Is marijuana any good for your health?

While many countries consider marijuana illegal, Canada is
one of the countries that has already recognized it as a legal product. There
have been reports of the plant, also called bhang or cannabis, helping users deal with various health
conditions, which has led to a huge buzz across the globe.

Before his demise, the former Member of Parliament for Kibra
Ken Okoth had expressed an interest in pushing for marijuana to become a legal
drug in Kenya. Other prominent people have also rallied behind making marijuana
(also referred to as bhang) a legal drug, but have seemed to quiet down as
other matters of national concern attract their attention.

Is marijuana any good for your health?

Yes, marijuana makes users feel ‘high’, but it has other
beneficial components. The plant contains a substance called CBD, which is
non-psychoactive meaning it does not alter the normal functioning of your mind.
CBD has promising health benefits that we will mention later. However, bhang
has a component called THC, which is responsible for making you feel high.

Many companies are offering CBD products, which are easily
available online from their official websites or e-commerce platforms such as
Amazon. However, manufacturers use hemp plants to extract CBD because they
contain less THC (0.3% or less) unlike marijuana which can have as much as 40%
THC.

Hemp and marijuana are both varieties of the cannabis strain
only that hemp has much lower THC that cannot make you feel high. Even with
hemp having negligible amounts of the psychoactive component THC, some governments
are reluctant to legalize CBD because some business people might use marijuana
instead of hemp in making different products.

Now, let’s focus on the beneficial component of marijuana and
hemp called CBD.

CBD is the short form of cannabidiol and it offers relief for
several health conditions. It can assist ease anxiety, pain stress, nausea, and
elevate your mood. However, CBD does not treat diseases or disorders. What it
does is alleviate the conditions to make you more comfortable, mobile, and productive.
Therefore, you can use it to reduce nausea associated with cancer treatment or
chronic pain caused by arthritis.

If you have trouble sleeping or feel anxious, CBD can help
you sleep better and calm down. It also elevates your mood to make you feel
more energized for the day and productive at work too.

How does CBD work?

The human body has an endocannabinoid system that regulates
functions such as appetite, mood, immunity and pain. Your body has substances
that help control these functions. What CBD does is interact with the
endocannabinoid system in your body and trigger it to produce more cannabinoids
to help reduce pain improve mood, and help you calm down among other functions.

Are there any legal drugs that contain CBD?

In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration in the US approved
a drug by the name Epidiolex. It contains CBD and is used to treat two types of
epilepsy in children called Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and Dravet syndrome. It
helps reduce the number of seizures a patient experiences.

However, some states allows use of marijuana for medical
reasons, where a doctor prescribes it for a patient.

Marijuana (bhang) makes people feel high, but it has other
beneficial components such as CBD that aid with various conditions, such as
anxiety, stress, insomnia, and nausea. However, professional CBD manufacturers
use industrial hemp, which contains 0.3% THC in making their products. You do
not have to worry about getting high. Nevertheless, more research is needed about the benefits of CBD.