There are a whole lot of good things about Texas. For example, you can get a Texas Marijuana Card here.
But there is also a whole lot about Texas that could stand to improve. For example, we’re ranked 31st in the U.S. for overall healthcare. And the numbers get worse as we look at specific aspects of healthcare: We’re ranked 39th for healthcare quality, and 45th for access.
But did we mention you can get a Marijuana Card in Texas? And that’s good news, because while there may not be much you alone can do to improve the state’s healthcare system, you can help give your own health a boost with medical marijuana.
Now you can only get a Texas Marijuana Card if you need it to treat one of the recognized qualifying conditions, but while you’re using medical marijuana to treat your PTSD or epilepsy, for example, you may also be helping your overall health in a number of ways.
Marijuana May Help You Keep Weight Off
We don’t know if everything is bigger in Texas, but we do know our residents are bigger than they ought to be. Texas is tied for 10th highest obesity rate in the nation. More than a third of us are obese, more than 70% of us are either obese or overweight.
Fortunately, we have a medical marijuana program, and marijuana can help you keep those pounds off.
A study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that although marijuana users are likely to consume more calories than non-users (probably due to those infamous munchies), they’re also likely to be skinnier than the average person, and to have healthier metabolic reactions to sugars.
As Dr. Gary Wenk, professor of neuroscience at Ohio State University, told Men’s Health, “Marijuana receptors live on your mitochondria, the power plants that give us energy. It turns out that they have THC receptors and they’re involved in regulating your energy use. What we speculate is that marijuana is getting in there and altering your ability to burn through calories, in spite of the munchies.”
Marijuana Can Help You Improve Your Workouts
Marijuana can help you up your exercise game in a number of ways, but perhaps the most obvious is that marijuana can aid in your recovery from workouts.
It’s important to get rest between your workouts if you’re going to show the maximum gains for your efforts.
Workouts stress the body and cause inflammation, but according to Everyday Health, that’s not a bad thing. This damage triggers the body’s immune system, and when your body tissues recover, they come back just a little more fit than they were before the damage. That way, the next time you perform the same workout, you won’t suffer as much damage.
It’s the cycle of damage and recovery that leads to improved fitness, and marijuana can help in that process.
“After a 30- to 40-mile run, I’ll sit down, and my legs will keep throbbing and pounding; it’s like they think they’re still supposed to be going,” Avery Collins told Men’s Journal. “That’s when the CBD compounds help tremendously. They calm down your legs and, because they’re anti-inflammatory, let them recover faster.”
A study published in the peer-reviewed Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found that marijuana improved athletes’ pain tolerance, which allowed them to wait for shorter recovery periods and work out more often and more vigorously.
“CBD has become part of my all-natural recovery system that I use throughout the day to help with pain and inflammation,” soccer star Megan Rapinoe told Forbes. “Instead of taking Advil or other pain management meds, I've almost exclusively substituted with Mendi CBD products.”
Marijuana may even improve lung function and capacity, giving you a leg up on your aerobic exercise.
Marijuana Can Aid Sleep Quality
If you’re not getting enough quality sleep, you could be facing a whole host of health problems.
From a weakened immune system to high blood pressure to an increased risk of heart disease and more, a few good winks can help you stave off a whole lot of health issues.
And if you have trouble getting enough quality sleep, marijuana, specifically CBD, might be what you need. According to the Sleep Foundation, “CBD can help with a number of sleep disorders, including insomnia, REM sleep behavior disorder, and excessive daytime sleepiness disorder. Additional preliminary research suggests CBD can also help patients improve sleep and reduce anxiety.”
And Speaking of Anxiety…
Of course feeling anxious isn’t fun, but anxiety can be detrimental to your physical and mental health in a number of ways.
From muscle aches and pains to high blood pressure to digestion problems, anxiety is more than just feeling nervous. It can throw your entire physical and mental wellbeing out of whack.
Fortunately, this is another aspect of your health that marijuana can improve.
And although Texas does not yet include anxiety as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana use, many states do, and for some good reasons.
According to an article published by the American Psychological Association, studies have shown that patients “who used cannabis to treat a range of medical problems including anxiety, had largely improved cognitive performance, reduced clinical symptoms and anxiety-related symptoms as well as a reduced use of conventional medications, including opioids, benzodiazepines, and other mood stabilizers and antidepressants.”
Cannabis May Even Help Slow the Spread of Cancer
According to researchers at the California Pacific Medical Center, CBD may even help prevent cancer from spreading.
According to Business Insider, other preliminary studies have indicated that THC and CBD can slow or shrink tumors in mice and cell cultures.
It’s important to note that these are studies in very early stages of the research into marijuana and cancer, but the fact remains that the findings are indeed encouraging so far. As Business Insider said, these preliminary results are “a strong reason to do more research.”
Alleviate Your Qualifying Condition and Help Your Overall Health Today
Why wait any longer to find out if medical marijuana can not only help treat your qualifying condition, but can also help your overall health?
Reserve an evaluation today, and we’ll make an appointment for you with one of our compassionate doctors just as soon as we’re cleared to start treating patients.
Not only will you discuss your condition and options in a virtual appointment in the safety of your own home, but you’ll also save $25 off the cost of the appointment!
We’ll even refund the total appointment cost if you and your doctor conclude that medical marijuana isn’t right for you. You have nothing to lose, and a world of potential health benefits to gain!