cannabis—can help our bodies restore an internal balance or homeostasis.
Occasional cannabis consumption may not deliver the anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety and relaxing feeling that you can get from THC and CBD. This is why daily marijuana consumption can be effective as part of a health maintenance and overall wellness regimen.
The Impact of Daily Cannabis & CBD Use on Our Health & Wellness
I asked some women who incorporate cannabis or CBD into their daily routines why they do it. Each one of them initially turned to—or returned to—cannabis to address very specific and often debilitating health issues. Each found their daily marijuana consumption habits brought additional health benefits.
Marcy began taking CBD for spinal pain and inflammation after an injury. She was able to get off four pharmaceuticals. And she also reduced her pain from an 8 to a 3 on the pain scale with 10 being the highest.
“High-CBD strains have changed my life. I rarely even have to take Advil or Aleve,” Marcy says. “While I wasn’t taking CBD for mental health issues, I found myself able to get off all medications for depression and anxiety but one: an emergency medication in my purse for panic attacks.”
Marcy says she’s also interested in the neuroprotective qualities and bone-building effects of CBD when taken daily. She consumes a 25 mg high CBD/low THC capsule twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. She prefers ingesting cannabis rather than smoking or vaping the plant.
Dr. Solomon recommends taking cannabis in tincture, edible, oil or suppository form over smoking or vaping cannabis.
“The irritation to the lungs of the two latter methods can be bothersome and cause coughing as well introduce the possibility of inhaling particulate matter,” he says.
Dr. Solomon says that microdosing—taking smaller amounts of cannabis over time—is a good way to get the daily health benefits of the plant without psychoactive effects. People typically microdose 2.5 mg of THC at a time.
But for some people like Marcy, 25 mg of a CBD-rich cannabis product is a microdose. Each person’s microdose can differ based on myriad factors including the form of consumption and even a person’s metabolism.
Another woman who turned to daily cannabis to deal with pain is Josie, who was able to get off the morphine she was taking for pain. Stricken with rheumatoid arthritis since she was 14, another part of her treatment for the condition is chemotherapy treatments twice a year to suppress her immune system. Side effects of this treatment include intense bone pain and a suppressed appetite that leads her to being underweight.
For Josie, daily cannabis consists of a strong indica strain that reduces her pain and increases her appetite. She finds that her daily cannabis use also reduces her anxiety.
Tasha is yet another woman I spoke to who also consumes marijuana regularly to reduce anxiety by either smoking, vaping or ingesting—but almost always at night. She finds it greatly reduces her anxiety, and she’s also experienced other benefits.