Subtle Tea, Mary’s Wellness, Supple Tea, Positivi-Tea, and Stillwater — these are just a few of the pre-packaged cannabis teas hitting the cannabis dispensaries near you.

They have the additional promise of clear labeling and managed dosing. But, you can brew your own at home.

Simmer buds, stems, and or leaves in water over a low heat.

Use more buds for a strong brew, or more stems and leaves for weaker tea.

Add a little butter, oil, or flavor in mint, chamomile, dried fruits, or citrus rind.

Infuse standard favorite tea with cannabutter.

The benefits of cannabis tea take a while to hit home. But, the effects can last as long as eight hours.

Why go to the trouble?

Generations have self-medicated with cannabis tea. That they also enjoyed uplifting side-effects is one more added benefit. There are at least eight surprising benefits of drinking cannabis tea:

1. Anti-inflammatory: Cannabis has a record of reducing the pain attached to inflamed muscles, tissues, and joints. Research affirms that cannabis compounds bind to the receptors along the central nervous system to reduce inflammation and block the transmission of signals of pain.

Cannabinoids also have an entourage effect that, while they do not bind to neural receptors, does offer a defense by intervening with other factors. The combination and balance of cannabinoids like THC, CBD, CBDA, CBGA, and more can restore and rejuvenate with complex analgesic results.

One study published in the Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache concluded, “Cannabis-based medicinal extracts used in different populations of chronic nonmalignant neuropathic pain patients may provide effective analgesia in conditions that are refractory to other treatments.”

Administered as a tea, cannabis can soothe the pain of arthritis, muscle strain, and diabetic neuropathy. Managed dosage can relieve the pain without the negative side-effects of some cannabis sources.

2. Anti-spasmatic: CBD has proven positive medical effects on involuntary muscular movements. These conditions include the spasms associated with epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Tourette’s syndrome, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and more.

Effective in soothing soft muscular movement, it treats irritable bowel syndrome, digestive cramps, acid reflux, constipation, and diarrhea. So, it is recommended regularly as an anti-emetic for treatment of nausea and vomiting in patients with HIV/AIDS and with chemotherapy side-effects.

Cannabis is often the treatment of choice in such cases because of its ease of administration and lasting effects.

3. Anti-depressant: The THC in cannabis creates psychoactive effects. Depending on its potency, it can improve your mood or induce paranoia. Assuming there is no benefit in paranoia, you can adjust the potency to improve your spirits, create a pleasant euphoria, or provide a creative focus.

Balanced with other cannabinoids, it can manage many of the factors contributing to or following from your depression.

Consuming cannabis as a tea with doing more than reduce your depression. Because of its lasting effects, it can reorder your sense of well-being. In allowing you more comfortable and pleasant experiences, it changes your experience and expectations.

4. Anti-Alzheimer’s: More extensive research on Alzheimer’s disease is needed. But, current research indicates it follows from a build-up of plaque among brain cells. According to Alzheimers.net, “A preclinical study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that very small doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a chemical found in marijuana, can slow the production of beta-amyloid proteins, thought to be a hallmark characteristic and key contributor to the progression of Alzheimer’s.”

This mechanism and the attached benefits suggest the possibility that cannabis may mitigate age-related cognitive decline. Cannabis tea is a pleasant way to slow the advance of such conditions and treat Alzheimer’s where it does not conflict with other medications and therapies

5. Anti-anxiolytic: Some forms of depression and anxiety are classified as “mood disorders.” The anxiety is chronic and unrelated to situational factors. Typically, the conditions result from serotonin deficiency or neural inflammatory damage.

Cannabis works directly on serotonin receptors much like the pharmaceutical Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). The cannabinoids restore the transmission of messages along the Central Nervous System.

Choosing cannabis tea with high CBD potency and low THC content will mellow patients and reduce psychoactivity.

6. Anti-Autoimmune: The American Auto-Immune Related Disease Association recognizes over 100 auto-immune diseases. They include rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, celiac disease, and many more well-known and not so well-known conditions.

These conditions are often listed as “autoimmune” because they lack the research and discovery necessary to diagnose and treat medically. Moreover, many of these problems occur in combination with others.

Cannabis has not been directly linked with “curing” or “healing” these problems. And, much serious research is required. But, cannabis does appear to soothe and affect symptoms, a necessary relief for many patients.

7. Anti-Insomniac: Cannabis with considerable CBD content mellows mental and physical conditions. It relaxes you enough to invite early and sound sleep.

Heavier doses can be deeply sedating for those in chronic pain. But, using cannabis tea lets you regulate the strength, dosage, and frequency of intake to encourage solid sleep patterns without reducing you to couch-lock paralysis.

8. Anti-Hypertension: Constricted blood vessels contribute to high blood pressure. But, cannabinoids will increase the heartbeat, and when appropriately dosed, it will expand those blood vessels without risk.

There is some risk that you can aggravate circulatory problems with a strain or dose that is heavy on THC So, while cannabis tea provides a convenient delivery system, you must research the content and identify the most effective dosage for your system.

Surprising benefits of drinking cannabis tea

Cannabis provides the listed benefits regardless of how you use. But, cannabis tea provides a convenience and long-lasting effect that works best for many medical patients.

Moreover, it provides the benefits without the negative side-effects of smoking or vaping. It presents a workable, pleasant, and effective option for millions of people suffering from scores of painful and fatiguing problems.

It also comes in prepackaged forms that prove cost-effective because you use small amounts at a time over their long shelf-life. Cannabis teas and similar beverages are likely to prove the go-to option for medical cannabis patients well into the future.