New Study Highlights Marijuana's Health Benefits Erin Brodwin - PolicyMic
go to original June 9, 2014

Scientists have big news for people suffering from arthritis, colitis and lupus: Medical marijuana can help reduce some of the most painful effects of their conditions.

These autoimmune diseases — and a host of others — affect the body by tripping its defense system, shooting it into overdrive. Scientists aren't sure exactly what causes the immune system to turn on itself, but the results can leave large swaths of tissue swollen and inflamed.

Marijuana, as it turns out, combats this painful process by changing the way our genes are expressed, researchers at the University of South Carolina found.

The research, published in the May edition of The Journal of Biological Chemistry, builds on previous studies showing that the main psychoactive agent in weed, THC, could quell festering, raw tissues by suppressing the body's immune system.

Read the rest at PolicyMic

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