Any research on recreational cannabis use?

Due to the nature of preventive treatments, it'd be really hard to say.  But, in this case, medicinal use would still be a valid argument.
 
For example, my grandfather had a series of heart attacks from a relatively young age; my father had his first heart attack at the age of 39, and another heart 'episode' a couple of years after.  They both were heavy cigarette smokers and maintained poor diets.
 
Therefore, it would probably be a good idea for me to not smoke tobacco and I should watch what I eat; as apposed to having those bad habits, having heart issues later and then paying a doctor to tell me the same thing
 
 
But, here's an article I found: http://ireadculture.com/article-1891-cannabis-as-a-preventative.html
 
<div>\tCANNABIS AS A PREVENTATIVE

</div>The endocannabinoid system regulates almost every biological process in our bodies and has evolved to not only restore our body's homeostatic balance when it is ravaged by disease, but to prevent the development of diseased states in the first place.

Dr. Robert Melamede in his ground breaking paper, “Harm Reduction-the Cannabis Paradox,” proposed that “the homeostatic action of cannabinoids on so many physiological structures and processes is the basis for the hypothesis that the endocannabinoid system is nothing less than a naturally evolved harm reduction system.”

By keeping our bodies in balance and preventing imbalances, the cannabinoids in cannabis working with our endocannabinoid system can prevent the development of debilitating ailments, especially those that are age-related.

This is significant as countries that provide Western medicine to its citizens find that the cause of death has transitioned from being pathogen-induced, i.e. infections, to age-related, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's. Cannabis is unique in its ability to prevent these and other age-related diseases.

A paper published by Dr. Donald Tashkin on cannabis use and the development of lung cancer did not find any connection between the development of lung cancer and cannabis use. The research actually documented that individuals who smoke marijuana had a lower incidence of lung cancer than people who did not smoke anything at all.

In the August 2009 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, medical researchers reported that “10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associatedwith a significantly reduced risk of head and neck squamous cell cancer.” Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer (HNSCC) is associated with the use of alcohol and tobacco, but not cannabis and the study found that for people who use alcohol and tobacco, those who also used cannabis had a lower incidence of HNSCC then those who did not.

From these studies, it can be argued that the cannabinoids found in cannabis are such powerful anti-cancer agents that they can even reduce the formation and spread of cancers in the presence of cancer causing agents such as alcohol and tobacco.

In a PDQ information summary for health care professionals entitled “Cannabis and Cannabinoids” and published by the National Cancer Institute in a 2011 lead researcher Donald Abrams, MD, to write, “the health care provider may recommend medicinal cannabis not only for symptom management but also for its possible direct antitumor effect.”

As the largest neurotransmission system in our bodies, cannabinoids are intrinsically involved in the function and health of our nervous system. Their unusual property of retrograde transmission, whereby cannabinoid neurotransmitters diffuse backwards across the neural cleft, act as a feedback mechanism to prevent excessive nerve cell activity thereby preventing cell death.

The anti-inflammatory properties of cannabinoids along with their control of fundamental neurological activity can aid in the regeneration of damages to the nervous system caused by strokes or injuries.

Another major way that cannabis can act as a preventative is its unique ability to counteract stress. Stress, a major component of modern-day urban life, can lead to all kinds of debilitating ailments from heart attacks and strokes caused by arterial plaque build-up to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental ailments caused by overbearing environmental triggers.

Cannabinoids control the extinction of painful memories and as such cannabis use may help people to either forget these painful memories or help provide perspective so as to reduce the stress these memories cause.

Perhaps the most important attribute of cannabis as a preventative is its ability in a non-coercive way to prevent people from drinking alcohol as it is the only effective substitute for this debilitating and intoxicating recreational beverage.

Whether it is brain, heart or overall health of the body, the need for supplemental cannabinoids provided by the ingestion of cannabis is critical for maintaining health and vigor. Health care professionals should be counseling their patients to obtain additional cannabinoids through the ingestion of cannabis in the same way that they encourage the ingestion of supplemental nutrients like omega-3s, iron and vitamin D.

 

Alzheimer's-
 
Marijuana May Slow Alzheimer's      (news - 2006)   http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20061006/marijuana-may-slow-alzheimers
 
“THC blocks an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, which speeds the formation of amyloid plaque in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's drugs Aricept and Cognex work by blocking acetylcholinesterase. When tested at double the concentration of THC, Aricept blocked plaque formation only 22% as well as THC, and Cognex blocked plaque formation only 7% as well as THC.” From “Marijuana May Slow Alzheimer's” WebMD. 
 
A Molecular Link between the Active Component of Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology      (full - 2006)        http://www.ukcia.org/research/AlzheimersDiseasePathology.pdf
 
“It is noteworthy that THC is a considerably more effective inhibitor of AChE-induced A‚ deposition than the approved drugs for Alzheimer's disease treatment, donepezil and tacrine, which reduced A‚ aggregation by only 22% and 7%,respectively, at twice the concentration used in our studies. Therefore, AChE inhibitors such as THC and its analogues may provide an improved therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease, augmenting acetylcholine levels by preventing neurotransmitter degradation and reducing A‚ aggregation, thereby simultaneously treating both the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's disease.”
 
(FYI- AChE= acetylcholinesterase, it speeds the formation of amyloid plaque in your brain;   A = amyloid plaque;  donepezil and tacrine = Aricept and Cognex) 
 
 
Brain trauma-
 
How MEDlCAL MARlJUANA'S Chemicals May Protect Cells                  (news – 2015) http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-medical-marijuana-s-chemicals-may-protect-cells/
 
“trauma surgeon David Plurad and his colleagues did a retrospective review of 446 traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases treated at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center from January 2010 through December 2012. Their study, reported in the journal American Surgeon, found that 82 of those patients tested positive for THC and two of them died, for a mortality rate of 2.4 percent. The mortality rate among the 364 patients who did not have THC in their system was 11.5 percent, nearly five times higher. After taking into account other factors, such as age, severity of injury and blood alcohol level, the researchers concluded that the link between THC and a lower death rate in these patients stood up.”
 
Effect of Marijuana Use on Outcomes in Traumatic Brain Injury.            (abst – 2014) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25264643
 
“Overall mortality was 9.9 per cent; however, mortality in the THC(+) group (2.4%) was significantly decreased compared with the THC(-) group (11.5%)”.  (I did clean out the "statistical gibberish" which made the sentence harder to read on this one.)
 
Diabetes-
 
[SIZE=12pt]Light Marijuana Use Appears Protective Against Diabetes         (news – 2010)[/SIZE]
http://www.clinicalpsychiatrynews.com/index.php?id=2407&cHash=071010&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=41212
 
[SIZE=12pt]Marijuana Smoking Associated with 66% Decrease in Diabetes Risk       (news – 2010)[/SIZE]
http://www.internalmedicinenews.com/index.php?id=495&cHash=071010&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=18557
 
Strokes- my hubby had a TIA (Mini stroke) recently. THC and CBD reduce the damage from strokes. We had smoked about an hour before he had his TIA and I made sure he had plenty of CBD afterwards. He is making a full recovery (he's at about 95% of normal now - he's moving a bit slower, but is doing OK otherwise). I think that the cannabis kept it from being any worse. I used to take care of a stroke victim, so I am very aware what TIAs can do.
 
Cannabinoid Receptor Subtypes 1 and 2 Mediate Long-Lasting Neuroprotection and Improve Motor Behaviour Deficits After Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia.   
(abst – 2012)           http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23069763
 
Therapeutic Potential of Non-Psychotropic Cannabidiol in Ischemic Stroke  
(link to PDF – 2010)        http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/3/7/2197
 
“A Marijuana Bud a Day Keeps the Stroke Away"         (news – 2012)
http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/04/a_marijuana_bud_a_day_keeps_the_stroke_away.php
 
 
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Granny