Many men in America suffer from a fabricated sense of rugged individualism despite their actual existence in a society where we necessarily lean on others from time to time for expertise and guidance. This limiting mindset leads to neglect in many forms, but none more clear than the average man’s reluctance or downright refusal to go see a doctor for almost any reason, and the impact that has had for decades on men’s health in general.
It took a joint resolution in Congress in 1994 to convince the country to take a closer look at the full spectrum of men’s health, how it differs from their female counterparts, and what it means to the familial and societal structure that America is based on. Due to that consequential piece of legislation, June has been designated as Men’s Health Month across the U.S.
In the 30+ years that Men’s Health Month has been in effect, the movement has grown to establish its own presence online, welcome an international audience, and effectively evolve its messaging as our collective understanding of men’s health and wellness deepens.
By showcasing the importance of regular doctor check-ups, early detection, and preventative care, Men’s Health Month is 30 days of advocacy, education, and action–challenging men everywhere, as well as the women in their lives, to take control and responsibility for their own health and well-being.
To quote Congressman Bill Richardson, one of the lawmakers who supported the 1994 Senate Joint Resolution to recognize Men’s Health Month, “Recognizing and preventing men’s health problems is not just a man’s issue. Because of its impact on wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters, men’s health is truly a family issue.”
As encouraging as it has been to see the Men’s Health Month movement gain momentum in recent years, we feel that they are missing a major development in mankind’s quest for optimized wellness.
The total omission of cannabis consumption in the movement’s advice and guidelines diminishes their overall message as more peer-reviewed research is released all the time touting the many therapeutic uses of the cannabis plant.
With a primary focus on common medical issues that men face such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and cardiovascular diseases, the multiuse efficacy of various forms of cannabis consumption literally seems like a natural fit in the Men’s Health Month curriculum, but that has not been the case so far.
The leading cause of death in males, for example, is heart disease. A good doctor will inform a patient facing this problem that they ought to manage their diet, stay active, and avoid or at least reduce stress. For countless consumers, cannabis checks all those boxes and more.
We know for a fact that killers like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and high stress are fueled by excessive use of tobacco and alcohol, yet these substances remain more socially acceptable among men and their peers than cannabis, which does not exacerbate these issues, but mitigates them instead.
The final thrashing of the negative social stigma surrounding cannabis use cannot come quickly enough. Its decades-long stain on society has deterred countless men and women from finding a safe, natural path to health and wellness optimization. It has also, it seems, so far deterred the effort behind the Men’s Health Month campaign from even including, let alone embracing, cannabis consumption as a pillar of its messaging.
With the wave of regulated cannabis markets expanding across the country comes the safest and most effective forms of consumption that we have ever known.
Cannabis products include inhalable, edible, sublingual, and topical applications, and all of them are subject to rigorous third-party laboratory testing that far exceeds other industries in its scope and scrutiny of potency and purity. Access to safe cannabis has never been safer than it is today.
Here are some of the facts that were delivered in support of the 1994 legislation to establish Men’s Health Week, which has since bloomed into Men’s Health Month.
- Despite the advances in medical technology and research, men continue to live an average of seven years less than women
- The likelihood that a man will develop prostate cancer is 1 in 11
- The death rate for prostate cancer has grown at almost twice the death rate of breast cancer in the last five years
- African-American men in the United States have the highest incidence in the world of cancer of the prostate (editor’s note: and yet our society has spent the past 30 years disproportionally arresting them for cannabis use)
- Men are seven times as likely as women to be arrested for drunk driving and three times as likely to be alcoholics
- Women visit the doctor 150% as often as men enabling them to detect health problems in their early stages
- Men find themselves 3x more likely to commit suicide than women
Though the exact statistics may have wavered in the three decades since, the state of men’s health and wellness in the United States is still bleak to this day, despite the noble (yet incomplete) efforts put forth by those behind Men’s Health Month. The exclusion of cannabis as a viable therapeutic tool hasn’t helped to correct that course.
Men’s health and wellness isn’t just about men. It is Family health and wellness, Career health and wellness, Community health and wellness–and cannabis can help.
We pledge to spend the month of June, and beyond, promoting an all-natural pathway to optimal health and wellness for men, respectfully following in the footsteps of Men’s Health Month advocacy as we blaze the trail for cannabis inclusion in those efforts.
There is nothing manlier than taking care of yourself so that you can take care of others. Look to Beard Bros Pharms for more tips and articles covering this crucial topic in the weeks to come.
You can learn more about Men’s Health Month at https://menshealthmonth.org/
