Medical Marijuana

Gaby Maldonado
5/7/14








Medical marijuana is a topic that is constantly in the media, especially now that it has
been legalized at the state level in some parts of the United States. Is medical marijuana safe? Is
it actually helping people? Should medical marijuana be an option? Most importantly what are
the pros and cons of medical marijuana as a form of medication?
According to the DEA museum, the oldest known written record on cannabis comes
from the Chinese Emporer Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. Ancient Greeks and Romans were also
familiar with cannabis, while in the Middle East, use spread throughout the Islamic empire to
North Africa. From these origins it moved on to Europe, where the Spaniards imported it to
Chile where the fibers were used to make hemp, clothing, and paper.
The discovery was made of this extraordinary plant because Cannabis sativa has
been growing wild throughout the world in many tropical and humid climates. The two names
Cannabis and marijuana are often used interchangeably but that is incorrect because Cannabis is
the botanical term for the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. Archaeologists have even discovered pots
made from hemp plants in China from the Stone Age. Cannabis was first brought to the United
States in 1611 to Jamestown, Virginia, where it became a major commercial crop. It became a
popular product; even George Washington grew cannabis in the fields of his house at Mount
Vernon.
Cannabis is a green, leafy plant that is dioecious, having a female plant as well as male
plant. It is characterized by its five point figure of a leaf that has a serrated under side. The male
plants tend to be taller and thinner around the stalk, and they also produce flower like pods which
hold the fertilizers. The female cannabis plant is shorter in height as well as darker, and the
leaves tend to be a little bit more furry feeling. These plants can grow up to eighteen feet with
thicker sturdy stocks that have been valuable and necessary in the in the production of rope,
twine, shoes, sailcloth, and containers of all kinds.
Marijuana is the most commonly available psychoactive drug originating from the
cannabis plant. The THC content ranges from approximately 1 to 6 percent. Marijuana made its
debut as a recreational drug in the United States in the early 1920s, many believe this was
because people needed an alternative to alcohol because of the prohibition. Marijuana clubs
began appearing all over major cities with more than five hundred estimated to be in Harlem
alone. Surprisingly these places were tolerated by officials and owners nor members were ever
bothered.
However, when one decade ends another begins, and so did the Antimarijuana era in the
early 1930s. Many antimarijuana campaigns began labeling it as the killer weed and people
began to believe that marijuana was ruining the lives of Americans. The government made
marijuana illegal and research on it steadily declined and came to a standstill. On the other end
of the spectrum, penalties were becoming more and more severe for marijuana users and
producers. However, since those days, marijuana has come back as a popular recreational drug,
as well as an effective medication for some. Studies have been skyrocketing and legislatures
against marijuana are ever changing.
With 21 states as well as DC that have already enacted laws to legalize medical
marijuana, the topic seems to always be on the news as well as our minds. Because marijuana is
a schedule 1 controlled substance, it is constantly tested under the strictest of circumstances, but
here is what has been found.
Marijuana studies on monkeys have proven effective in stopping the spread of HIV
throughout the whole body. These monkeys received daily THC doses and had high levels of
healthy cells as well. As a result, already 60 percent of HIV/AIDS patients have self-identified as
medical cannabis users. They say they self-medicate to counter the symptoms of anxiety,
appetite loss and nausea, and at least one study has reported that patients who use cannabis
therapeutically are 3.3 times more likely to adhere to their antiretroviral therapy regimens than
non-cannabis users.
The cannabinoids in marijuana have also proven to slow the progression of Alzheimers
disease. Marijuana blocks the enzyme that is behind the progressions of Alzheimers. Not only
that but it has been proven as well to prevent protein clumps that can inhibit cognition and
memory.
One of the most amazing benefits of medical marijuana is that it has the ability to slow
the spread of cancer cells. A 2012 study found that marijuana freezes cancer cells by stopping
the metastasis in some kinds of aggressive cancer. In 2013 another study found that cannabinoids
were able to drastically reduce cell viability and cause simultaneous arrest at all phases of the
cell cycle in leukemia. Researches in the U.K. have successfully used marijuana compounds to
kill cancer cells in leukemia entirely.
One of the most common and well known benefits of medical marijuana is that it can be
used as a pain reliever. Marijuana works as an anti-inflammatory medication and has so far
proved effective in treating illnesses and conditions such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid
arthritis and migraines. The effects have been felt as several hundred times more powerful than
that of aspirin.
Marijuana users also claim that it helps them cope with opiate addiction and in some
cases it has prevented it. Opiates are known to have much more and higher addictive qualities
than marijuana, and the marijuana can be used to reduce the level of dependence the opiate user
has built up.
Marijuana can also be a great alternative medication for those with depression, anxiety,
or ADHD. A 2005 study found that those who consume marijuana occasionally or even daily
have lower levels of depressive symptoms than those who have never tried marijuana. Small
doses are effective in relieving anxiety and symptoms of ADHD because of the relaxed state it
produces in users.
Epileptic patients and those with Tourettes have also benefited from medical marijuana
use. In December of 2013, the FDA gave the ok to researchers to study the efficacy of medical
marijuana while epileptic patients. Results from these studies have proven that it reduced
symptoms dramatically. A huge headliner involving a six year old epileptic girl named Charlotte
has shown that certain strains work remarkably at lessening and the traumatic seizers that were
happening almost 300 times a day. Charlotte now seizes only a few times a day, if that. A strain
has been created by a Colorado non-profit and named Charlottes Web, which they are now
providing for free to patients who are suffering from epilepsy as well as Parkinsons.
Medical marijuana research has also indicated that it has neuroprotective qualities, which
can limit neurological damage after stoke or trauma. This has started much talk within the NFL
about whether marijuana could be introduced to potentially treat concussions. NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell even went as far as announcing his willingness to consider the
idea. At a conference this January he stated We will follow the medicine and if they determine
this could be a proper usage in any context we will consider that.
Medical marijuana is a great route for those who suffer from glaucoma. By decreasing
the pressure inside the eye, marijuana can prevent blindness. Research found that those who
ingested marijuana orally and by inhalation both showed the same effectiveness.
Some agree that the most important finding of all so far is that marijuana causes people to
have a better carbohydrate metabolism. Harvard researchers have discovered that between 2005
and 2010 current marijuana users showed fasting insulin levels that were 16% lower than those
of former or never users, along with 17% reduction in another measure of insulin resistance as
well. This is great news for those that suffer from diabetes.
Factory processed pills and other substances have extremely harmful effects on our
bodies that will just kill us in the long run. Yes, many medications prescribed to us by our
doctors are very helpful, but often times they do more harm to other parts of our body such as
our brain, liver, or kidneys, than they actually do to the problem. Medical marijuana has few side
effects when it comes to effects on the body. Marijuana can be ingested by inhaling, taken
orally, and vaporizing. Vaporizing and oral ingestion is a great way to use marijuana medically
so that it doesnt take a toll on the lungs. However, it has been proven that the harm marijuana
does to the lungs is revered immediately when the user quits smoking. Marijuana overall is a
great alternative for many people over pharmaceuticals.


References
"Cannabis, Coca, & Poppy: Nature's Addictive Plants." . DEA Museum, 4 Sept. 2012.
Web. 3 May 2014. <www.deamuseum.org/ccp/cannabis/history.html>.
Ellis et al. 2007. Smoked medicinal cannabis for neuropathic pain: a randomized placebo
controlled trial.
Hathaway, Belle-Isle. "Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)." . DEA Museum, 1 Jan.
2003. Web. 3 May 2014. <norml.org/library/item/human-immunodeficiency-virus-hiv>.
Rachiel Schrier. 2010. Effects of medicinal cannabis. In: University of San Diego Health
Science, Center for Medicinal Research.