In Fact, It Saves Your Brain Cells
For decades now, prohibitionists loved to spread the myth that cannabis can kill your brain cells. It makes you stupid, so they say.
But that’s all there is to it. It’s nothing more than a myth.
And if you need evidence as to why, there’s lots of studies out there.
The latest study was conducted by Dr. Ajeet Sodhi, a neurologist from California. He was able to prove that cannabis is safe and beneficial for treating mental health disorders and can actually protect the brain. “In the short term, consumption of cannabis can actually have clear medical benefits in terms of depression, anxiety, pain, PTSD, and nausea associated with chemotherapy,” he tells TheGrowthOp.
Cannabidiol, the plant’s non-psychoactive compound famous for treating a wide array of conditions, has also been shown to be neuroprotective. “New studies showing that the CBD compounds also have neuroprotective effects, and have been shown to be beneficial for several neurologic disorders such as epilepsy and multiple sclerosis,” says Dr. Sodhi.
He also clarifies that cannabis doesn’t actually kill brain cells just because it gets you stoned.
“Getting high is not synonymous with killing brain cells. The high is an altered state produced by the THC, a mild hallucinogen,” Dr. Sodhi said. “Neither THC nor cannabis ‘kills’ brain cells in the traditional sense, so there’s really no need to quantify damage to the brain.”
He adds that when people consume high doses of cannabis, whether it’s ingested or inhaled, will definitely result in a more intense high but this doesn’t mean that the brain is exposed to higher levels of neurotoxicity.
It means nothing more than the fact that you are just really high.
Cannabis Protects the Brain From the #1 Cause of Mental Health Disorders
When you consider almost all chronic diseases known to man, it has become clear that stress is the #1 silent killer. Constant exposure to stress can easily cause your brain and mental health to go haywire.
In fact, studies show that stress has the ability to change the way your brain works. So over time, being constantly stressed out can make you even more prone to anxiety and depression. But cannabis has been shown to be such a powerful stress reliever, which also is the same as saying that it does protect the brain.
A 2012 study in the medical journal Nyeorpyschopharmacology revealed that cannabinoids in the plant can protect the brain from disorders caused by stress. Though scientists are still looking for ways to explain how cannabis does this, the study did show that THC doses were beneficial in improving short-term memory as well as a person’s learning capacity.
Most adults have no choice but to deal with stress, but studies such as this are helpful for medical professionals who want to better understand treatment for excessive stress.
Interesting Study on Twins
Back in 2016, a fascinating study of the topic conducted by researchers from Duke University involved identical twins.
Science tells us that identical twins are basically genetic clones of one another. The pair were studied for 10 years; one of them was a pot smoker while the other did not. They found that when their neurocognitive functioning was studied, there were no differences found among them, especially for the twin who was toking up for a decade.
“This is a very well-conducted study… and a welcome addition to the literature,” says psychopharmacologist Valerie Curran of the University College London. Curran and her colleagues found “broadly the same conclusions” in other non-twin studies of over 2,000 British teens.
Cannabis Kills Cancerous Brain Cells
The occurrence of brain cancer is generally rare, but it is certainly one of the most terrifying experiences to happen to anyone. But the good news is that cannabis has been shown to shrink brain tumors.
A study conducted by Spanish researchers revealed than when mice who were made to have human tumors were given THC, their tumors shrank dramatically. They also took into consideration two human subjects who were diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer, and found that after 26 and 30 days of treatment with THC, it was effective enough in killing the cancer cells while allowing healthy brain tissue intact.
