The benefits of marijuana: the medical use of the plant

Marijuana (isp. marijuana), cannabis (lat. Cannabis), or hemp - a psychoactive substance produced from annual bast-fiber plants of the hemp family. Affects the human body with special substances - cannabinoids, the most effective of them delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. There are three main types of marijuana: sowing, Indian and weed (it has the least tetrahydrocannabinol). It has long been cultivated and used by man as an anesthetic and sedative, as well as a raw material for the production of textiles.

History reference

Already from the X century BC. er Ancient Hindus widely used this plant for medical purposes, making drugs from it to relieve pain. The Chinese, in turn, have long been famous for their textile production, in which the use of cannabis was not the last. The culture of cultivating and using marijuana came to Europe only at the beginning of the 19th century, when Napoleon returned to France with his troops after conquering the Eastern Territories. By the mid-60s of the 20th century, as a popular psychotropic agent, cannabis began to be actively used by representatives of the hippie subculture.

Distribution and habitat

Due to its psychoactive effects on the human body, marijuana is used as a narcotic, therefore its private cultivation and use has been banned in many countries. Today, this plant is found only in weedy form along highways or in rural areas. But even in the wild, it is destroyed after the discovery of the place of its growth.

Did you know? Marijuana in different regions has its own slang names: in the territory of the former Soviet Union - anasha; in India, Jamaica and the Caribbean, ganja; The people of Pamir, Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan call marijuana hashish.
Currently, marijuana, growing freely, can be found in northern India, Morocco, Nepal (Annapurna Ring), Afghanistan, Pakistan, in some valleys of the Himalayan and Caucasian mountains, also in Siberia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Marijuana, which grows in each of these regions, has its own specific differences, but this does not particularly affect its effect on the human body.

Appearance

Hemp is a dioecious annual plant, it can reach a height of 3 meters. Usually female plants are taller than male ones, more developed, and later male plants bloom and mature. They are also called "swearing." In male plants paniculate inflorescences larger. They usually have five white perianth segments, in which there are 5 hanging stamens.

With the help of hemp, you can scare away moles from your plot.
Female inflorescences are smaller, hidden in the axils of the leaves, have a cup-shaped perianth, in which there is one leaf. It is located just one ovary with the testicle. Achenes, or fruits, are enclosed in a shell formed from a solid bract.

Medical applications

In nature, there is nothing inharmonious and useless. This also applies to medicinal plants such as cannabis. Thanks to the bioactive components that make up the preparations based on this herb, it is possible to successfully deal with many severe ailments and arrest their symptoms. In AIDS patients, medication from marijuana is used to improve appetite. It is successfully used during chemotherapy to eliminate nausea in the treatment of cancer, reduces the risk of various tumors, and relieves muscle spasms. With pain syndrome, marijuana in combination with opioids, in minimal doses, provides a lasting analgesic effect. This allows patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis and other diseases with severe pain not only to stop them, but also to use narcotic substances in minimal doses.

Also, stress and insomnia will recede with regular admission of catnip, mulberry, vervain and echinacea.
And if possible, then completely abandon them. British scientists have found that cannabinoids can help in those cases where even morphine is powerless, and doctors from the Washington Institute of Medicine, as a result of extensive research, have concluded that marijuana components either successfully cope with pain or soften it in such diseases and situations:

  • chemical exposure;
  • chronic neuropathic pain and insomnia;
  • postoperative periods;
  • neuropathic pain in HIV-infected patients;
  • post-traumatic mixed pain;
  • peripheral neuropathic pain.
Therefore, the terms “medical marijuana” or “medical cannabis” are quite rightly applied to cannabis.
Did you know? It is believed that the word marijuana originated from Mexican slang, namely from the Spanish version of the pronunciation of the names Maria and Jane.
Tetrahydrocannabinol occupies one of the leading places in traditional medicine, because it is capable of causing the body's self-absorption process of cancer cells. Scientists came to this conclusion when they conducted experiments on laboratory mice. After that, volunteers with cancer tumors took part in a similar experiment. The result was astonishing: in just ten days of the experiment, the growth of cancer cells in patients was slowed down by half, while there were no toxic reactions and intoxications that occur with chemical therapy. This derivative substance is used in official medicine in the United States, Canada and Western European countries. In addition to tetrahydrocannabinol, other bioactive cannabinoids have been isolated from cannabis, which do not have a traditional toxic effect. Some of them successfully treat candidiasis, malaria, Staphylococcus aureus and other diseases. The ability of marijuana to affect glaucoma is also known, reducing eye pressure.

Medicinal properties

In the modern world of fierce competition, hemp, as a simple drug, has receded into the background in front of chemical preparations, from the sale of which huge profits are coming. It is clear that due to modern technologies, advertising and propaganda of the mass media, many folk remedies have been undeservedly forgotten or are considered charlatans. But in traditional medicine, despite all these factors, the use of the healing properties of cannabis continues.

Learn more about the healing properties Scorzonera, Fieldfare ryabinolistnogo, dodder, butcher, yucca, colchicum, saffron, Sanguinar Canadian, evening primrose, Degremon, asparagus, aconite, heather, sage, boxwood, primrose, saxifrage, cumin, momordica, barberry, wormwood and mint .
From kidney stones. Kidney stones are treated in the following way: mince one cup of cannabis seeds, mix this raw material with three cups of fresh cow's milk. Evaporate over low heat until the volume of liquid is reduced to one cup. To filter Divide this volume into 5 parts. Within five days the next portion of drink before breakfast. Then take a break for 100 days and repeat the five-day course of treatment. Follow this schedule for a year. If you conscientiously withstand a one-year intake of this drug, you can radically improve the health of the kidneys and the liver. Asthma treatment. There are three ways to treat asthma attacks: hemp-based ointment for external use, ingestion of hemp oil and inhalation of the evaporation of this oil. The best option for relieving symptoms in asthma and its treatment is medical marijuana vapor inhalation through industrial evaporator (vaporizer). For this purpose, inflorescences of plants are used, which heat up in the temperature regime of a vapoviser from 140 to 200 degrees Celsius. Thanks to this process, the tetrahydrocannabinol contained in the flowers is boiled, and then evaporates without carcinogens in the form of a thin layer of mist. This mist contains active chemicals necessary for the treatment of asthma, extracted from marijuana. So the maximum amount of cannabinoids gets into the airways, and the risk for the respiratory system is minimal.
Asthma can also be treated with purslane, celandine, rose, aloe, horseradish and peony.
Hemp Ointment rubbed chest and neck in the case when you feel the approach of an acute respiratory attack.

Hemp oil it is used for a more long-term treatment of asthma: one teaspoon of it is added to warm tea or juice before bedtime. You can also spread butter on a piece of bread. When insomnia. If a person prefers to improve his sleep not with pharmaceutical preparations with a lot of side effects, but with safe folk methods, then treatment of insomnia with marijuana is just the case. One and a half to two hours before bedtime you should inhale cannabis through an evaporator or take tincture of medical marijuana. Also, a good effect will give this plant as a dietary supplement for two hours before falling asleep. Decoction of seeds for uterine myoma. If a woman is diagnosed with uterine fibroids, then she can also help her body with folk remedies. One of such means is decoction of hemp seeds. It is very effective in this ailment and can serve as an auxiliary method in the traditional medical treatment.

Did you know? In Bhutan, marijuana is growing everywhere, but previously it was used exclusively as feed for pigs. And only after 1999, when the ban on television was lifted in the state, people learned that the plant can be used as a drug.
To do this, boil 3 teaspoons of hemp seeds in one liter of water. Drink this broth a hundred milliliters three times a day for two weeks.

With epilepsy. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that has been little studied, it happens for various reasons and has various forms. Anticonvulsant medications may relieve some of its types, but not all. Also, these drugs have a lot of side effects and can help about 60% of patients. Cannabidiol has a positive anticonvulsant effect on some types of epilepsy, so it can be a good alternative in treating this disorder. Taking medical marijuana, patients with epilepsy will be able to better control the attacks, reducing the likelihood of side effects. To do this, you can use decoctions and infusions of all parts of the plant, which will act soothingly. Infusion is prepared as follows:1 tablespoon of a mixture of seeds and leaves of marijuana is poured with 1 cup of boiling water and infused for 1 hour. Drink after meals 1 tablespoon three times a day. This infusion will also be effective for prostatitis and cystitis.

When herpes. Herpes is a viral disease that affects the skin on the lips and mucous membranes of the whole body with inflammation. Many people know that getting rid of it is very difficult. But it is possible to relieve painful conditions. To do this, you need to prepare an alcohol tincture of medical hemp plants (seeds, stems and leaves). Alcohol tincture: 100 grams of crushed plants pour one liter of vodka or alcohol. Insist 2 weeks, strain. Application: lubricate with a cotton swab dipped in cannabis tincture, places affected with herpes, or 1-2 drops of tincture drip under the tongue. You can also treat pain in the ears, gargle with angina and lubricate non-healing wounds, for this tincture is diluted with water. Dermatitis ointment. In the treatment of various dermatitis and other skin diseases such as lichen, eczema and even burns, hemp seed ointment is successfully used. Ointment recipe: grind into powder 1 cup of dry hemp seeds. Then dilute it with boiling water until thick liquid sour cream. Strain and pour there 1 glass of walnuts, finely pounded, butter and milled in the meat grinder of the aerial part of the wild red geranium. Mix thoroughly and keep in a cool place.

Useful properties for pregnant women

Women, pregnant women and mothers who feed babies simply need to include hemp oil in their diet because of the fatty, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in it. These acids help to fight nerve diseases, vascular and heart diseases, and obesity. The rate of consumption of hemp oil for every day - 15-30 ml. In this oil, a lot of nutrients, it is considered dietary and is part of a balanced diet for pregnant women. A high level of antioxidants in hemp oil helps fight aging skin. Chlorophyll in its composition provides an antitumor effect, strengthens the immunity of the mother and baby, restores strength after delivery, improves the quality of breast milk. Also in the oil there are phytosterols, minerals that are necessary for the normal development of the fetus.

Important! To maintain all the valuable qualities and all the positive properties of hemp oil, it is not recommended to heat it. It can be eaten only raw.
With butter from medical marijuana they prepare salads and sauces, various first courses and various dressings for them. On the basis of it they make medicines for the home first-aid kit

Harm

People taking any drugs from cannabis should not forget that marijuana is still a drug. With all its beneficial properties, large doses of cannabinoids can be harmful. Overdose usually occurs against the background of the use of alcohol, hard drugs. Side effects in such cases can be diarrhea, fainting with ringing in the ears, nausea and vomiting. Also there is an allergy to hemp. If medical cannabis is abused, the following reactions can occur:

  • blurred vision;
  • male infertility;
  • excessive sweating;
  • headaches, dizziness, fainting;
  • nausea;
  • hallucinations and delusional states;
  • retardation of speech and thinking;
  • impaired coordination and tremor.
Another feature of the use of this medicinal plant - tolerance to drugs from it. But it occurs slowly, and decreases, if you change the varieties and methods of their use. You can not use long-term treatment with drugs from this medicinal plant, as well as to allow them to overdose. Broths and tinctures from marijuana, if used for a long time and abnormally used in treatment, can also cause hallucinations, paranoia, apathy and depressive states.
Be careful about taking pussy, dope and foxglove.
If marijuana is used for smoking, tar and carbon monoxide will settle in the lungs and can lead to disastrous consequences. There is a negative effect of marijuana on the heart and blood vessels. This manifests itself in lowering blood pressure, heart palpitations and narrowing of the blood vessels of the brain.

Contraindications

The first in the list of contraindications for medication with medical marijuana - endogenous mental illness (schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, etc.).

Important! Cannabis itself does not cause any mental abnormalities, but if a person has a chance of gene breakdown (one of the ancestors suffered from some mental illness), then in no case can one inhale cannabis vapors, smoke or take any other substances based on it.
Kanabioids should not be taken in people with severe liver and kidney damage, as well as with their insufficiency. Hemp preparations are contraindicated in patients with hypertensive disease, ischemia of the heart, diseases of the heart and blood vessels (drugs from hemp cause tachycardia). Like tobacco smoking, smoking cannabis is contraindicated for pregnant women.

Storage conditions

Keep medical marijuana in a cool, dark place. We can not allow direct sunlight to fall on the raw material. So she will be able to preserve the original properties for a long time. There are several more requirements for the storage conditions of medicinal material. The temperature for storing material from marijuana should not exceed 25 degrees, otherwise the active components and essential oils can evaporate, and this will adversely affect the quality of the raw material and its action.

And high temperatures may be favorable for the formation of fungus, microorganisms and mold. It is also unacceptable and very low storage temperature for the same reason. It is also necessary to control the humidity during storage of the material, it should be at the level of 60 to 63%. If the humidity is higher, marijuana products may become moldy, and if it is less, the beneficial volatile oils can evaporate. If marijuana is properly stored, as well as drugs based on it, the safety of all valuable qualities is guaranteed for a two-year period or more. It is necessary to observe all precautions, weigh all the pros and cons before starting to take such a remedy, as well as take into account the harmful effects on the body and medical contraindications. Однозначно, польза от медицинской конопли для человека неоспорима. Но если есть хоть малейшие сомнения в правильности выбора такой терапии, то, возможно, лучше будет обратиться за лечением к более безопасным методам и средствам.

Watch the video: 5 Things You Need to Know About Medical Marijuana (November 2024).