More people are championing legal use and production of marijuana not only for pleasure but also for health, and so far, a couple of states and countries have listened by regulating it.
But just in case you're looking for a good justification to support it or to seriously consider its legalization, you can look into a study that suggests weed can increase the survival rate of people who suffered from traumatic brain injuries.
A team of researchers from UCLA already knew that weed's active ingredient called THC can protect the brain from further injuries. However, the trials were conducted on animals, not on humans. The challenge therefore is how to really determine its effects on people.
There's a hitch, though: doctors cannot simply let the participants smoke weed for observation. They then had to rely on the available data.
They studied more than 400 people who developed traumatic brain injuries. Those who are below 15 years old and considered non-survivable weren't included in the study.
They then analyzed their marijuana use by testing their levels of THC, and according to their analyses, those who smoked marijuana had a higher survival rate than those who didn't. More than 10% of those who tested negative died compared to only less than 3% of patients with positive THC.
Even after the doctors had adjusted their results based on other factors such as the severity of the injury and age, those with THC still turned out to survive better than those who didn't; their chances of survival are about 80%.
Further, since THC doesn't remove itself from the system right away, a person who wishes to use weed to treat traumatic brain injuries can do so without smoking it at all times.
As to how THC does it, the doctors still don't know the answer. Creating legislation about its use may lead to further medical research on weed and its effects on health. Nevertheless, the researchers believe the study deserves a more comprehensive investigation in the future.