Some studies have shown that cannabidiol (CBD), another major marijuana compound, seems to help people with treatment-resistant epilepsy. A number of individuals have reported that marijuana is the only thing that helps control their or their children’s seizures. However, there haven’t been many gold-standard, double-blind studies on the topic, so researchers say more data is needed before we know how effective marijuana is. CBD may help prevent cancer from spreading, researchers at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco reported in 2007. Other very preliminary studies on aggressive brain tumors in mice or cell cultures have shown that THC and CBD can slow or shrink tumors at the right dose, which is a strong reason to do more research. One 2014 study found that marijuana can significantly slow the growth of the type of brain tumor associated with 80% of malignant brain cancer in people. Still, these findings in cell cultures and animals don’t necessarily mean the effect will translate to people — far more investigation is needed. All Natural MD opens new locations for Marijuana Doctors in Fort Lauderdale Florida. The location is located in the downtown district of the city. We are one of the most trusted Florida Marijuana Doctors and have been assisting patients with medical marijuana recommendations since 2014. Our goal is to provide a superior patient experience through compassion, education, and thoughtful consideration of our patients needs. We’re the leader in assisting patients with quality, convenient, reliable, and trustworthy medical marijuana doctors in Fort Lauderdale Florida. We strive for excellence in every step of the process. A study published in the American Journal Of Medicine suggested that pot smokers are skinnier than the average person and have healthier metabolism and reaction to sugars, even though they do end up eating more calories. From our highly trained representatives, friendly office staff, to our caring and educated marijuana doctors in Fort Lauderdale Florida. We have locations in well appointed, professional business spaces where patients can relax and experience a true professional service. Please call us 8002506737. It’s possible that the increased lung capacity may be due to taking a deep breaths while inhaling the drug and not from a therapeutic chemical in the drug. The smokers in that study only toked up a few times a month, but a more recent survey of people who smoked pot daily for up to 20 years found no evidence that smoking pot harmed their lungs, either. One of the most common reasons that states allow medical marijuana use is to treat and prevent the eye disease glaucoma, which increases pressure in the eyeball, damaging the optic nerve and causing loss of vision. Marijuana decreases the pressure inside the eye, according to the National Eye Institute: “Studies in the early 1970s showed that marijuana, when smoked, lowered intraocular pressure (IOP) in people with normal pressure and those with glaucoma.” For now, the medical consensus is that marijuana only lowers IOP for a few hours, meaning there’s not good evidence for it as a long term treatment right now. Researchers hope that perhaps a marijuana-based compound could be developed that lasts longer. The National Academies report said there are good studies showing marijuana users are not more likely to have cancers associated with smoking.
Even though some medical benefits of smoking pot may be overstated by advocates of marijuana legalization, recent research has demonstrated that there are legitimate medical uses for marijuana and strong reasons to continue studying the drug’s medicinal uses.
Even the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse lists medical uses for cannabis. There are at least two active chemicals in marijuana that researchers think have medicinal applications. Those are cannabidiol (CBD) — which seems to impact the brain without a high— and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — which has pain relieving properties and is largely responsible for the high. The 2006 study, published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, found that THC (the active chemical in marijuana) slows the formation of amyloid plaques by blocking the enzyme in the brain that makes them. These plaques kill brain cells and are associated with Alzheimer’s. A synthetic mixture of CBD and THC seems to preserve memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Another study suggested that a THC-based prescription drug called dronabinol was able to reduce behavioral disturbances in dementia patients. All these studies are in very early stages, though, so more research is needed. But scientists say that limitations on marijuana research mean we still have big questions about its medicinal properties. In addition to CBD and THC, there are another 400 or so chemical compounds, more than 60 of which are cannabinoids. Many of these could have medical uses. But without more research, we won’t know how to best make use of those compounds. More research would also shed light on the risks of marijuana. Even if there are legitimate uses for medicinal marijuana, that doesn’t mean all use is harmless. Some research indicates that chronic, heavy users may have impaired memory, learning, and processing speed, especially if they started regularly using marijuana before age 16 or 17. For some of the following medical benefits, there’s good evidence. For others, there’s reason to continue conducting research. There’s a fair amount of evidence that marijuana does no harm to the lungs, unless you also smoke tobacco. One study published in Journal of the American Medical Association found that not only does marijuana not impair lung function, it may even increase lung capacity.
On the one hand, nearly half of cannabis users say that their goal is to relax. Yet many people are also familiar with the marijuana freak-out, or have seen a paranoid friend disappear from a party because they “just can’t handle it, it’s too much, man.”
So what gives? The simple answer is that feelings of panic probably mean someone has had too much — especially if they pulled and ate an edible without knowing what they were getting into.
Knowing how much is too much can be hard said many Florida Marijuana Doctors, and a new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence shows just how easy it is to overshoot the target. The study investigates the amount of cannabis that can push someone from relaxed to anxious, and suggests that the quantity that helps people relax is actually pretty small.
Marijuana is dose dependent — the more someone uses, the stronger the effects. To figure out the ideal quantity for promoting relaxation, the researchers selected 42 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40, all of whom were familiar with cannabis but not daily users. They split them into three groups, giving either a low dose (7.5 milligrams of THC, the cannabinoid in marijuana that’s mostly responsible for the high), high dose (12.5 mg), or placebo dose.
We found that THC at low doses reduced stress, while higher doses had the opposite effect, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University and an author of the study, said in a press release.
People on the low dose reported being more relaxed than those on the placebo, and their stress levels dissipated more quickly after the tasks. But people on the high doses paused more in the job interview and reported the tasks to be stressful, challenging, and threatening.
Those differences, however, were just in how people perceived the events. Physical stress markers like heart rate, blood pressure, and hormone levels were equal for all groups.
“The doses used in the study produce effects that are equivalent to only a few puffs of a cannabis cigarette. In other words, a few hits of a joint or bowl is enough to hit the low dose. And just a few more hits could easily bring THC levels in line with the “high” dose.
As a writer of the Post notes, The Cannabist has calculated the amount of THC people get from an average joint. According to one Fort Lauderdale Marijuana Doctors – Lakeland Florida Marijuana Doctors – Sarasota Marijuana Doctors amongst a study cited in their analysis, an average joint weighs about .32 grams. They say that smoking half of that would give users 9 to 11 mg of THC, assuming that about the same amount of THC would just burn off. That’s right in between the “low” and “high” doses used in the study.
The Cannabist’s formula multiples the weight of the joint by the THC potency of marijuana to tell you how much THC you’d ingest. So in a .32 g joint with a 13% potency, you’ve got about 42 mg of THC. The low 7.5 mg dose from the study would therefore be 18% of that joint, and the high 12.5 mg dose would be about 30% of it. (It’s worth noting, however, that exact calculations are hard since some will always burn off. Plus, some joints are a lot bigger, with another commonly cited average being about .75 grams.)
There’s a long list of caveats to the results of this study, however.
First, the sample size was relatively small and therefore not representative of how everyone might react. People with more experience are more likely to tolerate a higher dose without getting nervous, and we also know that the mode of marijuana ingestion affects the high. (An edible high isn’t the same as a smoked or vaporized high.)
Differences between marijuana plants further complicate things, since samples can vary dramatically and the stuff sold legally in state stores is usually far stronger than anything used in research studies.
Additionally, the tasks that the study participants were doing may have been particularly anxiety-provoking — so using cannabis in an easier setting may mean a stronger dose would be associated with less anxiety.
And finally, the study evaluated the effects of pure THC, but this may not give a full picture of how marijuana affects users. Other cannabinoids, particularly cannabidiol (CBD), may have soothing effects that reduce anxiety and may assuage some of effects of pure THC.
Lingering questions aside, this research does demonstrate a couple of things. For one, it’s easy to cross the line from the relaxing amount of marijuana to too much. And two, a lot more research on marijuana’s anxiety-reducing effects is needed (something that scientists who study marijuana frequently point out).
“Studies like these — examining the effects of cannabis and its pharmacological constituents under controlled conditions — are extremely important, considering the widespread use of cannabis for both medical and non-medical purposes. Unfortunately, significant regulatory obstacles make it extremely difficult to conduct this type of research.”