The mention of marijuana immediately brings visions of drug abuse and psychoactive elements to our minds. But it is high time that we understood that marijuana is also used for medicinal purposes.
Yes, some people consume marijuana for recreation, but that does not mean we ignore the actual benefits of this plant! According to veriheal.com, medical marijuana can help in alleviating various health disorders. Although it is also marijuana, it is not the recreational kind, and you would be able to understand this fact by the end of this article.
What is marijuana that people use for recreation?
You might have seen people smoking pot from a recreational dispensary and that is exactly what recreational marijuana is. This type of marijuana helps people to get high or intoxicated because it consists of large amounts of THC.
Which marijuana is used for treating health disorders?
For medicinal uses, certain chemical elements are extracted from the marijuana plant with the help of scientific procedures. While the FDA has not yet approved this, multiple research articles point to the benefits of using medical marijuana. Typically, a marijuana plant consists of more than 100 chemicals and in this article, we are going to talk about the two prime compounds having medicinal effects.
THC- As already mentioned, it is what creates the “high” associated with marijuana because it is the psychoactive element of the plant.
CBD- We will talk about this later in the article. But it is important to note that it does not cause that “high” sensation.
What are the differences between medical and recreational marijuana?
Below are some of the parameters in which we will judge the two types of marijuana to check how different they are:
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Amount of THC
THC is present in higher amounts in recreational marijuana for the ultimate purpose of helping people get intoxicated. However, the same cannot be said about medical marijuana. To inform yourself more about such topic visit this website.
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Amount of CBD
As mentioned before, CBD has therapeutic properties, and therefore the higher the amount the better it is. Medical marijuana typically contains a higher amount of CBD than its recreational counterpart and that is why a “high” is not associated with consuming medical marijuana.
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Medical marijuana recommendation
Purchasing medical marijuana requires a recommendation without which nobody will be allowed. After that, you can purchase medical marijuana, but you need to regularly renew the recommendation. The procedures differ state by state. On the other hand, you don’t need any recommendation to own recreational marijuana, and anyone can buy it if they are of age. If medical marijuana is legal in your state, and you are above a certain age as specified by your government, you can get it from a dispensary.
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Age restrictions
To be able to purchase recreational marijuana from a dispensary, you need to prove that you are at least 21. You can walk in with your driver’s license and obtain it without displaying any medical card. Also, in some states, if you are above 21 years of age, you can not only purchase marijuana but you can also grow it if you desire. In the states where medical marijuana is legal, buyers have to carry a medical marijuana card to buy the product. If you are 18 years of age or above, you are eligible to purchase it yourself by applying for a medical marijuana card. You can find more information on the medical marijuana card on cannabislaw.report.
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Dispensary
You can get medical marijuana only in a dispensary and often in a few online outlets. To obtain recreational marijuana you can either choose to visit a regulated dispensary.
What are cannabinoids and how it is linked to medical marijuana?
A marijuana plant consists of more than 500 elements of which cannabinoids are the most talked about. We only discuss two cannabinoids, THC and CBD, in this article because this would help you to understand the difference between the two facets of marijuana.
THC is the psychoactive compound of the weed plant and whenever people smoke marijuana it is the THC that gives them the “high” sensation. But not all cannabinoids are psychoactive. CBD contains healing properties and is not intoxicating.
What are the key differences between CBD and THC?
To understand how medical marijuana differs from the recreational type, we need to check out the differences between the above-mentioned cannabinoids, CBD, and THC.
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Intoxicating symptoms
CBD is extracted and manufactured in a way to not give you this high sensation. THC is responsible for the intoxicating symptoms to those who smoke pot. That is why medical marijuana is considered to be effective in handling multiple disorders.
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Psychoactive effects
Recreational marijuana often causes temporary psychoactive effects. But if you use CBD you would not experience any such effects owing to negligible traces of THC.
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Anxiety
People who smoke recreational marijuana containing high levels of THC often complain about getting anxious and/or paranoid without any specific reason. But numerous studies have proved that CBD plays a great role in alleviating anxiety symptoms.
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Sleep
Many people smoke recreational marijuana to be able to enjoy a goodnight’s sleep as THC is sleep-inducing in nature. On the other hand, if you need a dose of energy to stay awake and complete your pending chores, CBD will be effective for you as it acts as an energy booster.
What are the most common uses of medicinal marijuana?
Medicinal marijuana is most commonly used for treating nausea and chronic pain.
- Nausea relief- Often certain treatment methods like chemotherapy lead to symptoms like nausea, chronic pain, vomiting, etc. Synthetic variants of THC can reduce nausea in cancer and AIDS patients.
- Chronic nerve pain relief– Patients suffering from AIDS and spinal cord injuries often experience excruciating pain in their hands and feet. Studies conducted by reputed universities have found that smoking marijuana might help in alleviating such pain associated with nerve disorders.
But apart from these, it is also used to treat a wide range of ailments which include appetite-loss, mental health disorders, eye conditions like glaucoma, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s disease, and muscle spasms.
Final words
Recreational and medical marijuana have their own uniqueness and uses, however, you must make sure that you buy the right kind and consume it in the right dosage. For best results, visit an authorized dispensary for the best quality of the product that is also safe for use.
