Today, pharmaceutical start-ups are researching the effective use of cannabis-based medications to reduce the damage from concussions. One of these is Kannalife Sciences, which is trying to put the neurologically protective properties of cannabis into the form of a tablet that athletes can take in order to alleviate and reduce the damage caused by recurrent head traumas.
The CEO of Kannalife, Dean Petkanas told Fox News that, “In the parlance of pharmaceutical science, we could be using that (cannabinoids) as a prophylaxis against repetitive concussive injury.” In 2014, The American Surgeon published a study stating that among brain trauma victims, those who tested positive for THC before receiving their injuries had mortality rates lower by 80% than those who did not. To put things into perspective, traumatic head injury-related deaths in the US exceed 52,000 on annually.
This suggests that through regular use of marijuana oil, more than 41,600 lives might be saved every year.” Researchers reached the conclusion that THC “protected brain cells and preserved cognitive function over time”, and suggested the possibility that it can be used to prevent brain damage.
It has been established by a plethora of scientific research and anecdotal evidence, that cannabinoids have the ability to treat, and at high rates heal cancer. It was shown in a 2014 study that the combination of cannabinoids available in marijuana when administered along with chemotherapy can have “drastic reductions” in the size of a brain tumor. The curative potential of cannabinoids for cancer patients is not news and in 1998, a study stated that THC “induces apoptosis (cell death) in C6 glioma cells (an aggressive form of brain cancer)”.
A 2009 study showed that THC was able “to kill cancer cells, while it does not affect normal cells” in the brain. This is the advantage that marijuana and marijuana oil have over other conventional cancer treatments. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy tends to kill cancer cells along with the healthy cells around them without any distinction.
One last function of marijuana that affects brain health we can mention is neurogenesis. Neurogenesis is the process by which new brain cells develop in the hippocampus, the area of our brain that is primarily responsible for producing new neurons for us and is also responsible for our emotions and memories.
In a study in 2005, Dr. Xia Zhang from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada validated the ability of cannabis to trigger neurogenesis and remarked “Most ‘drugs of abuse’ suppress neurogenesis,” and that “Only marijuana promotes neurogenesis”. Not only does this process revitalize a person’s brain, but the slowdown of it can result in severe mood disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and stress, which are all related to insufficient rates of neurogenesis. Stress and aging are usually the causes that slow down the neurogenesis process. That is the reason why marijuana is one of the most effective remedies to such mood disorders, and also a strong anti-aging therapeutic substance.
The evidence that has been rising over the past ten years strongly supports the use of marijuana or cannabis oil (Rick Simpson oil) as a stimulant for the growth of new brain cells and a preventative measure against fatal brain diseases and disorders, in contrast to what we have been told our entire lives about how harmful marijuana is to our brains.