Today, the subject of legalizing marijuana is a very touchy one. Some people (Group 1) believe that it is an awful drug that causes damage both to the users and to innocent people, and should, therefore, be banned. Yet, others (Group 2) believe that marijuana is a “miracle drug” that cures illnesses, so they push for it to be legalized. Still others (Group 3) are inclined to meet in the middle – they themselves want nothing to do with the drug and think it has some ill side effects, but if it medically helps other people, they are okay with that, too, so they do not much care either way. However, there are, in fact, truths to each belief.
Marijuana, weed, dope, pot, cannabis, hashish, bud, skunk, grass, ganja, ‘herb and about 1,200 other slang terms are used for the naturally occurring substance that has been used for hundreds of years as a relaxant or a mild hallucinogenic. It is actually so potent that it can be detected in urine up to seven days after casual use and up to 30 days after regular, heavy use.
In the United States of America, marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug. It is so popular that at least one in every three Americans has used it once. It is a mixture of dry, shredded, green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the hemp plant. When smoked, it gives the user a sense of relaxation, happiness, and slowed reflexes.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has not approved or recognized the plant as a medicine. Scientific studies have shown certain chemicals in marijuana, known as cannabinoids, has led to at medications approved by the FDA that contain cannabinoid chemicals in a pill form. The continued research of marijuana could lead to more medications that can help more patients in the future. Ask the if you have any questions about your dosing amounts for medical cannabis use.
Here is how Group 1 defends their argument: occasional marijuana use is not believed to be harmful, however, negative side effects of marijuana can impact your body as well as the mind, can slow down reflexes, and can impair decision-making capabilities. Group 1 believes this is can be paralleled to drunk driving – alcohol has the same effects, yet, it is illegal to drink and drive while under the influence, so why should it be legal to drive, etc. while under the influence of marijuana? Isn’t a high driver who kills a mother and her infant just as deadly as a drunk driver who does the same?
Group 2 understands that most marijuana users feel relaxed and happy, and that cannabis has been reported to ease certain pains, eliminate nausea, and is also considered to be helpful in stopping vomiting in advanced cases of cancer or AIDS. People suffering from serious illnesses who lose appetite are also reported to find weed helpful in improving and augmenting their appetite. Group 2 uses this information to support their dispute.
Group 3 sees both sides – the negative side effects or poor judgment and motor skills and deems it dangerous to be used when driving or for public recreation. However, they are also aware of the medical victories hemp has brought to many patients; therefore they generally support medical marijuana use, while remaining a smidge skeptical about public use.
Medical marijuana has been legalized in states across the country. The majority of the American public supports the legalization of medical marijuana. A larger percentage of the public believes the drug should be legal for medical use, and recreational pot use is less controversial than ever, which has failed absolutely 60 percent of Americans will support. There are, continue to study generic drugs with There are compelling reasons to do so and the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse also lists drugs the name of the ingredient used in marijuana. Marijuana contains at least two active compounds that researchers believe have medicinal uses. They are cannabidiol (CBD) which appears to affect the brain without increase and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which has pain relief and is primarily responsible for the high.
If scientists say the limitations of marijuana research mean we still have big questions about its medicinal properties. In addition to CBD and THC, there are 400 or so other compounds, including over 60 cannabinoids. Many of these could have medical applications. But without more research, we won’t know the best way to use those drugs. More research would also shed light on the dangers of marijuana. While there are moderate uses of marijuana, this does not mean that all uses are harmless. Memory, learning and speed may be impaired in long-term marijuana users, especially if they began using cannabis regularly before the age of 16 or 17.
Equally strong evidence can help with the varicose veins associated with multiple sclerosis , says the same report . Other types of nerve tumors also respond to marijuana. People use medical marijuana to treat diaphragm spasms that they can’t with other prescription drugs. There is evidence that marijuana does not damage the lungs, unless you also smoke tobacco. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that marijuana not only does not impair lung function, but can also increase lung capacity. Researchers looking for risk factors for heart disease examined the lung function of 5,115 young people over a 20-year period. Tobacco smokers lost lung function over time, but pot smokers actually showed an increase in lung capacity.
The smokers in that study toked only a few times a month, but a recent study of people who smoked pot daily for 20 years also found no evidence of pot smoking harm their lungs National Academy report says that marijuana users are less likely to develop smoking related cancers There is excellent research that shows this. One of the reasons states allow medical marijuana is to treat and prevent glaucoma, which increases eye pressure, damages the visual system and damages the eyelids marijuana lowers pressure in the eyes, according to National Eye Institutional indication.
While researching his documentary “Weed,” Sanjay Gupta interviewed the Figi family, who treated their 5-year-old daughter with a product high in cannabidiol and low in THC Figi’s daughter, Charlotte Dravet syndrome There is, causing seizures and severe developmental delay. According to the film, the drug reduced her seizures to 300 per week and only one seizure every seven days. Forty other kids in the state were using the same type of marijuana at the time of the film, and it seemed to work The doctors who recommended this treatment said the plant’s cannabidiol interacts with brain cells to give it the excessive activity in the brain that causes this seizure calms down.
If Gupta says the American Academy of Pediatrics, a hospital that specializes in this disease, and the Drug Enforcement Administration do not recognize marijuana as a treatment for epilepsy such as Dravet CBD could help prevent the spread of cancer in California researchers in the mid -2000s They said. Other very early studies of acute brain tumors in mice or cell cultures showed that appropriate doses of THC and CBD could slow or reduce tumor progression, which is common sense a strong reason for more research . However, these findings in cell culture and animals don’t necessarily mean that the effects will translate to humans more detailed research is needed.
A synthetic combination of CBD and THC appears to preserve memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Another study showed that dronabinol, a THC-based compound, can reduce behavioral problems in patients with schizophrenia. However, all of these studies are in the early stages and more research is needed. According to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal , marijuana can reduce painful symptoms in multiple sclerosis. Jodie Corey-Bloom studied 30 multiple sclerosis patients with painful contractions. These patients did not respond to other treatments, but reported less pain after smoking marijuana for a few days. According to certified cannabis pharmacists, the THC in marijuana appears to bind to substances in nerves and muscles to relieve pain. Treatment for hepatitis C infection is harsh: side effects include fatigue, nausea, muscle pain, loss of appetite and depression. Those side effects can last for months, causing many people to drop out of their treatment plan prematurely.
A study in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that 86% of patients who used marijuana successfully completed their Hep C treatment. Only 29% of nonsmokers completed treatment, possibly because marijuana helps reduce the side effects of treatment. Cannabis also appears to improve treatment: 54% of hep C patients who use cannabis have experienced a reduction in viral load, compared to only 8% of non-cannabis users who may benefit from cannabis use in patients with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and other inflammatory bowel diseases Studies show that. Researchers at the University of Nottingham found in 2010 that chemicals in cannabis, such as THC and cannabidiol, they interact with endothelial cells that play an important role in gut function and immunity.
The study was published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The body produces THC-like substances that increase intestinal permeability, allowing bacterial penetration but the cannabinoids in marijuana inhibit these chemicals, causing intestinal cells to bind more tightly and with less penetration but the National Academy report says marijuana actually helps with these conditions There is not enough evidence to do it, so more research is needed. In 2011, researchers announced that marijuana provides pain relief, reduces inflammation and induces sleep, and can help reduce pain and discomfort in people with arthritis.