10 Pros and Cons of Weed

Last Updated on March 10, 2021 by Filip Poutintsev

Weed, a psychoactive drug, which is widely known as Cannabis or Marijuana, is acquired from the Cannabis plant for either recreational or medical uses. Weed excessively comprises components such as THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), which is proved to be an effective element for recreational purposes.

Pros and Cons of Weed — Photo by GRAS GRÜN on Unsplash

The medical benefit or say change one can witness by the use of weed is due to a component present in it called cannabinoids (CBD). The components present in the weed not only affect our body psychologically but also physically.

The consumption of weed can be done by either vapouring, smoking, or cooking with food. The method of ingesting weed varies based on the primary purpose of what it is used for.

And as per the ingestion method, the effect kicks in within just a few minutes if smoked, whereas it takes at least 30 minutes to feel any effect of weed if consumed by cooking. Whatever the method, the duration of the effect remains for about 2 to 6 hours respective of the consumed amount.

Even with its illegalization in most of the countries, weed is the most generally consumed illegal drug in the world, which may be due to its easy availability or due to the belief of it having numerous health benefits. Whatever the reason, one should always be aware of what they put in their body and must have a definite knowledge of the effects it causes.

There are several contradictions about the benefits as well as the effects of ingesting weed, and people have a mixed feeling on whether consuming weed will do them good or bad. All these uncertainties will be cleared after we cover through a brief history of how weed came to be used as an edible substance.

History of Weed Consumption

The use of cannabis for rope and fabric dated back to the Neolithic age in Japan and China. It is still uncertain on the beginning of cannabis usage for its medical properties, whereas according to research, at around 2737 B.C., a reference on the use of cannabis as a suppository for gout, rheumatism, and malaria was discovered in the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung’s writings.

With time, the utilization of marijuana spread to Europe after India and North Africa at around 500 AD. From 1850 to 1942, marijuana was prescribed as a medication for rheumatism, nausea, and labour pain in the United States Pharmacopeia. Then, around 1970 there was a raise in the debates about marijuana’s medical use due to the classification “Scheduled 1 Drug” it received from The Controlled Substances Act.

In 1966, the most active constituent of cannabis, THC was synthesized to increase its medical profits, which received approval around 1985 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In 1996, the use of marijuana for its medical profits was legalized by California, being the first state to do so.

Following this, the study performed in 1999 by the Institute of Medicine unravelled how the intake of marijuana helps in the remedy of wasting due to AIDS, and nausea due to chemotherapy. Since then, countless studies were undertaken for screening the pain-relieving benefit of smoking marijuana.

Regardless of illegalization of cannabis since the 19th century by several countries, cannabidiol, a valuable component of weed, attained approval for being effective against some epilepsy types from the Food and Drug Administration in June of 2018. Since then, several countries have legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Pros of Weed

1. Delays Cancer

As per the study from a journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, it is known that cannabidiols possess the aptitude to turn off a gene called Id-1, thus aiding in delaying cancer.

2. Aids Weight Loss

Looking around one can easily determine that a devoted user of marijuana is not generally bulky, which results because of weed assisting one’s body in regulating insulin as well as dealing with one’s calorie intake.

3. Expands Lung Aptitude

Everyone knows the severity of harm one’s lungs goes through because of smoking cigarettes. But, it is not true in the case of cannabis. A certain study has proved that smoking pure cannabis essentially expands the aptitude of one’s lungs.

4. Averts Diabetes

As cannabis alters the level of insulin in one’s body, it can also aid in averting diabetes. Following through the research undertaken by the AAMC (American Alliance for Medical Cannabis), it has been verified that weed can advance the circulation of blood, and soothe lower blood pressure, the sugar level in blood.

5. Reliefs Lingering Ache

Marijuana comprises of cannabinoid as one of the prime chemical elements, which is proved to relieve one’s lingering ache due to its chemical structure. Thus, for that reason, synthesized cannabis or so-called medical cannabis are widely utilized for getting rid of the pain.

Cons of Weed

1. Amnesia

According to a study undertaken throughout 25 years with at least 3000 Americans who smoked marijuana, it was confirmed that those who consumed weed for more than five years daily, had diminished verbal memory as compared to those who smoked less or not at all.

2. Risk of Stroke

There exists a wide belief that smoking weed calms people down, whereas it also aids in raising one’s heart rate. A finding states that who smoke weed have a high chance of about 26% of having a stroke eventually than those who don’t.

3. Obsession

People who consume marijuana regularly are known to be obsessed with it and feel anxious as well as distress if are not able to consume it daily. This cause psychological as well as physical stress on them, especially on those who initiated its consumption early with high THC.

4. Low Testosterone

Consumption of modern pot with high levels of THC eventually leads to lessening the production of testosterone in the body, which will result to increase in weight and laziness. Providentially, stopping its consumption will usually normalize the level of testosterone.

5. Lungs Issue

According to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute cannabis comprises of somewhat comparable chemicals range to those of tobacco, which on regular use heightens the risk of respiratory problems.

Conclusion

Concluding the article, I think weed intake in the right quantity once in a while may be advantageous to us, but one can’t also neglect the fact that weed brings forth some immediate side-effects such as eyes redness, dryness of the mouth, hunger, etc.

On one hand, health-wise, consuming cannabis has a lot of long-term benefits and can relief oneself from mental as well as physical stress build-up throughout the day, while on the other hand, weed is expensive to purchase and most of all the health benefits it offers will be in vain on regular ingestion of this drug.

Thus, it is suggested not to ingest marijuana and if necessary, thoroughly follow the quantity and schedule provided by health personnel.

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