Now, a new study from the American Medical Association (AMA) reveals that psychedelics and marijuana are among the most promising drugs for treating and managing eating disorders. For the study, researchers from the University of Sydney, together with investigators from New South Wales Health, analyzed several different drugs and their impact on treating eating disorders. These drugs included psychedelics, alcohol, caffeine, marijuana, opioids, and stimulants, among others.

More importantly, there are clear political implications. When federally funded research shows that cannabis can have positive mental health benefits, it serves as fuel for legalization momentum and can help push for the rescheduling of marijuana later on through the Controlled Substances Act. Unfortunately, cannabis is still considered a Schedule 1 substance which, in other words, says that it has no accepted medical use.

The same study also noted that while there was a significant rise among 14 types of cancer, the good news was that there was a decrease of incidences among 19 other types of cancer. As a result, the mortality rate isn’t rising. However, being diagnosed with cancer is not something anyone can take lightly: it’s a genuinely scary diagnosis that can cause serious financial and emotional strain.

However, just because it can get you high doesn’t mean it has no place in medicine, even in pediatric care. It’s best not to oversimplify things and avoid ignoring the science because the studies and countless anecdotal evidence shows that THC, in the right doses and when administered under clinical supervision, is safe and effective for treating children.

Study participants were made to undergo 15-minute exposures each week to low THC, which consisted of 0.5% weed smoke, for more than a month. The smoke itself was delivered using a pump inside a vehicle. Meanwhile, after a one month washout period when they abstained from exposure, the participants were then asked to repeat the exposure in the same conditions but with high THC cannabis smoke this time. The researchers collected urine and hair samples after.

Sure, there are cases linking cannabis use to cases of psychosis and schizophrenia. But that’s because individuals who are already prone to these conditions take pot, which brings out the worst of their symptoms. However, do not confuse causation with correlation. When a person is predisposed to these mental illnesses, using cannabis before the start of symptoms doesn’t mean that the drug caused it. There is so much nuance to these situations, which is why they must be approached with caution and critical thinking.

Primarily, the driving force behind this is the fact that the human brain is still developing until around the age of 21. Science shows that the brain is the last organ in the body to fully mature, and it even continues to grow through the age of 25. That’s why placing restrictions in place, for young adults not to be allowed to legally consume weed until 21, helps prevent any damage to the developing brain.

In the case that CBD alone wasn’t effective in treating seizures effectively, the patients could then take delta-9 THC while gradually reducing CBD dosage. Researchers used logs based on reports from the patients in order to assess the effectiveness of the treatments; they also monitored seizure frequencies before, during, and after administration of cannabis oil treatments. 

Another study, whose results were published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, was conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers and revealed that psilocybin-assisted therapy together with psychotherapy provided patients with a year-long releif from depression. For the study, they analyzed 27 participants, all of whom had a long history with depression. a  majority of them struggled with depressive symptoms for around 2 years before treatment began, and they had an average age of 40. 

Minnesota state investigators analyzed 3,102 patients of sleep apnea who were enrolled in the medical marijuana program. In a study, they discussed how 40% of the patients experienced sustainable and significant improvements after they began using medical marijuana. Cannabis was most commonly consumed by the patients via inhalation, though flower and weed oil were also equally popular. Additionally, high THC products were widely used by the patients.