Why Cannabis is a Great Alternative to Opioids 

The modern day United States is currently facing a crisis. No, I’m talking about the national debt crisis or the social security crisis (but we should be, right?). Instead, I am talking about the opioid addiction crisis that many Americans are grappling with on a daily basis. In fact, it is written that, in 2020, drug overdose deaths in the United States hit a record high of more than 96,000. Honestly, a number that large is extremely hard to process.

Not only is it something that money people see from a day to day basis, but opioid related deaths are almost always preventable. Not to mention, the rate at which people are overdosing continues to climb in this country. So what can be done about it? To start, many people are rallying around the idea of looser laws around medical and recreational marijuana.

It is becoming more and more evident that opioid medications are not working for a lot of people, especially in long term use. There is a high potential for addiction and mental health collapse, as well as many physical side effects that these opiates can create. There is also an inherent risk of overdose for people who are really struggling. Opioids have been getting a lot of heat in the media, but I still don’t think that it’s enough. Of those 96,000 deaths related to opioid overdose in 2020, how many could have been prevented if medical marijuana was used as a substitute? I firmly believe that it would have been a lot more.

This fact is backed by scientific evidence; medical marijuana is more effective for pain relief. Over time, opioids can become less effective at dealing with people’s pain. However, there are several things that we know about how cannabis can deal with pain. Because chronic pain can come from more than one location in the body, it is true that marijuana could be more effective than regular pain medications and opioids.

Not to mention, there are way less adverse side effects when consuming cannabis in any form, especially when compared to recent opioid related death numbers. When comparing cannabis to other forms of pain medication, cannabis is more effective at targeting various nerves throughout the whole body. Because the body can feel chronic pain in more than one location, it makes sense that cannabinoids are naturally better at keeping nerves from firing off pain messages to report to the brain. 

Some doctors and other medical professionals are suggesting that cannabis could disrupt the pharmaceutical industry. This doesn’t sound like such a bad thing to me. Big pharmaceutical companies have been taking advantage of regular people for far too long, and a lot of these companies have existed by going under the radar in their unethical practices. Do we really need opioids to control chronic pain and other conditions? Is it possible that cannabis could be a substitute for these medications? Possibly. We are beginning to see more into the effects of marijuana as a medical treatment now that it is becoming legalized all over the United States.

Cannabis becoming a frontline drug for battling pain instead of opioids could potentially save lives and prevent crippling addictions from taking place. I am personally on board with destroying the opioid industry, especially given all the information we have that suggest how terrible opioids can be to the human body and mind. Cannabis can even work in tandem with different drugs, which could offer a better solution for dealing with pain than getting addicted to other drugs like opiates. 

Cannabis and Your Senses 

Cannabis is something that helps you perceive just how much of the world is right there around where you are.  It can definitely be something that changes the way that you feel, and it can make even just enjoy foods on a whole different levels. 

For those who are interested in cannabis, they may learn something new when you activate the senses. Here, we’ll go over how, and what cannabis can do to make them better than ever. 

Why the Senses Matter  

Senses basically let us experience the world around us in different ways. Our brain is already pretty complex, and we build a whole bunch of different areas around us, and our senses provide a bunch of tasks that are there. It’s something that offers us a chance to protect our body, gets us food, and it also is used to reproduce. 

Humans offer five senses, and they are there for us to use. Our brain sits in fluid within our cranium, and the organs relay to systems to behave and also react in proper manners. Every single one of the sensory organs that are ther also works with other organs too, and it’s something that we’ll use to get different receptors, reacting to different stimuli. 

How cannabis can affect the senses 

It affects them a wide variety of different ways. For taste for example, cannabis makes food taste even better, offering new senses and flavors to absolute amazing levels, and it can be something that creates the munchies in many, especially when they’re high. Cannabis, however, does have a direct effect on the taste receptors, and it’s also something that doesn’t have impact on the way things taste either. 

As for touch, touch plays a big part in this.  It is something that does still need a bit of research, but it’s something that is present.  Right now, there’s only a few studies here and there and some participants did say that the herb did make their touch sensitivity increase. 

Some people when they smoke mention that their hearing is a bit heightened, which can happen. the plant does let listeners pick up minute details, and everything is much more significant and vibrant too. However, some people may find that THC does dampen the music effects on certain brain regions, which is where the entourage effect comes in with CBD. CBD also can help increase the dopamine, and with music, it can be good. 

Sight is another area. Some mention that it helps with night vision, and there were some findings that showed that it can improve the sensitivity and contrast, three-dimensional vision and eye focus. Then there is smell. You may notice that your smell does change, especially with high amounts of this. It can sometimes also reduce the olfactory senses as well, especially if it’s immediately after having a dosage. 

Some people they may experience all of this, some of it at all. Cannabis is great for those who want to appreciate the way that food tastes, and also reduces the olfactory and visuals in some people as well. Some people also may notice that CBD weed does impact the way we appreciate music. However, this is something that’s still getting a lot of updates, since it’s still much too early about the cannabis effects on the body and the like. It’s something that  even though we’re still learning about it, there is a lot to take in, and we may learn that there are certain things we enjoy much more that we’ve had some weed, and it can change our perspective too. 

Why Cannabis Is Actually Great For Tax Purposes

If you think that legalization of cannabis just serves for the benefit of the average weed smoker, then you would be dead wrong. In reality, the cannabis industry is extremely profitable and only becoming moreso. Of the 32 states that have legalized cannabis in the United States, many of those states are reaping the benefits of increased tax dollars coming in from the marijuana industry. It’s no secret that cannabis is still bought and sold in states where it is not legalized; however, it is unfortunate that the state government is not able to collect tax dollars from these sales of cannabis.

In other states where marijuana is legal, however, state governments are seeing a great influx of tax revenue coming in from marijuana dispensaries all over the country. Honestly, the economic crash that wiped through our country hit a lot of states really hard. People lost jobs, and tax revenue went down in basically every state. Thankfully, demand for marijuana skyrocketed during this time, and the subsequent tax dollars that came from cannabis was the saving grace for many state governments amidst the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

Marijuana was one of the few products in the United States that did not lose demand or incoming revenue due to the pandemic. This is not much of a surprise either, especially because many people were dealing with a lot of financial and emotional stress during that time. 

Some states argue that it is very expensive to actually legalize marijuana. This is because the administrative tasks associated with hiring new workers, setting up dispensaries, and getting everything organized can be quite pricey. However, it’s always worth it in the end due to how extremely lucrative and profitable the cannabis industry is right now. States that legalized marjiuana have seen substantial increases in tax revenue, which is great for both the government and the people in that state! Some states were even able to lift taxes on medical marijuana if they legalized recreational use. In my opinion, this is a huge blessing to all the people who are using marijuana as a prescription drug to manage pain and chronic illness.

Now people that very much need medical marijuana to get through their week do not have to pay hefty taxes, and those who are willing to buy marijuana for recreation can actually do so legally. Of all the states in the United States, you can probably guess which ones have the most tax revenue in marijuana: California, Colorado, and Washington were the top earners by revenue per capita. California earned an astonishing $500 million in tax revenue in 2020, while Colorado and Washington earned an impressive $307 million and $427 million in tax revenue respectively. Think of what states can do with all this money earned from the cannabis industry! 

That statement actually begs the question: what are states doing with the increase in tax dollars from the legalization of marijuana? Well, fortunately for you I did some research to answer that exact question. Washington is first up on the docklet. Of the $427m that was earned in tax revenue from cannabis, $260 million of it was poured into the Washington State Medicaid program.

This is a huge benefit to all the people in that state who are unable to pay for proper medical care amidst the COVID19 crisis. In addition, other portions of cannabis tax revenue was deposited into the State General Fund and into the Department of Social Health and Services. Honestly, there is a lot of good that can be done with the increased tax revenue from the marijuana industry, especially since state governments are always looking for more money.