Cannabis; defending brain cells. Contrary to what many people used to, and still, believe, cannabis does NOT kill brain cells; this piece of misinformation is simply anti-cannabis propaganda used to scare people into not using it. Cannabis actually defends and helps brain cells, and can even help them to grow!
There have been a large number of studies done that show the positive effect that cannabinoids have on the brain cells’ of genetically modified rats that show signs of Alzheimer’s. This illness is degenerative, and it happens due to an accumulation of a protein called beta-amyloid in the brain. This seems to damage brain cells enough to severely reduce memory and cause people to forget even about their loved ones. There were a second group of rats that were injected with this protein to stimulate accumulation in the brain. The first group of rats showed an improvement with CBD whereas the second group of rats showed a better treatment with THC being used to control the illness.
As we all know, CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, known as a medicinal cannabinoid. Apart from that, it has many other properties such as the fact that it’s anti-inflammatory. THC prevents damage done to the memory due to the high presence of beta-amyloid, and it also prevents the accumulation of this protein. Until 2006 THC was recognized as the best medicine for those suffering from Alzheimer’s.
It seems a bit paradoxical how a plant that affects short-term memory can be a possible solution for degenerative illnesses that attack brain cells and memory, and hundreds have studies have shown this to be true. If that’s not enough, it’s also been proven that CBD stimulates neurogenesis, the creation of completely new brain cells in an adult brain. In 2004 another study was published that confirms CBD’s power over brain cells and its capacity to stimulate and form new brain cells, which is completely the opposite to what people would have you believe back in the 1930s.
Every day it’s a bit more obvious that cannabis is gaining importance medicinally, not just as cannabis healthcare but also as official therapies in many states in the USA. This is due to the fact that cannabis, unlike many medications prescribed for various illnesses, can treat the illness without having any negative side effects; you might feel hungry or laugh uncontrollably, but who’d complain about that?
