If you grew up believing that cannabis was an incredibly dangerous substance, you might be surprised to see how many states have shifted their regulations to allow cannabis for recreational use. According to the CDC, roughly 18 percent of Americans use cannabis at least once every year, and that number is climbing the longer adult-use weed is available and the more states legalize it.
If you have abstained from the good green herb for your entire life, you might owe yourself the chance to try it in the New Year. Here are a few good reasons you should take a trip to your local dispensary and buy some bud for yourself:
You Suffer From a Serious Health Condition
While Federal Law states that marijuana is has no currently accepted medical use, ample research dating from to the 1940s to this year shows that cannabis is almost invaluable as a treatment for all sorts of health conditions. Some important medical uses for cannabis include:
Appetite stimulant. Some of the most severe, life-threatening diseases cause patients’ appetites to dwindle, but insufficient nutrients from food can make their conditions worse. Thus, stimulating the appetite with cannabis is a simple way to improve outcomes for some of the sickest patients.
Treatment for nausea. Intense nausea can also impact a patient’s ability to take in nutrients. In the right doses, cannabis can eliminate nausea, providing greater comfort.
Pain reliever. A number of compounds in cannabis help the body manage pain, both by interrupting the pain signals within the nervous system and by addressing common causes of pain, like muscle tension and inflammation.
Neuro-protectant. New research indicates that cannabis provides a wealth of benefits to the human nervous system, potentially protecting nerve cells from degradation as a result of time, injury or disease.
If you are struggling to manage a debilitating disease, you might talk to your doctor about the opportunity to join your state’s medical marijuana program and give cannabis treatment a try. More states permit medical cannabis consumption than recreational consumption, so if you are interested in visiting dispensaries in Maryland, for example, suffering from a health condition might be your only option.
You Like to Challenge Social Stigmas
The stigma attached to cannabis use is one derived primarily from racism and xenophobia. At the turn of the 20th century, immigrants to the United States from Asia and Latin America caused many white Americans to panic, and a flurry of laws were passed to control the cultural expressions of these groups. Anti-cannabis legislation has been the most enduring of these regulations — as evidenced by the fact that 94 percent of cannabis-related arrests involve people of color, though white people make up the majority of cannabis consumers.
Cannabis stigma suggests that cannabis users are dangerous or degenerate, but these associations are the result of ignorant fear. If you like the idea of breaking down untrue and harmful stigmas, then cannabis use is something you might enjoy.
You Want to Shift Your Perspective
Cannabis is a psychoactive compound, which means the compounds in cannabis cause changes to a user’s mood, thoughts, feelings and behavior. Though cannabis doesn’t cause hallucinations like psilocybin or LCD, it can alter one’s perspective by allowing the brain to relax and reframe the issues affecting it. What’s more, cannabis can lower a user’s inhibitions, allowing them to flex their creativity without self-criticism. Ultimately, if you have been suffering from a creative block in 2022, you might give yourself the opportunity to expand your worldview with weed.
You Need Some Fun
The past two years have been tough for everyone, and the handful of years before that haven’t been ideal. More likely than not, you are in desperate need of a new, exciting experience — and cannabis can provide just that. One of cannabis’s most dominant effects is euphoria, which makes every activity so much more enjoyable. Different strains can offer other common and agreeable effects, like relaxation, focus and sociability. If you have been struggling to find the fun in life, it might be high time to get high.
It can be difficult to change a deeply ingrained belief, like that cannabis is dangerous or deviant. Yet, if you are making a resolution to become a better person in the New Year, you should try to challenge those stigmas that are without merit. Cannabis could do you good — so you might as well try it in 2022.
