eyes, leading to compression of the nerve and eventual damage. It causes blindness in patients above the age of 60.

Although cannabis doesn’t have any long-term benefits in treating cannabis, you can be assured that the supplementation can effectively alleviate the pressure due to the fluid build-up inside the eyes. This offers temporary relief from the pain and discomfort that individuals face.

13. Slows down the Alzheimer’s Disease progression

Alzheimer ’s disease is a common age-related complication that reduces and alters the cognitive abilities of older people. This results from nerve degeneration and is a very common complication among much older people. Chronic inflammation in the body can also lead to rising risks and progression of Alzheimer’s disease in the patients.

The endocannabinoids in cannabis have potential benefits in alleviating the inflammation in the body, thereby helping reduce the progression and development of the disease in the long run. They also reduce the risks of inflammation in the brain, thereby supporting quicker recovery and reducing risks of cognitive disability.

14. Reduces pain induced by arthritis

Arthritis, especially osteo and rheumatoid arthritis result in chronic pain in the patients. If you are struggling with the pain and want some kind of temporary relief from the same, cannabis has been found beneficial.

The topical ointments with cannabis extracts reduce the inflammation and the pain with their potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. The active compounds in cannabis, CBD and THC, both have potent benefits in reducing the pain and the associated complications.

15. Treat multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease wherein the protective covering of the nerves is damaged by the person’s immune system. This can lead to overexposure of the neurons, which can lead to complications or the motor and sensory functions, directly affecting the brain and the spinal functions.

Cannabis has proven benefits in alleviating the symptoms of multiple sclerosis to an extent. The active compounds in cannabis can reduce the muscle pain and stiffness that often happens with the condition.

16. Aids in recovering from PTSD

PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder is an emotional response after an individual experiences a traumatic event in their life. People with PTSD are subject to having an overdrive of emotions and get triggered by causes that led to their trauma. While behavioural therapy helps, PTSD patients also get prominent help with medical marijuana.

Studies have found that PTSD patients who take medical marijuana are less likely to showcase a sudden fight or flight response and instead tackle a situation more cohesively. Cannabis also helps in calming down a person who is emotionally triggered by their trauma at the moment.

17. Reduces treatment impacts for Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a type of viral infection that affects the liver. It can lead to inflammation and severe liver damage, something that is often beyond repair. Treatment for hepatitis C comes with a lot of side effects and complications, including nausea, depression, fatigue, chronic pain and severe muscle aches.

Cannabis and its potent compounds, CBD and THC, directly impacts those symptoms and help in managing them. The treatment for Hepatitis C can last for a few months, so having a good way of reducing the side effects can promptly help.

18. Regulates symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

Another common age-related complication that affects a lot of people worldwide is Parkinson’s disease. In this condition, the patient experiences stiffness, shaking and lacking balance while walking and doing common motor functions. This is a progressive disease, which gets worse over time.

The active compounds in cannabis, especially with the endocannabinoids help in reducing the tremors and the shakiness that the patients often complain about. Cannabis also has anti-inflammatory properties, which reduces inflammation and pain in most patients.

19. Helps quit alcoholism

Giving up an addiction is a tough task. If you are an alcoholic, prescribed medical marijuana can help in tackling the addiction to a great level. Compared to alcohol, cannabis is a much safer and more natural alternative with a lot more reduced health consequences. 

We aren’t suggesting that smoking cannabis or taking a cannabis supplement is 100% safe. However, studies do indicate that relying on the controlled dosage of cannabis has potent benefits in overcoming the ill habits of alcoholism and quitting it for good. 

20. Treat inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is a condition where the patient’s GI tract is inflamed due to several contributing factors. Prolonged and untreated inflammation often leads to the permanent damage of the GI tract, leading to risks of digestive complications and having a hard time processing the food through the digestive tract.

The endocannabinoids and THC that are present in cannabis have proven benefits in reducing the inflammation in the gut and also improving the gut functions over time. The impacts of cannabis last for the long term, which is why patients with this disease often rely on cannabis to treat the symptoms in a better way.

If you are wondering about the health benefits of cannabis, we hope this article gives you all the insights that you need to know. Keep in mind that smoking cannabis or taking cannabis supplements or extracts aren’t a complete alternative for modern medicine. We’d highly recommend that you see your primary care doctor for any of the physical and mental issues before getting a prescription for medical marijuana.