In this show, George DiGianni and Dr Jeremy Webster talks about the beneficial and detrimental effects of marijuana use.
Did you know that 15 million Americans use marijuana – a Schedule 1 drug even higher than cocaine – for recreational use or medicinal benefits, and that every 37 seconds, somebody is arrested for marijuana usage?
However, there are also studies that show that marijuana may have some health benefits when consumed in regulated amounts and ingested correctly.
Some of these purported benefits include inhibiting tumor growth in laboratory animals, killing cancer cells, reducing heart attacks by 66% and reducing insulin-dependency diabetes by 58%. There’s even research that say marijuana, like chemicals, trigger receptors on human cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immunodeficiency virus like HIV found in AIDS.
But what is the form that people need to use and how much should they consume to get these benefits?
They say eating marijuana has a stronger, longer lasting effect. When consumed raw, that’s where you can get medicinal benefits but when you smoke it (to get the recreational effect), the heat destroys certain enzymes — not to mention that smoking is carcinogenic to the lungs.
A collaboration conducted by Northwestern Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School showed casual use of marijuana is related to ‘plastic changes’ in the brain.
Plasticity is how the brain remodels to whatever environment it is in. When the brain is stimulated through an external stimulus, it sends signals through the nerves and that’s when the plastic/semi-permanent changes happen. The area of the brain that is affected the most forms the basis of how you assess positive and negative features about things in the environment to make decisions about them. However, when you bypass the sensory portion of it and just go straight to the brain cells, that’s when you’ll get brain abnormalities and negative effects.
The goal here is not to be for or against marijuana usage regardless of its benefits or legalization.
This show aims to present information that can empower you to make an informed decision on what’s best for your health, your career, your family and your future.