Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids are chemicals found in the Cannabis plant, which is the source of hemp and marijuana. While scientists have identified at least 113 different chemicals in the plant, two have become popular for treating pain plus a wide variety of conditions and symptoms, including cancer, inflammation, and mental illnesses:

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound that causes the “high” of marijuana
Cannabidiol (CBD), which is often derived from hemp and doesn’t cause a high

Can Cannabinoids Offer Any Benefits?
Research has suggested myriad positive effects of marijuana and different preparations of THC and/or CBD. They’re currently used for several purposes and more possible uses are on the horizon.

Current Uses
Some of the current uses of cannabinoids include:

Alleviating pain and inflammation, especially chronic forms, from diseases such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, glaucoma, neuropathy, and Crohn’s disease
Increasing appetite to prevent the extreme weight loss of AIDS
Improving muscle control/lessening spasticity in conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease
Controlling epileptic seizures, especially in children
Treating mental illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, and multiple anxiety disorders
Treating addiction, including smoking cessation
These uses have different levels of backing with scientific evidence. So far, no uses of marijuana are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the FDA has approved some pharmaceutical products containing cannabinoid ingredients.