Cannabis as a Preventative Drug Cannabis has been widely touted as a cure for insomnia, stress, chronic pain, arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy, anxiety, and more! Cannabis has many benefits (beyond producing a high) including anti-inflammatory properties, antioxidant effects and both mental and physical stress management. But does this mean for cannabis as a preventative drug?
Prevention of Age-Related Diseases
By maintaining the body's endocannabinoid system and supplementing imbalances with cannabis, is linked to the prevention of various ailments, specifically age-related conditions such as Alzheimer's or dementia. There are a variety of cannabinoid receptors, such as CB1, located throughout the brain. These receptors can be found in the hippocampus, which is an area particularly vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease and damage that can result in memory and learning problems. Cannabinoids, such as those found in cannabis, are actually able to induce neurogenesis in this area of the brain1, thereby healing previous damage. Studies, including one published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease2 and one from the Salk Institute3, have shown THC as being an effective agent against beta-amyloid proteins. It is these 1 2
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028668 https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad140093