To illustrate how helpful cannabis is for brain injury, let me first explain what is happening in the brain during trauma. Under normal circumstances, the brain is bathed in cerebral spinal fluid that helps to protect the brain and regulate the pressure inside the skull. During impact, the brain bounces off the inside of the skull and then flings in the opposite direction and bounces off the opposite side of the skull, also known as coup-contracoup. That force causes bruising of the brain at the points of impact and shearing of the nerve cells throughout the brain. This can lead to brain swelling, cell death, increased pressure inside the skull, and brain herniation. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains:
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Basically, the compounds in cannabis are neuroprotective, meaning they protect nerves from a variety of insults such as neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, MS, Lou Gehrig’s disease etc.), damage from the lack of blood/oxygen to the brain (stroke, near-drowning and drug overdose) and traumatic brain injury (CTE, car accident, etc.). The compounds in cannabis are also neurogenerative, meaning they stimulate new nerve cell growth, and anti-inflammatory; all important processes that protect the brain and facilitate healing.
For all you medical nerds out there interested in the scientific literature on the use of cannabis compounds following brain injury, here are a couple of my favorites:
Cannabidiol Reduces Neuroinflammation and Promotes
Neuroplasticity and Functional Recovery After Brain Ischemia.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27889412
Endocannabinoids: A Promising Impact for Traumatic Brain Injury.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28261100
What is CTE?
CNN
Published on
Feb 3, 2016