Even if you haven’t been following medical marijuana news, you probably heard that marijuana can have some mind blowing effects on patients suffering from debilitating conditions, one of them being Alzheimer’s disease. You also probably heard that most medical marijuana patients prefer strains that have more CBD, rather than THC because THC makes them stoned rather than better. That trend soon marked a spike in genetically modified marijuana strains that have almost zero THC but are filled to the brim with CBD; one obvious example being Avidekel – a CBD only strain produced by a company called Tikun Olam from Israel.
Research Finally Yields Results
However, marijuana is a plant that is heavily under researched and only with the rise in support has the industry seen a rise in research as well. We couldn’t be happier about that as this will ensure that the plant receives credit on a more scientific level. That’s right, personal testimonials weren’t enough, as they simply didn’t provide a base to build on further research. There have been some studies that claim marijuana could be beneficial to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. For a while, it has seemed that research regarding that particular disease has come to a halt. Luckily, the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease published results of a research study in September, which claims that THC could benefit patients suffering from Alzheimer’s.
When you look at the statistics, over five million American are currently suffering from the disease and that costs the US over $200 billion dollars per year. The University of South Florida and Thomas Jefferson University researched the effects THC has on Alzheimer’s disease and came to the conclusion that it not only slows it down but that it could stop it altogether. What is really interesting about this is that the THC seems to be the main component responsible for battling the disease. On top of that, the researchers also found out that THC boosts the mitochondria, the so-called energy factories of the cells.
It is well known that THC has antioxidant properties but it wasn’t known that it had such an effect on the brain. However, when you think about it, that perfectly makes sense because is believed that Alzheimer’s disease stems from brain inflammation that has been present in a persons life for decades or maybe even a lifetime. Since THC and CBD reduce the inflammation in the brain, it was perfectly reasonable to try and test these assumptions on actual patients.
Some neuroscientists believe that getting high in your twenties may be the best possible way to avoid an onset of Alzheimer’s disease in the future. Even the Time reported that marijuana slows aging of the brain. It would be great if we could state that marijuana was a fantastic choice during those college years and that anyone who was stoned in their twenties was actually doing himself a favor. But, to be perfectly honest, all we know for now is that if you had a history of Alzheimer’s in your family, then it wouldn’t hurt to vaporize a bit of weed every now and then.