Trying to Live a Healthier Life? Cannabis Might Be Able to Help

The United States is notorious for having obscene obesity rates. Physical and mental health (or lack thereof) has become a more prominent conversation in the United States, and the year that everyone was stuck inside their home for months at a time. It can be really hard to try and live a healthier lifestyle, especially when it seems like the odds are stacked up against you. What I mean by that is that some people are living in constant, chronic pain that can make it hard for them to just get through daily life, let alone worry about their physical health.

For some people who live with chronic pain and other ailments, getting up and going to the gym is almost out of the question. Not to mention, poor sleeping habits can contribute to increased obesity rates, and it can be extremely difficult for people who are constantly losing sleep at night due to trying to manage their pain. To make things worse, people who are using cannabis to treat or manage their levels of chronic pain could be subject to one of marijuana’s most notorious side effects: the munchies. Having the munchies makes it really hard to say no to all the delicious snacks that are in your pantry or refrigerator. So if you have found that cannabis complicates your attempts to eat healthier and lose weight, know that you are not alone. In fact, many people struggle with this when using medical marijuana. 

When it comes to lifestyle choices, the pandemic did not really do us any favors. Many people gained weight over the long quarantine period due to being stuck in their home or apartment all day without access to a gym on the regular. In addition to that, stress eating is a real thing that a lot of people had to combat when stuck at home. Also, working from home allows us to live a much more sedentary lifestyle than before, which is the leading cause of people with obesity.

Some people like to shame others by saying that losing weight is easy with simple diet and exercise; however, more scientific studies and research has been done to conclude that these things may not be enough to outweigh the serious complications of a sedentary lifestyle. A report published recently even stated that 40 minutes of rigorous physical activity everyday is not enough to offset the health risks that are associated with so much sedentary time. So if you have heard people say that losing weight really involves eating healthy, I regret to inform you that they are correct. Losing weight can be made easier with more physical activity, but it really does start in the kitchen.

So what about those of us who struggle with chronic pain or other illnesses? It can be extremely difficult to maintain a healthy weight when dealing with other issues that make it hard to get through your daily life. For some people, it hurts to even move, let alone go on a 2 mile run after work or something like that. A study shows that 20% of adults in the United States live with some sort of chronic pain. That is insane! So for those people who rely on medical marijauana to make it through the day, I do not blame them. However, it is important to resist the munchies when you are trying to lose weight. When you are using medical marijuana, make sure that you have healthy snacks ready to go for when those late night munchies hit.

Reasons Why Cannabis Should Be Federally Legalized

If you’re like me, then you are absolutely sick of waiting for the government to pick up their pants and legalize medical marijuana on a federal level. I’m not even asking for recreational legalization on a federal level, just medical marijuana! The amount of people who need cannabis as an alternative treatment option is staggering. Fortunately, the House Majority Leader has stated that the feds will legalize marijuana and this has given us a lot of hope.

However, the road that it took to get to this point has been long and hard. At this point, I think it is safe to say that we will definitely see cannabis legalized in the United States in our lifetimes; maybe even within the next decade or so! Legalizing cannabis on a federal level would have a great impact on our country, especially when it came to social justice and equity. Many people who have been sentenced to prison due to marijuana related charges will be able to apply for expungement and potentially be released from prison.

This would also help with the stigma around marijuana and cannabis related crimes. Also, it’s no secret that the cannabis industry would explode from a financial standpoint and lead to increased tax revenue in every state and on a federal level. In this article, I will be talking a bit about the various other impacts that legalizing cannabis in the United States could have in our lifetimes. 

Like I already stated, the legalization of marijuana would mean the decriminalization of the drug and prevent the future incarcerations of people using marijauna. Additionally, individuals who were busted for possession of cannabis charges can apply for expungement. However, this does not apply to people who were charged with large quantities of marijuana or were guilty of growing and distributing it.

Furthermore, if the cannabis charge was also paired with a violent crime or weapons charge, it is not possible to apply for expungement. The saddest part about the current state of the marijuana industry is that arrests in non-legalized states are still really high. According to an article that I found online, over 600,000 Americans are arrested per year on cannabis related charges. Hopefully, these people can be expunged in the near future when cannabis is legalized on a federal level. This will also help reduce generational poverty and crime rates that seem to have plagued certain areas in the United States that have been subject to mass incarceration and over policing. 

Another great thing that can come from legalizing marijuana in the United States is that people may be able to grow cannabis at home if they choose to do so. However, it’s worth noting that this currently varies  from state to state. Some states are very restrictive when it comes to licensing people to grow their own marijuana and establishing dispensaries around the state. When weed is legalized throughout the United States, though, this will no longer be a problem and anyone will be able to grow plants at home. Similar to growing your own fruits and vegetables at home, growing cannabis can be tedious and time consuming, so some people will still prefer to buy more high-quality cannabis from experienced growers at dispensaries located around their area. 

In addition to growing marijuana at home, the cost of buying cannabis in-store could also be reduced if it is made federally legal in the United States. Since there will be a huge surplus of dispensaries and growers all at once, the competition between marijuana retailers and dealers will drive down the price. This means that you will be able to buy a lot more weed for a lot less money!

The Benefits of Medical Marijuana

Those of us who are actively involved in the cannabis community don’t need to be told the numerous health benefits that are associated with actively consuming marijuana in different forms. In fact, most of us can’t get enough of it! However, there are still people out there who are not completely sold on the effectiveness of cannabis and what it can do for your physical and emotional well being. If that is the case for you (who is reading this article) then I have some great news for you.

Today I am writing about some of the best health benefits of medical marijuana and why I believe it is a great alternative to various over the counter medications, prescription medications, and even alcohol! Or, perhaps you are already a current medical marijuana user but are unaware of the bonus effects that you are receiving from consuming this magical plant. Let’s take some time together and go over some of the biggest health benefits of medical marijuana. 

The first benefit that I want to talk about is how medical marijuana can stop the spread of cancer. Think you read that wrong? Nope! It’s true. I am sure that some people believe that cannabis itself causes cancer, but they could not be more wrong (as there is no scientific evidence to back this up). This might sound too hard to imagine, but according to a study done in 2007, medical marijuana can actually stop cancerous cells from spreading. In one study, CBD was able to keep breast cancer cells from spreading, and other studies even showed that marijuana could slow the spread of other types of cancer in brains and lungs. That’s science, baby! So if you are currently consuming medical marijuana on a regular basis, you can rest with the knowledge that you are helping to stop the spread of cancer if that is a concern of yours. We should all be scared of cancer anyways, since we have a 50/50 shot of getting it at some point in our lifetime!

Another huge benefit of medical marijuana is much more well-known, but still not talked about enough within various circles in the community. I am referring to the pain relieving properties of cannabis that have recently begun to really make a difference in the lives of those struggling with chronic pain or illness. People who have arthritis can tell you a thing or two when it comes to pain; in fact, many people with that condition report never being able to really escape their constant pain. However, multiple medical experts and doctors have begun experimenting with cannabinoid-based medications that are really making a difference. In contrast to other medications, cannabis is able to reduce inflammation and can really change a person's life who has been struggling with pain for so long. Plus, there are so many different ways to use cannabis as a medication that something is bound to work eventually. 

Have you heard of Crohn’s disease? If you haven’t had to deal with yourself, consider yourself lucky. This disease is very difficult to diagnose and even harder to treat. My brother in law has Crohn’s disease and it is no joke. Many people with this ailment have given up finding any sort of relief in their lifetime. However, we are beginning to see that marijuana may be an effective way to treat the disease and offer patients some long awaited relief. A study done with 11 patients showed that 10 of those felt relief in their symptoms from cannabis related treatment, and 5 even had their symptoms go away completely! So basically, cannabis is the best and you should be proud of yourself for using it.

Medications that Don’t Interact Well with CBD

CBD is usually fine with most drugs, especially many of the common ones, however, there are a few you need to watch out for. The most common are the sedatives or opioids, and they usually also include some cancer medications, and other products, which are those that you’ll want to make sure that you’re checking with a doctor before using. 

Why CBD Can Affect medications 

There are a few reasons for this. The first, is the liver metabolization. This is due to the increase impairment of hepatic areas that are sometimes combined with certain drugs, and the ability to desensitize those different cytochromes within the liver can increase the drugs that impact the body, as they don’t normally get metabolized, and aren’t broken down correctly. This can increase the negative results from this. 

The second reason is that the sedative levels of higher dosages of CBD do impact the sedative reasons that other drugs within your CNS and other serotonin receptors and dopamine receptors can as well. It’s also immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory, and it can interfere with some drugs that do the same thing. 

The Drugs that interact 

Using CBD with any sort of opioid especially morphine, buprenorphine, and propoxyphene are definitely not a good thing. This is because it can cause severe respiratory distress, including a coma, depression of the respiration that’s there, and also cell death. It can reduce the need for this, but do not mix them. 

The second thing is immunosuppressives including Leflunomide, since it does create liver problems. Using it with other different medications which can impact the liver also may increase issues with this. 

Corticosteroids including hydrocortisone and prednisolone are also best not mixed, as they inhibit the cytochrome P450 in the liver, and this can actually increase your side effects, since it was not properly metabolized by the liver. 

Certain hormones, including levothyroxine are those that can cause a buildup, and it can cause hyperthyroidism, digestion issues, along with issues of the heart and muscle functions. Some antidepressants, including Prozac, also do interfere directly with CBD and should not be used together. CBD messes with how these are broken down, and it can sometimes cause the drug to be so broken down that it doesn’t offer enough concentrations within the body, or sometimes too much, running the risk for OD, and it ca actually create a lot of sedation, dizziness, and it’s better to just take CBD on its own. 

CBD may also impact ibuprofen, since this can create stomach bleeding, GI  issues and liver problems.  If you’re using this, it can further complicate the problems with the body. 

Any anticoagulants that do increase the blood levels, should be avoided. Warfarin definitely can impact the blood levels along with the effects, getting it to dangerous levels, as this does cause issues with blood clots, the way wounds are healed, and may impact the heart rate. This is due to the fact that CBD inhibits the CYP2C19, which actually causes the transformation of different metabolites, which can lead to possible increase of the risk of stroke, and other such problems too. 

Finally, avoid benzos with this, as it can make the side effects so much more, since the liver isn’t metabolizing this, and the subtherapeutic and other negative effects that happen WITH THIS. CBD is better taken on its own, or to limit the intake of this too. CBD is good but do be mindful of the side effects that come with this, as it can lead to less-than-ideal effects in a person if it does interact.