If you’ve been looking for a good reason to get a Tennessee Marijuana Card, you’re in luck, because we’ve got three of them right here!
A peer-reviewed study published recently in the journal Frontiers in Psychology reports that medical marijuana can be an effective treatment for anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.
As the study’s lead author, Erin Martin, told the psychology website PsyPost, “Medicinal cannabis products, especially products high in CBD, may help to treat symptoms of depression, improve sleep, and increase quality of life.”
And this study is great news not only for people who suffer from those conditions, but for the cause of expanding medical marijuana access overall!
Depression and Anxiety are Widespread, and so is Patient Dissatisfaction with Traditional Treatments
Martin told PsyPost that these findings are important because of how common these conditions are, and because many patients are unsatisfied with the traditional, pharmaceutical treatments.
“Anxiety and depressive disorders are highly prevalent,” she said. “Traditional antidepressants may effectively treat these disorders in a lot of people, but they do not work for everyone and can have unpleasant side effects.”
In fact, worldwide there are more than thirty million people suffering from depression, and as many as nine million Americans are living with generalized anxiety disorder. The CDC reports that about 70 million Americans have chronic sleep issues.
As for traditional antidepressants, they can take months to show results, and often come with a host of negative side effects. That’s millions of people struggling with conditions that can be effectively treated with medical marijuana.
And a study like this is big news, because it can help lead to relief for those millions of people, and expand medical marijuana access for all.
This is “Big News?” Didn’t We Already Know Medical Marijuana Could Treat These Conditions?
Yes, we’ve already told you that medical marijuana can help patients with depression and those with anxiety. Similarly, numerous studies have found that cannabis can treat sleep disorders.
But each new study that supports earlier findings about the medical value of cannabis advances the cause of making medical marijuana more accessible for everyone that it could help. And that’s a lot of people!
Marijuana Research is Hampered by Federal Law
One reason studies like this are important is that they can help break up what has been described as a “bottleneck” in marijuana research, a bottleneck that also leads to a “vicious cycle” between science and law.
Even though medical marijuana is legal in thirty-six states, and even though there is a growing line of research showing it is safe and effective, the federal government considers it a Schedule I drug, meaning it has “no currently accepted medical use” and a “high potential for abuse.”
Consequently, there are legal roadblocks and headaches for those researchers who choose to study marijuana, which limits the amount of attention the medicine receives from scientists, so that cannabis research is “bottlenecked because of limitations on studying the Cannabis sativa plant.”
And thus there is a much larger body of research related to most pharmaceutical medications than there is to medical marijuana, and scientists are generally less willing to make conclusive statements about medical marijuana’s efficacy than they are about pharmaceuticals, which results in a “vicious cycle” between scientists and legislators.
Politicians Won’t Act Without Conclusive Proof, and Scientists Can’t Provide that Proof Until Politicians Act
According to Harvard researcher Dr. Staci Gruber, lawmakers often turn to scientists for guidance when creating health related laws, laws like those governing medical marijuana.
And Gruber should know; she heads up the nonprofit MIND, or Marijuana Investigations for Neurological Discoveries, whose mission is to “Support a wide range of studies that will generate ecologically valid, empirically sound data in order to close the gap between policy and science.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to the gap between policy and science, the aforementioned lack of cannabis research often impairs scientists' ability to give lawmakers the answers they seek.
Gruber told Discover Magazine that lawmakers usually want impeccably conclusive findings regarding medical marijuana before they’ll act to ease marijuana restrictions. But thanks to the legal impediments to cannabis studies, scientists are often unable to give legislators that kind of full-throated endorsement to medical marijuana.
Science demands a high quantity of evidence, like the kind there is in pharmaceutical research, before coming to conclusive opinions. And so the legal impediments remain in place, and the cycle continues.
And that’s why this is big news. Sure, we already knew there was scientific evidence of medical marijuana’s ability to treat depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. But now there's even more evidence. And the more evidence there is, the closer we get to breaking the marijuana research bottleneck, and the closer we get to the day when medical marijuana is available to everyone everywhere who needs it.
So Can I Get a Tennessee Marijuana Card for My Depression?
Unfortunately, no.
Tennessee doesn’t recognize depression as a qualifying condition for a medical marijuana card. The state doesn’t recognize anxiety or sleep disorders as qualifying conditions, either.
That’s why we encourage you to contact your state legislators and ask them to expand the state’s medical marijuana law. Tell them about your conditions, and your dissatisfaction with your pharmaceutical options. And remind them of the unknowable number of other Tennesseans who are living with the same conditions, with the same pills.
And ask them to do the right thing for their constituents.
Start Finding Relief with Medical Marijuana Today!
You don’t have to wait for Tennessee’s medical marijuana market to become fully operational to take the first step toward finding the relief only cannabis can offer.
Reserve a medical marijuana evaluation online today with one of our knowledgeable, compassionate medical marijuana doctors, and we’ll book an appointment for you just as soon as we’re cleared to.
Together you and your doctor will discuss your conditions and if you qualify for a Tennessee Marijuana Card. Together you’ll discuss your conditions, and how medical marijuana may be able to help treat them.
You’ll meet with your doctor virtually using your smartphone, tablet, or computer for a telemedicine appointment. You can start finding relief with medical marijuana today, all without leaving your home. And you’ll even save $25 off the cost of the evaluation!
Doctors Who Care.
Relief You Can Trust.
At Tennessee Marijuana Card, our mission is helping everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce the stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
Call us at (833) 781-5611, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
Check out Tennessee Marijuana Card’s Blog to keep up to date on the latest medical marijuana news, tips, and information!