Cannabis can actually be effective for a number of conditions, though its recent historical status (the past century or so) has ensured that not much science has been done until much more recently.
Recently, the receptor (if I remember correctly, AP-2) upon which some combination of terpenes works to interrupt the stress-to-anxiety reaction has been identified. There is still work to be done on the subject, as from what I have read, different ratios of terpenes can produce wildly different effects, such as increasing anxiety rather than alleviating it.
This is why different strains affect people in different ways, though the effects are usually consistent from person to person with the correct dosage relative to the individual based on things like body weight, gender, and tolerance.
Cannabis has been positively linked to female sexual performance, and some would say health, as the two are hard to separate. Many people, myself included, rely upon it not only for anxiety, but also for pain management in situations where otherwise liver-, kidney-, and heart-damaging levels of standard NSAIDs would be required for the same effect.
In addition to all this, and this is by no means an exhaustive list, professional athletes and creative professionals of all kinds are combining cannabis consumption with caffeine and physical activity to put themselves into what is known as a "flow state" of consciousness, a mental state that purportedly increases creative and other mental potentials that can last a week or more after attaining that state.
I can tell you, in no uncertain terms, that this can actually be achieved, after an experiment with some edibles, a thermos of
coffee, and my first-ever
experience cross-country skiing. I did it without thinking, drinking my coffee on the way and popping an edible at the same time; I figured when I fell (and boy did I fall, without injury, thankfully), it might help prophylactically with the pain. I had no idea it would alter my mental state to the extent it did for over a week.
To be clear, this wasn't intoxication. It was an extremely clear, coherent, creative state. A week after, I found myself, in a moment of pique while writing, jotting down two-and-a-half pages, point-form, of a non-fiction permacultural futurism skeleton roadmap thingie, which I hope to turn into my first non-fiction
permaculture book, and it's got so much potential, I can't wait to get the research and bibliography done so I can write it properly.
My cognition at work was also positively affected. And the great thing is, for those who don't take it all the time, that it's sufficient to plan a good workout for the weekend and dose onesself then, with coffee, and the benefits will stay with you throughout the work week.
I was busy wondering at the cognitive benefits of the flow state, but I also noticed, at a recent
games night with work friends of my much-better-half, where I normally would feel quite inhibited and anxious, that I felt quite comfortable. I normally wouldn't have been, as I knew one person there other than my much-better-half, and that one not well.
I would love for Sharol to expound upon cannabis as medicine. I have heard, for instance, that some strains have anti-inflammatory properties, for instance, and that it also can affect the potency and effect of medicines taken with it. I would love to find out that my canna-bulletproof coffee with a bit of turmeric is an anti-inflammatory powerhouse, for instance, in addition to being delicious.
Does anyone else have medical/therapeutic cannabis anecdotes?
Thank you, Amy, for branching this thread off.
-CK
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
5
Oh and also other stresses that may not be so "normal" but hey, stress is stress and anxiety is the result, no matter what the root cause, that's what I think. 
