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Cannabis & Wellness
Cannabis has been widely recognized for its medicinal properties, but for just as long it has also been used to promote wellness. Some of the most prominent medical properties of cannabis are its pain fighting and anti-inflammatory abilities, but marijuana is also full of cannabinoids, terpenes and antioxidants that help promote health and wellness. Many proponents of cannabis also advocate that cannabis can be an important component for a healthy lifestyle.
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The Endocannabinoid System
The endocannabinoid system is one of the largest and most extensive systems found in the body. Endocannabinoid receptors assist the body in maintaining homeostasis by aiding in the bodies’ response to internal and external stimuli. Stimulating the endocannabinoid system through consuming cannabis can create balance, encourage creativity, and promote calm or alert feelings.
Creativity, Patience & Spirituality
One of the biggest advocates of using cannabis for wellness is Steve DeAngelo, the founder of Harborside Health Center in California. DeAngelo has long been a cannabis advocate and has continued to educate people on marijuana while running the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the world. In a Harborside blog post by DeAngelo he says:
"Benefits [of cannabis] can include the ability to spark creativity, extend patience and promote self-examination; to awaken a sense of wonder and playfulness, an openness to spiritual experience; the ability to enhance the flavor of a meal, the sound of music, or the sensitivity of a lover’s touch; to open the mind; to bring poetry to language and spontaneity to a performer; to catalyze laughter, facilitate friendship, and bridge human differences." It seems much like eating healthy and exercising, cannabis can help round out your personal wellness regime.
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Cannabis can improve wellness by creating a positive and relaxed environment where you can embrace and enjoy life to the fullest. Wellness is about all the feelings that are encompassed in an improved mindset and well being, rather than a direct medical benefit like reducing the sensation of pain. Cannabis can help you live in the moment and free yourself from the burdens of daily life. Sometimes it is hard to compartmentalize your feelings, especially during trying times, but cannabis can help aid you in freeing yourself from excess baggage, allowing you to relax and enjoy the events going on around you.
Enhancing Everyday Activities
In addition, cannabis can help enhance the activities that may be important to you. Similar to what DeAngelo alludes to, marijuana can help you listen to music in a way that allows you to fully experience the moment. You can feel the melodies as you listen intently to all of the words, rather than just enjoying music on a surface level.
Marijuana can help you enjoy food and the process of cooking on a deeper level by allowing you to slow down and taste every element of your meal. Even for people who enjoy cooking, sometimes it can just be a matter of getting food on the table, but with the addition of marijuana it can turn back into a stress-relieving creative outlet.
Sometimes it is also hard to fully enter a centered state while participating in activities like yoga and meditation. One of the ways that cannabis can help improve your wellness is by clearing your mind of unnecessary thoughts and allowing you to experience the moment. Cannabis can help you deepen into stretches and postures while truly focusing on your breathing, instead of what you need to pick up at the grocery store after your class. This ability for internal focus is one of the truly amazing ways that cannabis can be used to promote wellness in your life.
Wellness vs. Intoxication
Using cannabis for wellness is far different than using cannabis for intoxication, meaning it's not just about getting stoned. When consuming cannabis for wellness it is crucial to consume it consciously, based on what part of your world you are attempting to elevate by using marijuana. It is important to understand the products and the form of cannabis you are using, and how that can help steer you towards or away from your desired goals. Using cannabis for wellness is not simply about achieving a certain feeling, but it is about using cannabis as a tool too enhance the world around you and bring you stimulation, balance, focus, and happiness.
If you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our Cannabis 101 post. HelloMD can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient.
