Marijuana as Medicine

I Made Semara Reta Adnyana

In Indonesia, marijuana is more trusted as a plant species that can cause

adverse effects such as addiction and negative behavior, but a lot of research has
revealed the benefits of marijuana content to treat several certain diseases,
including severe diseases. Marijuana often is seen negatively by the people of
Indonesia because the knowledge of these plants is very rarely reached the general
public, both regarding the types and its usefulness. Law in Indonesia has set
marijuana included in category I, where this plant is criminalized without seeing
the benefits of using marijuana for the medical world. The role of the mass media
is very influential in the formation of community stigma related to the law of
marijuana use, the news that is disseminated to the public is very biased because
the media only reports the negative effects of marijuana use on the body and
mentality of its users, while discussions on the benefits of marijuana and research
are very limited by the government. Therefore, the Indonesian government has to
consider the regulations regarding the use of marijuana because the proper use of
marijuana can help to overcome health issues, such as cancer, diabetes, and
epilepsy.

Narcotics policy should be based on the understanding that, regardless of

applicable policies or laws, the consumption of psychoactive substances is an
essential aspect of human life. Similar to the government has recognized the
importance of the legal industry of tobacco and coffee (each containing nicotine
and caffeine). Both are classified as more addictive psychoactive substances when
compared to marijuana but can be accepted and even supported by its legal status.
If the government wants to reduce the narcotics problem, decriminalization of
ownership (small scale) and marijuana consumption can be the first step towards
narcotics policies that are more concerned with public health needs.

For several years, marijuana has been known to have antiemetic effects
(relieve nausea) to treat the side effects of cancer treatment chemotherapy.
However, a study shows that marijuana has a greater potential in the treatment of
cancer. Manuel Guzman's research published in the 2003, Journal of Nature
Review states that in in-vivo (mouse) and in-vitro (besides organism)
experiments, cannabinoid compounds have the effect of inhibiting tumor cell
growth and can even kill it by triggering apoptosis (self-destructive cells).
Furthermore, THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) in marijuana has also been shown to
trigger selective apoptosis only in blood cancer cells (leukemia) within a period of
six hours. THC compounds influencing the certain gene, which helps stop the
communication process in cells associated with the defence system of tumour
cells. In simple explanation, marijuana can weaken the defence of tumor cells for
the human immune system.

Some studies show that cannabinoids can help reduce symptoms due to
diabetes. In a study published in the Journal of Autoimmunity, injection of 5 mg
of cannabidiol every day can reduce the incidence of diabetes in mice. As many as
86% of mice that did not get cannabidiol intake had diabetes, and only 30% of the
group of mice had diabetes when got cannabidiol. Scientists found mouse that
were not given cannabidiol had diabetes on average at week 17th, while the
majority of mouse given the cannabidiol did not have diabetes until week 26th.
While the allocation of cannabidiol in a study published in the American Journal
of Pathology in 2006 states that marijuana substance significantly reduces the risk
of diabetic mouse suffering from oxygen deficiency in the eye so that blood filters
to the retina break down - which is the main cause of blindness in diabetics.

The use of marijuana for the treatment of epilepsy has existed since the
11th century. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine states
that oils from marijuana extracts have been shown to reduce seizures in epilepsy.
Cannabidiol is one of the compounds in marijuana that can cut the average
monthly seizure rate from 12.4 to 5.9 in 52 children with Dravet syndrome who
consumed the extract for 14 weeks of the study period. Dravet's syndrome is a
form of severe epilepsy that causes sufferers to experience seizures constantly,
thus triggering cognitive problems to the risk of premature death. Unlike THC,
which has a high "marijuana" effect when consumed, cannabidiol has no
psychoactive properties. Devinsky said that cannabidiol binds to receptors in the
brain that can reduce nerve cell stimulation that causes seizures. In addition,
Cannabidiol is not addictive and does not cause motion sickness.
 The use of marijuana is indeed quite controversial. Its existence was
considered illegal and included in illegal drugs. On the other hand, actually this
plant which thrives in Indonesia is a medicine that has quite a number of health
benefits. With proper processing and use of marijuana can reduce the symptoms
of the disease and even become a cure for various diseases such as epilepsy,
diabetes, and cancer.
 Work Cited

Devinsky, Orrin, et al. "Trial of cannabidiol for drug-resistant seizures in the

Dravet syndrome." New England Journal of Medicine 376.21 (2017): 2011-
2020.

El-Remessy, Azza B., et al. "Neuroprotective and blood-retinal barrier-preserving

effects of cannabidiol in experimental diabetes." The American journal of
pathology 168.1 (2006): 235-244.

Geffrey, Alexandra L., et al. "Drug–drug interaction between clobazam and

cannabidiol in children with refractory epilepsy." Epilepsia 56.8 (2015):
1246-1251.

Guzman, Manuel. "Cannabinoids: potential anticancer agents." Nature Reviews

Cancer 3.10 (2003): 745.

Sanmartin, Paul E., and Kamil Detyniecki. "Cannabidiol for epilepsy: new hope
on the horizon?." Clinical therapeutics 40.9 (2018): 1438-1441.

Weiss, L., et al. "Cannabidiol lowers incidence of diabetes in non-obese diabetic

mice." Autoimmunity 39.2 (2006): 143-151.