What is Medical Marijuana? Why are Doctors Prescribing it?

Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana, is cannabis and cannabinoids use in medical industry prescribed by Doctors. 

Medical marijuana refers to using the whole cannabis plant, or the plant’s basic extracts, for the treatment of various ailments or conditions. If you’re not treating ailments or conditions, marijuana can’t be labeled medical marijuana.

People often confuse the terms cannabis and marijuana. Cannabis is a category for a plant species that includes both hemp and marijuana. For a lot of people, the best way to think about cannabis is with an analogy: hemp and marijuana are to cannabis as lemons and oranges are to citrus. Two related but different plants, from the same “family.”

The characteristic that defines marijuana from hemp is the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound in cannabis that gets users “high.” Hemp is almost entirely devoid of THC but often high in another cannabinoid – cannabidiol (CBD). Hemp has 0.3 percent THC or less while the threshold for marijuana starts at a THC concentration of 0.31 percent or higher. Both forms of cannabis, hemp and marijuana, have been shown to contain medically beneficial levels of differing cannabinoids, active compounds found in the cannabis plant.

Cannabis contains over 85 cannabinoids, some of which have been found to have therapeutically beneficial properties. The two major cannabinoids found in cannabis are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), though a number of other cannabinoids, like cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabinol (CBN), have also been investigated.

These cannabinoids interact directly with the body’s endocannabinoid system – a signaling network found within every mammalian species on Earth. It features two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2 receptors, which THC and CBD “dock” with to provide their therapeutic effects. THC is the intoxicating ingredient found in higher concentrations in medical marijuana. CBD doesn’t cause an intoxicating effect like THC, but it can be taken to promote health and wellness. CBD Oil is one of the most popular ways to experience the benefits of CBD.