Got a weed headache? Sometimes headaches can come out of nowhere. Doctors use cannabis to treat chronic headaches. However, sudden headaches could also be due to the improper consumption of weed
Life can be pretty stressful from time to time, and it’s no wonder we look for things to help us de-stress and relax. Marijuana is a perfect antidote to stress or a bad mood – according to users consuming cannabis helps to calm the mind and feel relaxed. No wonder marijuana is so popular all over the world and has even been legalized in some countries – Jamaica, Argentina, Ecuador, Netherlands and more others.
In October 2018, use of marijuana for personal use and pleasure was officially permitted in Canada. Depending on the province, the legal age to purchase marijuana varies from 18 to 21. Canada was the first country among the G7 countries to legalize the use of marijuana for personal purposes.
In some countries, government structures prohibit the use of marijuana for pleasure, but allow medical structures and doctors to use marijuana to treat patients. For example, the use of cannabis for medical issues is legalized in 37 states in the USA. Most commonly, cannabis is used to treat chronic pain and migraines.
The debate over the therapeutic benefit of using marijuana is still ongoing. Indeed, there are multiple health benefits for using marijuana. But amusingly, one of the negative consequences of cannabis smoking is a weed headache.
Does consumption of marijuana really lead to a weed headache?
If we take a leap in history, we will see that people started using marijuana for treatment purposes centuries ago. According to the National Library of Medicine the first references to the use of cannabis for the treatment of headaches were already found in Assyrian manuscripts and in the earliest known document of Arabic pharmacology. Prescriptions with cannabis were also practiced in ancient Greece. From today’s perspective, cannabis was used as a remedy for headaches in the 19th century until its prohibition in 1937.
Many people around the world suffer from migraine headaches. At first glance, a simple headache may not seem like a serious illness, but migraines can be so debilitating that they can become one of the most serious causes of disability, even for young people. The worst part is that migraines are very difficult to treat. Even nowadays. Existing medications are not always effective, forcing sufferers to look for other options. It is no secret that taking marijuana provides relief to people suffering from chronic migraines.
As useful as it may seem, weed is not a simple remedy for headaches. Most of the time, people consume weed to get high, or in other words, they take a joint to relax and calm the mind. And this is where the opposite effect of cannabis can occur. A while after smoking, you might accidentally get a severe headache.
Some experts have highlighted several reasons that can lead to headaches after smoking marijuana.
- Overdose. The biggest risk of using marijuana is that you will not notice an overdose until it’s too late. Unlike other drugs, a marijuana overdose does not lead to death, but it can lead to negative feelings such as panic or headaches.
- Dehydration. Consuming cannabis causes dehydration of the body. Some experts claim that a lack of water in the body could be a reason for severe headaches.
- Reaction to smoke. Normally, we consume weed by smoking it. The smoke itself that collects in your lungs could be a reason for the headache. There are even people who get headaches after simply inhaling smoke.
- Low-quality weed. Marijuana that you buy somewhere on the street can contain a variety of minor or major contaminants that are not good for your health.
- Weed in combination with food. If you plan to smoke a joint later in the evening, pay close attention to what you will be eating that evening. Fatty foods like bacon, hot dogs, or alcohol or chocolate could be a cause of headaches. If you smoke weed, you would make the symptoms worse.
How to avoid the weed headache?
- Drink water. The more – the better.
- Buy high-quality weed. Do not skimp on spending money on weed. Buying a joint from a low-quality source can end badly.
- Follow your lifestyle choices. It’s not a good idea to try a new dish before or after smoking pot – no one knows how your body will react.
Scientific basis
There is still no certainty as to whether the health benefits of weed outweigh the negative consequences of smoking pot. The proposed benefits of marijuana for treatment purposes are many. For example, some studies have shown marijuana to be effective in relieving nausea and vomiting. The most obvious benefit – using marijuana to treat neuropathic pain. Obviously, marijuana is safer than many other strong medications that are prescribed to treat pain.
The debate over the benefits of weed for treating patients is ongoing. Despite the many health benefits of using weed, there are also certain risks. For example, continuous use of it can seriously impair short-term memory or damage lung tissue. Another important factor: in many countries, the use of cannabis is not prohibited for either medical or recreational purposes.
There is no solid research base to confirm that the use of marijuana is a magic pill against many diseases including headaches. In the past, there have been few clinical studies examining the benefits of marijuana in treating certain diseases. The current studies by researchers emphasize the fact that more research is needed to investigate the possibilities of cannabis as a cure.
Conclusion
Marijuana is a tricky thing. On the one hand, it has been used for centuries as a remedy for chronic headaches. Even today, in the age of advanced medicine, there are few drugs that help against chronic migraines. And cannabis seems to be one of the strongest products that relieves the symptoms of migraine and gives relief to patience. On the other hand, marijuana can also be the cause of headaches if used improperly. Even more, the continuous use of cannabis could lead to more serious problems – at least problems with the lungs. There is still no scientific basis that proves what marijuana is – a cure or a bad drug. From what we know now, marijuana can be used to treat headaches in some countries. According to some research, the risk of marijuana use can be minimized with the right attitude – at least as far as headaches after using marijuana are concerned.
