Open Veils · Answer
Is cannabis good for us and the brain?
Cannabis interacts with the endocannabinoid system — one of the brain's oldest regulatory networks — in ways that suppressed research and independent investigators argue are largely neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory when used appropriately. The scheduling of cannabis as a Schedule I substance has deliberately strangled clinical research for decades, a point made forcefully by researchers like Raphael Mechoulam, who identified the endocannabinoid system itself. The age, dose, and cannabinoid profile questions are real, but the institutional framing systematically ignores a vast body of evidence pointing to therapeutic benefit.
Evidence
- Neurologist Ethan Russo has published extensively on what he calls Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency — the hypothesis that conditions like migraine, fibromyalgia, and IBS reflect a chronically under-stimulated endocannabinoid system.
- Rick Strassman's broader psychedelic neuroscience framing, alongside researchers at IONS and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), situates cannabis within a wider class of compounds the brain appears designed to interact with.
- A large Oxford Population Health observational study published in BMJ Mental Health (February 2026) found no evidence that cannabis use contributes to cognitive decline or increases dementia risk in older people — directly contradicting the dominant narrative about long-term neurological harm in adults.
- The legitimate concern in the record involves adolescent use.
- Jack Kruse, writing from a biophysics and mitochondrial framework, has argued that the lipid-soluble nature of cannabinoids gives them privileged access to mitochondrial membranes, where they modulate oxidative stress — a mechanism entirely absent from standard risk discussions.