One of the main reasons people are super against marijuana and lump it in the same category as drugs like cocaine and meth is because of all the propaganda out there. But marijuana, if nothing else, has some crazy great medicinal benefits. Take how it helps two different incurable diseases, CTE and SCI.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Every single day 48 new people endure a spinal cord injury. The average age is 42 which is young and 81% of these injuries are of men. Most of the people were injured in auto accidents (38%), falls (31%), sports (9%) or some sort of violence (14%). A spinal cord injury or SCI is any damage to the spine that results in a loss of mobility or a loss of feeling. SCI’s can also be due to different diseases as well such as polio or spinal bifida. Contrary to popular believe the spine doesn’t have to be completely severed to experience a significant loss of function. Also, this should not be and isn’t interchangeable with back injuries. A person can break their neck or “break their back” without injury to the spine. Currently there’s no cure for spinal cord injuries of any kind but people can minimize the damage. The life expectancy of people who suffer SCI is good. 85% off all patients are still alive 10 years later. Medical Marijuana (MM) helps with the pain that results from the injuries. Depending on the type of injury and the part of the spine, the pain may feel different for different patients. MM also helps boost the mood and increases the quality of sleep in these patients.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE is a super rare disorder and isn’t yet widely understood. CTE is the brain degradation that results from repeated head trauma such as concussions. CTE so far has most often been discovered during autopsies after life and is most frequent in patients who chronically engaged in contact sports. Only “high risk exposures” have been diagnosed with the patient still living. The most famous case of CTE is with deceased football player, Aaron Hernandez. Symptoms don’t typically develop directly after a head injury. They build up over years. Symptoms of CTE include difficulty thinking, impulsive behavior, depression, short term memory loss, difficulty planning, substance misuse and suicidal thoughts.
How Weed Helps
MM helps CTE patients retain more memory, curtail their aggressiveness and ward off suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The best MM strains to help with memory loss are Purple Kush, OG Kush, Sour Diesel and Green Crack. The best mood boosting strains include Blue Diesel, Maui Wowie, Pineapple Express, Chem Dawg and Bubba OG.
Cited
https://www.shepherd.org/patient-programs/spinal-cord-injury/about
https://www.marijuanabreak.com/can-cannabis-cure-alzheimers-disease
https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabis/these-marijuana-strains-will-make-you-happy-as-hell/