Shateanu’ Bryant

English 101-45

Professor Bailey Maple

October 29, 2019

Legalization of Medical Marijuana

Do you like smoking Cannabis? Many studies have come to show that there are such

compounds known as cannabinoids that are chemically related to the main psychoactive

chemical in marijuana responsible for the intoxicating effects that people seek. Recently,

individual components of marijuana (cannabinoids) or similar synthetic substances have been

used for health purposes. The legalization of marijuana is a very debatable subject that has

become popular in our society today. It has medical benefits and economic value but causes

problems with addictions.

Cannabis, best known as Marijuana but also known as weed, pot, reefer, dope, and a vast

number of other slang terms, is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried flowers of Cannabis sativa.

According to “The Australian Drug Foundation,” leaves from the cannabis plant are bright green

and have a distinctive shape with five or seven leaflets. The flowering tops and upper leaves are

also covered in a sticky resin. It originated thousands of years ago in Asia around 500 BC

(History). Marijuana found its way to different regions in the world by then being introduced to

Africa, Europe and eventually the Americas. Believe it or not, Marijuana was legal in many areas

of the world for most of history. Most ancient cultures did not grow the plant to get high. The

history of cannabis cultivation in America dates back to the early colonists, who grew hemp for

textiles and rope. The hemp fiber was used to make clothing, paper, sails and rope, and its seeds

were used as food. They also used it for herbal medicine and spiritual purposes.
 The marijuana plant itself contains more than 100 different chemicals called

cannabinoids. Each cannabinoid has a different effect on the body. The two main chemicals we

see used today are the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and the Cannabidiol (CBD). The

CBD cannabinoid is the main chemical used in medicine and the THC produces the "high"

people feel when they smoke marijuana or eat foods (edibles) containing it. Both CBD and THC

have the exact same molecular structure: 21 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen

atoms. The atoms are just arranged differently which accounts for the differing effects on the

consumers body (Holland). So, what are the pros and cons of legalizing medical marijuana?

Let's start with some pros of legalizing marijuana. In medical marijuana it uses the

cannabis plant and the chemicals in it to treat certain diseases and conditions. A trend including

16 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes since 2010. California, the most

populous state in the USA, was the first to legalize marijuana for medical purposes in 1996 and

has one of the broadest definitions of health conditions for which a physician can recommend

medical marijuana such as cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis,

migraines, and more (Lankenau SE, et al.). Also, legalizing and regulating marijuana will also

help create more jobs. It will bring one of the nation's largest cash crops under the rule of law. It

will create economic opportunities in the formal economy instead of the illicit market (Drug

Policy Alliance). It is the exact same product used for recreational marijuana, but it’s taken and

used for medical purposes only and a doctor must say so and prescribe it for the patient.

Cannabis does not need to be smoked to be medically beneficial. It can now be eaten or used in a

form of hash oil that is spreaded on the tip or paper of a cigarette and then smoked. That then

leads us to the cons of legalizing medical marijuana.

 However, there are reasons that hold many states back in legalizing marijuana. Because

of the THC in Marijuana, it makes people capable of becoming addicted to the psychoactive drug

making them begin to abuse it. Frequent use can impair cognitive ability such as memory. Once

under the influence it encourages the consumer to make inappropriate decisions. There has been

substantial concern about the effects of substance use during pregnancy. Few studies have

assessed the effects of prenatal exposure to marijuana and even fewer have provided longitudinal

data on the developmental outcome of offspring. It can cause lung tissue damage.

So why hasn’t more research been done on medical marijuana? The U.S. Drug

Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers marijuana a Schedule I drug, the same as heroin,

LSD, and ecstasy, and likely to be abused and lacking in medical value. Researchers also found

out that they would need a special license to study it because of this. Investigators seeking to

conduct research on cannabis or cannabinoids must navigate a series of review processes that

may involve the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), institutional review

boards, offices or departments in state government, state boards of medical examiners, the

researcher's home institution, and potential funders (National).

Overall, the impact of the drug is moderate, and it can affect the consumers in many

ways. The argument on whether or not marijuana should be legalized is becoming more of an

uproar because the U.S. Congress is debating whether or not to legalize it. Medical marijuana has

a great amount of benefits and may be better than other alternative medicines but does have

many risk factors. Does marijuana do more harm than good? They are taking their time and

being precise about the decision to ensure that they do not make the wrong decisions for the U.S.
as a whole.
 Works Cited

Australian Drug Foundation, “What is Cannabis.” mydr.com.au, Last updated 25 Jan 2012.

https://www.mydr.com.au/addictions/cannabis-what-is-it. accessed Jan 2013

Day, N.L, et al. “Effect of Prenatal Marijuana Exposure on the Cognitive Development of

Offspring at Age Three.” Neurotoxicology and Teratology, vol. 16, no. 2, 1994, pp. 169–

175.,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0892036294901147

History.com Editors, “Marijuana.” History.com https://www.history.com/topics/crime/history-

of-marijuana Accessed October 27, 2019 Publisher A&E Television Networks, Last

Updated October 10, 2019 Original Published Date May 31, 2017

Holland, Kimberly. “CBD vs. THC: What’s the Difference?” healthline.com, May 2019

https://www.healthline.com/health/cbd-vs-thc

Lankenau SE, et al. “Health Conditions and Motivations for Marijuana Use among Young Adult

Medical Marijuana Patients and Non-Patient Marijuana Users.” Drug and Alcohol

Review, vol. 37, no. 2, 2018, pp. 237–246., doi:10.1111/dar.12534.

Mayer, Stephen. “Proving Personal Use: The Admissibility of Evidence Negating Intent to

Distribute Marijuana.” Michigan Law Review, vol. 113, no. 7, 2015, pp. 1255–1270.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24770822?seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Committee on the Health

Effects of Marijuana. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current

State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research. National Academies Press, 2017.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK423845/ Accessed 29 Oct. 2019.

The Drug Policy Alliance, “Marijuana Legalization and Regulation”

http://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/marijuana-legalization-and-regulation