Cannabis, mystic and mysterious. It has medicinal powers, but it can also be one of the most effective ways to ruin your day. It all depends on how you use it. If you have already tried this magical herb (the right way), you know just how helpful it can be.
But is there a way to maximize the benefits of Cannabis? Well, there is. Let’s jump right in.
Understanding Cannabis
Before diving into how you can get the benefits of Cannabis, it’s crucial to understand what benefits you’ll be shooting for. Albeit comprising well over 400 known chemical constituents, Cannabis boasts two main ones: Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC).
The THC is what gives you the “high” that Cannabis is renowned for. While the CBD is non-intoxicating and mostly used for products such as gummies, drinks, and medical purposes.
The main benefits of Cannabis
There’s an assortment of health benefits that you stand to gain from the use of Cannabis. Here are some of the most important ones;
Lowering Blood Pressure
Research has shown that CBD can help lower blood sugar in humans. This happens at rest, after stress tests and even after isometric exercises.
Reducing inflammation
CBD also has another undeniable benefit. Studies have confirmed that this compound has a remarkable ability to reduce inflammation and the neuropathic pain that comes with it.
Prevents relapse for drug and alcohol addiction
Sounds a bit counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? However, a 2018 study proved that CBD is helpful for those suffering from addiction to drugs and alcohol. Other areas CBD could be helpful in include reducing anxiety, cravings from stress, and lack of impulse control – that often leads to relapse.
Other benefits
There’s a long list of benefits you can get with CBD as well;
Preventing seizures: Such as epilepsy and other symptoms – and this goes for both reducing symptoms as well as frequency.
Treatment for anxiety disorders; CBD has further been shown to help with the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder, even PTSD.
Treatment of gastrointestinal disorders: Such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis… etc.
Fighting cancer: That’s right, CBD has also helped reduce the effects of chemotherapy, and even prevented growth and inducing death of cancer cells.
Ways to Get the Benefits of Cannabis
Now that you have a solid idea of the different benefits that you can get with Cannabis, how best can you make the most of them?
A Bite, Sip, or a Puff?
There are two main ways to get Cannabis into your bloodstream, smoking or through edibles, or beverages like THC. With smoking, the compounds get absorbed in your bloodstream right away.
But with edibles or CBD and THC drinks, it takes quite a while (1-2 hours) for Cannabis to end up in your bloodstream. That said, however, going for oral ingestion is the smart way to get CBD into your body. It might take some time to get absorbed, but it doesn’t put any unnecessary strain on your lungs.
Besides, it will also be absorbed not only by your GI tract but also metabolized by your liver, ensuring maximum benefits for your body. However, make sure to start slow. This will help you figure out what amount is best for you.
There’s more than Just the “High”
If you’ve been taking marijuana only for the ‘high’, you’re not getting all there is to it. Although CBD and THC are the more well-researched compounds, cannabis packs quite a punch, with over 200 other helpful compounds.
These include essential oils called “terpenes”, which produce cannabis’ unmistakable aroma. And these have a lot of health benefits for your body. There’s no denying that CBD and THC levels are incredibly important. But when picking strains or cultivars of Cannabis, consider going for the ones with a good terpene profile.
Make the most of THC-CBD combo
If you have been buying cannabis products that are rich in only THC, you’re not alone. That’s the good news. The only bummer is, you are not getting as many benefits as you should.
Research has shown that both THC and CBD work well together, more like yin and yang. If you’re in this for the health benefits, and not just the ‘high’, then it becomes even more important to combine both.
Why? Well, because CBD also counters THC’s psychoactive effect. And this is on top of “the entourage effect”, which is pretty much the benefit you get by combining more compounds for more benefits.
Medical Benefits
What if you could get the benefits of Cannabis without having to deal with any psychoactive effects? Everyone wishes so. We’ll, you can.
This comes in different forms, but topical Cannabis tops the list. This would be more fitting for anyone looking to benefit from cannabis’ medicinal properties – more so pain relief.
If you want to get relief from joint or muscle pain, but without having to deal with the effects of THC, go for salve, or an ointment. Gently rub it on the affected part. All you need to do is rub it on your skin until it’s almost dry or completely dry.
More Fat, More Benefits
Cannabis loves fat. In the sense that, adding it to fatty medium like butter enhances its absorption into the body. That is the concept on which cannabis brownies are based, although it’s hard to tell whether whoever discovered it knew this.
It’s no wonder, then, that scientists refer to Cannabis as ‘lipophilic’, which basically means it’s a fat lover. If you want to boost the levels of absorption, especially with the edibles, make sure to ingest it after a fatty meal. A snack is just as good though, but the goal should be to shoot for healthy fats – the likes of nuts, avocado, peanut butter, or yogurt.
Some explore Cannabis for medicinal benefits, others for its psychoactive effect. Whatever your goal is, now you have better ways to make the most of the benefits that this special plant has to offer.
