Is Pot Good for You?

Is marijuana good or bad for you? Marijuana is neither good nor bad for you, but it helps ease the pain of some diseases making life a whole lot easier for those with cancer, glaucoma, and even patients that are HIV Positive because it helps them eat more and actually keep it down. (Cloud) Marijuana is actually less harmful for the body than cigarettes because it has all natural chemicals in it. Cigarettes have harmful chemicals like rat poisoning and other very dangerous chemicals that could kill you if not mixed into the correct dosage. Marijuana is only bad for you when smoked but if you make food out of it you dont get the carcinogens that come off when burned. Edibles have almost the exact same effect on you except it doesnt make you cough when it goes down your throat. Other than that its the same kind of high the only problem is that people dont feel it immediately so they eat more and more and then when it does catch up to them they are so far gone and a lot of people hate that. Cancer and glaucoma are diseases that persist with a lot of pain so sometimes doctors will prescribe their patients medical marijuana to help with the pain so they can still live their basic lifestyle and not try to commit suicide. Marijuana has a chemical in it called THC which stands for tetrahydrocannabinol. THC stimulates cells in the brain to release dopamine, creating euphoria. It also interferes with how information is processed in the hippocampus, which is part of the brain responsible for forming new memories. THC can induce hallucinations, change thinking and cause delusions. (Hildebrandt) Doctors usually give their patients that are HIV Positive medical marijuana because when youre on the drug you get what everybody now days calls, The Munchies. The Munchies are when you get

your high you become very hungry for snack food or even food in general. This is helpful for those that are HIV Positive because you usually cant eat, but with medical marijuana they can eat all the food they want and usually keep it all down if not most of it and not throw it up. To conclude my writing, marijuana is neither good nor bad for you as long as you use it safe and dont misuse it. If we could prove to the country we could handle a drug like this, then guaranteed crime rates would go down and marijuana would be legal for recreational use in all of the states and not just a few. Marijuana is like any other drug out there in the market legal or not the only problem is that it is frowned upon because of its bad reputation in the past and into the future.

WORKS CITED
Cloud, John Is Pot Good for you? Time Nov 4 2002: 62-66 SIRS Issues Researcher Web 07 Feb 2013 Hildenbrandt, Erin Medical Marijuana Mothering. May/June 2004: 52-61. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web 07 Feb 2013 Adams, Jill U. Damaging Habit? Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA). Aug. 18 2008: SIRS Issues Researcher. Web 07 Feb 2013 Conant, Eve. Pot and the GOD. Newsweek 01 Nov 2010: 18. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web 07 Feb 2013