Gorging on Some Marijuana Brownies for Medicinal Purposes

Marijuana is more than a recreational substance. Owing to its herbal nature, it can also serve a medicinal purpose. There are plenty of ways by which medical marijuana can be ingested, but did you know that it can be used as an ingredient for some very tasty treats?

Cookies, meatballs, you name it, someone else has already found culinary uses for the “leaves.” If you have been issued a Medical Marijuana Recommendation in any of the 14 states that have legalized marijuana, then you can consume the herb in a delicious way. That said, one pastry always sticks in the minds of people getting their fix - “special brownies,” as the teens of That '70s Show once put it.

Baking “special brownies” requires a batch of eggs, oil, water, brown mix, a standard baking pan, and a serving of prescribed marijuana that is grounded down or converted as pot butter. Since weed brownies have a tendency to stick to the metal pan, a liberal helping of butter should be applied to the pan before applying the mixture. The sweet content usually leads to the marijuana's effects kicking in roughly an hour after eating.

Naturally, marijuana for these brownies will have to be acquired through legitimate outlets, which is only possible if you have a prescription from a medical professional. On the other hand, you should stick to smoking the marijuana if baking is not quite your thing. 

Making the Cut for Medical Marijuana Prescriptions

Marijuana can be used for recreational or medicinal purposes, but it continues to have a rather complicated relationship with the law despite the latter. While still a hot topic of debate, people can take comfort in the fact that there are at least a dozen states in the U.S. that have legalized marijuana for medicinal usage. These states are home to a number of medical marijuana facilities, although gaining access to these can be quite a challenge. Worse, some may operate under a members-only policy.

If you find yourself in need of marijuana for some herbal therapy, you can scour online for a list of health practitioners who also issue prescriptions for medical marijuana. However, you have to be honest with the chosen practitioner about the ailments that you wish to be treated. The ailments can range from glaucoma and nausea to even fibromyalgia and PMS. If all goes well, the practitioner can issue a recommendation to let you acquire a stash of up to the maximum allowable amount under the state law.

Depending on the diagnosis, getting ahold of medical marijuana will go a ways toward treating your ailment. However, you need to play things smart. This means doing your research before crossing into another state that may not have legalized the use of this herb. 

Studying the Effects of Marijuana

Due to marijuana's addictive properties and health risks, the drug, otherwise known as cannabis, has remained illegal in many states across the US. However, researchers from the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research have been testing different types and doses of marijuana and have found the drug to offer several medical benefits. But because of the issue of legality in some states, its use has been restricted to a few medical facilities.

Critics of the drug's widespread use essentially fear its addictive properties and the users' predilection to abuse it, and thus lead to adverse personal and social consequences. Addiction to substances almost always dominate the lives of individuals, which takes a toll on their health as well as their relationship with the community. It's an inimical slippery slope that very soon often entangles the underage members of society.

When the drug is abused, marijuana impairs focus and attention, and impedes the cognitive functions of its users. Long term effects also include respiratory problems, poor short-term recall, low sperm count for men, and irregular menstruation for women.

Despite the health risks, many people support research on the drug because of its capabilities to alleviate debilitating nerve pain and slow down tumor growths. Marijuana is a muscle-relaxant so patients suffering from seizures, for instance, could inhale the drug's vapors to help them calm down. 

The debate on its legalization still rages. Meanwhile, medical facilities have been granted legal use of the substance as long as it is controlled and secured.

The Medical Benefits and Legality of Marijuana

People titter whenever they hear the word “marijuana”. To many, it is associated with the addled things people high on drugs say or do. Compared to other illegal drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, the medical benefits of cannabis is inching ever closer to mainstream acceptance. Increasingly used by patients with terminal diseases, such as AIDS and cancer, medical marijuana alleviates nauseousness, lack of appetite, and pain, among others.

Federal law has, for years, made it illegal to possess, sell, give away, or grow marijuana for any purpose. However, to date, there are 18 states that have decriminalized or legalized marijuana use. Arizona and New Mexico allow patients with valid proof of residency to use a limited amount of marijuana that varies per state. Caregivers are also permitted to cultivate a controlled number of mature and immature cannabis.

Despite its legality in some states, some experts don't recommend marijuana use because, as with any smoke intake, the substance can prove as harmful to the lungs as cigarette smoke. Smoking it with any regularity can also affect cognitive functions.

Those who champion cannabis, on the other hand, assert that it can relieve pain without the unwanted side effects of clinical dependence. It has become helpful as well in improving the appetite of patients who suffer from AIDS and cancer. In any case, whether it is used for recreational or medical purposes, avoid getting addicted to marijuana, unless you want to star in the latest viral video on youtube. 

The Age of Instant Coffee and Fast Foods: Where Anything Goes?

In our fast-paced modern society, where everyone always seems to be in a hurry, almost everything is obtained and consumed in an instant. People buy products which they can easily use and throw away—the faster, the better. Why spend time brewing coffee when you can have one in an instant? If you want fruit juices, you can have them either bottled or in tetra pack with no hassle. These days, you can even thank the Japanese for creating vending machines that churn out food and other consumer items in an instant by the drop of several coins or bills.

Even drugs like medical marijuana can be dispensed in similar ways for the convenience of patients. Medical marijuana has become legal in many states in the U.S., and numerous dispensaries, co-operatives, and wellness clinics exist to service the industry. However, to protect the public and ensure that federal and state guidelines are being followed, medical marijuana is not directly available to patients, and is administered under strict supervision by clinics and other establishments authorized to dispense the drugs.

Medical marijuana dispensaries keep the drugs safe in environmentally controlled conditions that can be securely monitored. Inventory is strictly monitored and all transactions are documented. Although authorized medical marijuana dispensaries also provides the same ease as vending machines and instant foods, there are many imposed legal restrictions that govern its use—and rightly so to prevent any abuse. 

How Medical Marijuana Benefits Different Patients

Marijuana—also known as cannabis and Mary Jane—has been used by various cultures since 2727 B.C. It has a long history of use as a recreational, religious, and medicinal drug, and in the form of medical marijuana, is used to treat various conditions. Though still illegal in many countries, the use of medical marijuana is now permitted by the U.S. Federal Government for the treatment of various disorders.

California was the first state in the United States to legalize the use of marijuana in 1996 through Prop 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. According to this Act, authorized patients and caregivers were given the right to possess and grow a legal amount of marijuana for personal medicinal use. Medical marijuana, when administered in prescribed dosages, can be consumed by vaporizing or smoking the dried buds, drinking and eating the extracts, or consuming capsules.

Medical marijuana has been used to treat patients suffering from chronic pain, migraines, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, Tourette’s syndrome, and those undergoing chemotherapy. Moreover, the consumption of medical marijuana has become big business in the United States, and numerous dispensaries, co-operatives, and wellness clinics can be found in different states. Medical dispensaries, however, have restrictions placed on them to promote safety. These dispensaries can only be found in restricted areas and the products are not directly accessible to the patients. By documenting every transaction and enforcing legal guidelines, patients are assured that the medical marijuana they receive is safe.  

From Hemp to High: Notes on the Uses of Cannabis

Cannabis, often referred to as “weed,” “pot,” and “marijuana,”, has typically been stereotyped as the drug of choice for stoners, hippies, rastafarians, and the like. However, there's more to cannabis than the psychedelic high or out-of-this-world experiences. In fact, the plant does have more wholesome medicinal and practical uses.

The cannabis plant itself is used to make hemp, which can be refined to make oil, paper, rope, wax, and even fuel. Hemp is a durable fiber that can be interwoven with cotton, flax, or silk to produce strong textiles. Hemp seeds can be consumed as a food, or else serve as animal or bird feed.

Cannabis can also be consumed for its medicinal effects; studies have shown that the drug can act as an analgesic that helps treat ailments such as glaucoma, Alzheimer's, HIV/AIDS, brain and breast cancer, and asthma, among others. While the consumption of cannabis as a medicinal drug does have certain limitations to discourage recreational use, some U.S. state laws allow enough room for its uses in alternative treatments. Indeed, proper and responsible use of this herb has allowed many patients to enjoy some measure of pain relief and, correspondingly, a better quality of life as they seek recovery.

Rastaman Restoration: All About Medicinal Marijuana

In 2004, the United Nations reported that about 4 percent of the world's adult population regularly use marijuana. Recent estimates from 2012 purport that up to 203 million consume marijuana annually. Cannabis is thus considered the most frequently consumed regulated (or prohibited) drug worldwide.

Cannabis has been used as a medicinal drug since ancient times, with the earliest records pointing to the Chinese as the first civilization to recognize the plant's benefits. Today, cannabis enjoys limited legal use in several countries, with restrictions typically revolving around the amount that an individual could sell or possess at any given time. These restrictions are designed to prevent those who would use the drug solely for recreational purposes.

Only those afflicted with particular ailments (namely neurogenic pain, asthma, leukemia, HIV/AIDS, movement disorders, and so on) can purchase medicinal marijuana, and even then patients must possess a medical marijuana ID card. Typically, the county health department issues these cards, and only after the patient has fulfilled the necessary requirements. It should be noted that patients can only purchase cannabis from special dispensaries authorized by the state's laws. Seen in this light, one can say that cannabis now has a valid medical application in modern times.

Medicine from Weed: The Benefits of Medical Cannabis

The use of cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, for medical purposes is still the subject of debate in the US. As of 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still holds that using the drug for any purpose whatsoever is legally prohibited. Yet this hasn't stopped certain states such as Alaska, Hawaii, and Nevada, from permitting the limited use of medical cannabis to treat certain disorders such as chronic pain and clinical depression.

This practice is not all new since pharmacists from Ancient China, Egypt, and India prescribed cannabis to treat wounds, sores, nervous disorders, and even falling hair. Some drugs, such as Marinol, actually contain a synthetic version of the active ingredient found in cannabis, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). In the right doses, medical cannabis can improve appetite among chemotherapy patients and thus encourage healthier food consumption.

Perhaps one of the most interesting medical benefits of cannabis is its alleged ability to halt or reduce the risk of certain cancers. A research institute in California has discovered that another component of cannabis called Cannabidiol can actually help prevent breast cancer cells from spreading throughout the body. Further research is currently underway to determine whether or not cannabis can serve as an alternative to chemotherapy.

The Various Health Benefits of Medical Marijuana

According to ProCon.org, eighteen states have enacted laws that legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Dr. Lester Grinspoon, professor at Harvard Medical School, states that there have been no deaths directly linked to cannabis use. Although the legalization of marijuana is a point of contention in the country, it has been reported that medical cannabis actually offers several health benefits.

Marijuana reportedly stops the progression of Alzheimer's plaques and protein clumps that inhibit a person's memory and cognitive functions. Cannabis also helps control epileptic seizures and eases the pain caused by MS (multiple sclerosis). Perhaps the biggest health benefit of medical marijuana is the fact that it is arguably one of the most effective substances in the treatment for glaucoma. Taking cannabis can relieve the pressure that causes optic nerve damage, which causes total vision loss in some cases.

Even though a good number of states have allowed cannabis for medical purposes, Colorado is the only state, so far, that has legalized it for recreational purposes. Patients who require cannabis for treatment must go to an authorized dispensary for their required doses. These dispensaries also need to make sure that they comply with all regulations pertaining to the sale of this medicinal herb.