Cannabis has traditionally had an association with transcendence similarily to meditation. Which poses a good set of questions for us and our customers here at our Las Vegas dispensary and cannabis entertainment complex – can you meditate with cannabis, and what is the overall effect? Are there any benefits from using marijuana while you are being mindful? We thought we would take a closer look and find out. Read the following to find out more, as the result may surprise you.
A Brief History
First of all, it’s no surprise that cannabis and meditation are often linked. After all, the herb has been used in sacred rituals for thousands of years in many different religions. There is a lot of evidence that marijuana was being used in a variety of different cultures too, from all over the world.
Some cultures still see marijuana as a sacred plant, and even in places like Nepal, there are ceremonies and spiritual festivals with the plant as a central feature of its holy celebrations. And of course, there is a serious spiritual aspect to meditation, too, which has its roots in Indian cultures and that of the Far East.
Despite many of our customers here at Planet 13 being into the spiritual side of cannabis, it‘s a context that has, by and large, been lost. The good news is that there are many people out there who are bringing meditation and cannabis back together.
So, what makes cannabis and meditation such a good mix? We thought we would take a look at the science and find out. According to research, there is a growing feeling in the scientific community that meditation, mindfulness, and marijuana is a natural combination. When people meditate long-term, they experience positive changes in the brain, better empathy, and improved metacognitive skills – not to mention overall health.
Mindfulness is also a good way of helping with a large selection of physical health issues. For example, stress-related conditions like high blood pressure can be reduced, and even things like inflammation, which can lead to heart conditions and diabetes, can be helped. Mindfulness can also help you boost your own immune system, and assist with the body’s healing response.
No one really knows how these positive impacts occur, but there is a small correlation with meditation causing a decrease in activity in the default mode network (DMN), which is basically a fancy way of saying your mind is more at rest. All of those benefits of mindfulness may look familiar to regular cannabis users and researchers because the same benefits come from marijuana, too.
The Benefits
This is where cannabis comes in. As most of our customers here at our dispensary near the Las Vegas Strip will tell you, one of marijuana’s key components is CBD, which is thought to have a calming effect on the brain. So when taken in conjunction with meditation, the CBD can help you relax further, declutter your mind, and have a positive, deeper impact on your meditation.
As meditation is shown to have positive effects on the brain, including helping with depression and anxiety disorders, it seems that cannabis might help in getting you heading towards those benefits much quicker. It takes time for meditators to reach a suitable level of experience for those benefits to occur, but with cannabis, you can possibly dive straight in.
Whether you are using your cannabis at a meditation class or trying to be mindful at home, it seems marijuana can truly help in a significant way. Feel free to drop by our Las Vegas dispensary and we can help guide you on your meditative mission or find like-minded others that can introduce you to groups or practices that could be highly beneficial. Our relaxing, yet exciting environment is welcoming and the perfect starting point for your journey to meditating with cannabis. Whether you are picking up your next product or just want to chat, we hope to see you soon.