Cannabis Legalization and its Therapeutic Benefits

Cannabis Legalization and its Therapeutic Benefits

Introduction

After alcohol, marijuana is the second most commonly used drug in the United States. Marijuana use is more common among adolescents and young adults. Despite being outlawed in many states in the U.S., marijuana has remained one of the most preferred drugs by the people of the United States. Since 2007, there has been a rise in the general use of marijuana by the population. There are, however, no clear explanations for this increase in the use of marijuana. However, some of the factors that could have contributed to its increase in use include the changing perception of the public on marijuana, the adjustment of prices in the illicit market, making it more affordable, and the proliferation of medical cannabis laws. Although marijuana has many medical benefits, the primary use of the drug in the U.S. is for recreational purposes. With the rapidly rising use of marijuana by American citizens, there has been a big increase in the debate on the legalization of marijuana in recent years. More than two-thirds of the states in the U.S. have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Despite this, most hospitals are reluctant to administer the drug to patients as it is still categorized by the U.S. government as a schedule one drug, making it illegal for use for any purposes. Despite the drug being illegal, marijuana has no severe health impacts and has therapeutic benefits on its users and should, therefore, be legalized by the government.

Although the activists for legalization of marijuana believe that that the use of the drug has no negative effects, scientific research indicates otherwise with research proving that the use of marijuana has various health problems on its users. The use of cannabis has both short term and long term effects on the users. The short term effects include memory loss and effects on learning, loss of coordination, increased heart rate, and reduced thinking, and problem-solving.

Marijuana also causes distorted perceptions of sounds, sight, touch, and time. Other short term causes of marijuana include distrust, fear, panic, and anxiety. Marijuana has negative effects on the brain, heart, lungs, and bones. Marijuana affects the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, senses, and concentration. It also affects the brain pats that coordinate movement and perception of time. When taken in high doses, especially in food, marijuana causes such symptoms as impaired memory, delusions, disorientation, and hallucinations. Marijuana has negative effects on the heart, too, as it causes rapid beating of the heart and a drop in blood pressure shortly after it has been smoked. Those who use marijuana have a higher risk for heart attack, which is up to five times higher compared to the risk when not smoking.

The continuous smoking of marijuana leads to burning and stinging sensations in the mouths and throats of users and also causes heavy coughing. Studies show that regular use of marijuana in the form of smoking causes the same respiratory problems as the use of tobacco (Nelson, 2019). Some of the most common symptoms include daily cough and production of phlegm, increased risk of lung infection, and severe chest illnesses. Although marijuana smokers consume much less cannabis than cigarette smokers, marijuana still has adverse effects on health that should not be ignored. This is because tobacco and marijuana contain an equal amount of carcinogenic hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are, however, more dangerous to marijuana users because they inhale more deeply and hold the smoke longer in their lungs; hence the lungs are more exposed to the carcinogenic properties. Medical research has found that those people who regularly use marijuana in large amounts have a lower bone density, which increases their risk of bone fractures.

In relation to cancer, some research has shown that people who used marijuana were at a greater risk of developing cancer of the head or neck.  Also, marijuana smoke contains a lot of tar. Usually, there times the amount found in tobacco smoke. It is, therefore, reasonable to conclude that this causes a higher risk of lung cancer for smokers of marijuana. However, there is little research that links marijuana smoking directly to lung cancer, with some research also arguing that marijuana smoking cannot cause lung cancer. While the issue may be debatable, the properties that are found in marijuana smoke clearly indicate that it could lead to continuous smoking increases the chances of lung cancer. Although the marijuana symptoms for marijuana may not be as adverse as those who use such drugs as heroin and opioids, people who smoke marijuana still experience withdrawal symptoms. This is because stopping from using marijuana cuts the body of a regular supply of delta-nine tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH) and needs to adjust.

The more people smoke marijuana, the more their brains depend on the supply of the THC. Therefore, after stopping, the body needs to adjust form not having it. Before getting used to not having it, smokers may experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. In some cases, the symptoms may be adverse to the extent that they cause the person to go back to smoking. Study shows that withdrawal symptoms start within a week after a person quits smoking (Nelson, 2019). The symptoms may include a decrease in appetite that could lead to weight loss, restlessness and general malaise, and sleep disturbances that include having nightmares as well as insomnia. Other withdrawal symptoms that are experienced include the feeling of anger and aggressiveness, extreme nervousness, and anxiety. In more adverse cases, withdrawal could lead to the onset of feelings of depression. Individuals who quit smoking marijuana also experience physical withdrawal symptoms that can lead to significant stress. These include symptoms such as abdominal pains, fever, chills, sweating, headache, and shaking. Although not considered life-threatening, the symptoms could still be dangerous to some individuals.

 

The law of the United States on matters regarding the use of marijuana has always been complex. Both the states, as well as the federal lawmakers, have been debating on the ever-changing policies on who may be allowed to use marijuana and who may not. Some states have opted for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes alone. Medical marijuana is that which is recommended by doctors to ease the symptoms of various health conditions. The medical marijuana that has been legalized in some states includes that which contains low levels of THC and is high in CBD.  Other states choose decriminalization where penalties are lessened for people who are found possessing small amounts of the pot, but the trafficking and possession of large amounts of pots is still kept illegal. Some states have even gone further to legalize the use of recreational marijuana (Shively, 2016).  However, despite some of the states having legalized various forms of the use of marijuana, the possession, sale, or use of marijuana still remains illegal under federal law. Under federal law, cannabis use is illegal for any reason except the licensed agricultural growth of marijuana for research purposes.

The reason why the federal law does not support the use of marijuana even for medical purposes is that marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 substance. This means that the drug has a high potential for abuse and causes dependency and has little medical use or value. This classification puts marijuana in the category as heroin. Although the government does not view the use of marijuana as dangerous as the use of cocaine, it thinks that the drug has no medical value whatsoever and that it can only be used for recreation. Although there have been calls by activists to reschedule marijuana, there are no large scale trials on the medicinal value of marijuana that can justify its rescheduling. The trials are difficult to conduct as the drug is strictly regulated by the federal government. Congress will have to pass legislation to reschedule marijuana for it to be rescheduled.

List of References

Nelson, E. M. M. G. (2019). Medical Marijuana. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.gary.libproxy.ivytech.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=12&sid=cea2b216-3d37-4fc0-8334-1e3875ffdea3@sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#AN=94415462&db=ers

 

Shively, R. (2016). Marijuana Legalization: Policy Ahead of Science. Journal of Community Corrections, 26(1), 9–25. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=26&sid=20591d6d-dac3-44a1-ad24-c75f7522a950@sdc-v-sessmgr02