The medical aspects of marijuana have been used by humans for centuries, even being considered a reputable medicine in the United States until the 20th century. The majority of criticism toward cannabis as medicine comes from the lack of research that many claim plague the field. However, this lack of research stems in its entirety from the illegality of marijuana. In fact, because of the federal classification of cannabis, the only research that could have been done on the plant in the last 80 years was to find any harmful aspects of the substance.
This pseudoscientific outlook on marijuana has contributed to the skepticism about medical cannabis. However, since the dawn of legalization at a state level, the federal government has eased enforcement on the drug in legal states.
Unlike the United States, research on the subject of medical marijuana has been a booming field in one unlikely country: Israel. Since the 1960s, the chemical aspects of marijuana have been studied by scientists such as Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who is considered to be the father of medical marijuana. While the research in the United States has been stifled by draconian legislation, Israel holds a much more scientific attitude about the plant.
By discovering chemical compounds such as THC, and the endocannabinoid system in the brain, Mechoulam revolutionized our understandings about marijuana. Furthermore, the country has had great success in using marijuana to treat PTSD. Although general use is still illegal in Israel, the country has led the world in implementing medical marijuana, even going so far as to approve its use in 1992.
While Israel leads the way, the United States has begun to follow suit. In 2009, President Obama said he would not interfere with state medical marijuana laws. This has not only given rise to more research on marijuana but also changes attitudes toward the legitimacy of marijuana as medicine. Yet, even with this new attitude on cannabis, only 6 percent of studies on the plant in the United States contribute to medical research.
While more research must be done in this particular field, numerous studies have been published on the effectiveness of marijuana in treating a variety of ailments. From glaucoma to eating disorders, cannabis has been shown to be an effective treatment for both symptom relief and overall treatment.
However, the most astounding use of cannabis seems to be its relief of neuropathic pain —
chronic pain caused by damaging of nerve fibers. The majority of
treatments used to curb neuropathic pain revolve around opioid based
drugs such as morphine, oxycodone and dilaudid. However, these drugs
have not only proven to be ineffective at treating this sort of pain but
also have a plethora of dangers on their own. In the United States, 44 people will die today of a prescription pain killer overdose. On the other hand, there are no recorded cases of death from a marijuana overdose.
Much of the criticism toward the use
of marijuana as a medical treatment comes from the negative effects of
smoking in general, often comparing cannabis to the dreaded tobacco
plant. However, this argument holds little legitimacy. Smoking cannabis
is nowhere near the only way to consume the substance. In fact, the use
of marijuana pills, oils, vapors and edibles have been used as effective
alternatives to smoking.
Furthermore, the comparison of marijuana to tobacco
seems to be null and void, considering that marijuana has proven
effective in reversing the carcinogenic effects of tobacco and even
increasing lung capacity.
The labeling of marijuana as a highly addictive substance seems to be exaggerated or, at worst, completely untrue. Marijuana itself has no physically additive properties, following below even caffeine
in some recent studies. Although discontinuing frequent marijuana use
can lead to mild withdrawal symptoms, they are in no way as extreme as
legal substances such as alcohol - which has been attributed to fatal
withdrawal symptoms.
The classification
of marijuana as a Schedule I drug along with the resistance of legal
research over the past century only exemplify the lies and
misinformation that has been essential in maintaining the illegality of
cannabis. As new research continues to unfold and public perception
towards cannabis changes, the only logical route is legalization.
As
marijuana becomes legal in both medical and recreational markets in the
United States, the positive effects of legal marijuana are proving that
the archaic, draconian polices held by the federal government are both
ineffective and deviated from reality.
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