Top Ten Things Marijuana Can Help You With

I've been using marijuana for 10 years now to battle my depression. It works great if you can keep yourself motivated when you're high. However, it can make your depression worse if you just smoke and sit around doing nothing. Being high makes me feel like a kid without a care in the world. I smoke, and suddenly I don't care that I'm depressed.

I must say that marijuana is just like any other medication for depression. It's not a cure, but a mask. However, it's the only thing that has given me enough distance from my feelings of depression to function.

Marijuana can help lessen pain and may also assist in destroying cancer cells. However, it is crucial to continue seeing your doctor and taking prescribed medications.

Sometimes I find myself unable to fall asleep on a school night. I go outside, take a quick bong rip, and I'm all relaxed and ready to fall asleep. Once again, it's better than being prescribed drugs like Ambien, and it is non-addictive.

This one may seem far-fetched to outsiders, but it's true. Read this and draw your own conclusion:

Millions of students worldwide, including myself, suffer from ADD or ADHD. The common solution is to prescribe drugs like Adderall, Ritalin, and other amphetamines. These drugs are in the same family as meth and are often considered "party drugs." I have been prescribed various ADD medications over the years, such as Adderall, Methylphenidate, and Dextroamphetamine (currently), and they can have a very negative impact on one's life. Personally, these drugs do help me focus, but there are many downsides. First, I've experienced a significant loss of appetite to the point where I have absolutely no desire to eat. Second, these medications completely alter my behavior. While on them, I am less talkative and sometimes emotionless. Third, they are easily abused. In the 8th grade, kids would ask me to sell them my medication. Is this really the solution to attention disorders? Drugging children?

Recently, I started my first year of college, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that marijuana has helped me this year. How, you ask? For me, smoking improves my thought process for school. I think much deeper about relevant topics like politics, religion, etc., and it also increases my creativity. I wrote my first college paper while high and received one of the highest grades in the class, better than any paper I turned in during my senior year. Secondly, it increases my motivation. When I get high, I WANT to study because everything seems to make more sense, and I find that I absorb information much easier and remember it better (for certain subjects, that is. I never recommend trying to do math high). I've noticed that I learn better in subjects like history, sociology, and psychology while high because I'm more interested in what I'm learning and think about it from a more philosophical perspective.

Now, this isn't for everyone, but it works... more

As an alternative to OTC drugs like ibuprofen and Advil, marijuana can be useful. Those medications can take a toll on your liver and lead to other complications. I'm not saying get stoned every time you have a headache, but smoking a small amount really does help.

It seems like an oxymoron, but it's true. Stoners tend to be slimmer than non-users. That's because cannabis helps the body regulate insulin production, manage caloric intake more efficiently, and regulate metabolism. Unlike alcoholic drinks like beer, which are linked to obesity.

Medical marijuana shows a lot of promise for people who suffer from epilepsy or other seizure disorders.

"You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn 'em. 'Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years... real high on drugs." - Bill Hicks

Of course, it gives you the munchies.

Cannabis therapy can help people addicted to drugs like heroin or cocaine. Weed is not physically addictive, which can aid in the recovery process.

Weed is much better at treating nausea than many OTC drugs or teas with chamomile, mint, or ginger. I still recommend other options, though. You can't always smoke a joint.