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The topic of medical marijuana and its complete legalization is a controversial topic in the United States. Scientists and politicians are hesitant to legalize a drug that is thought to create a generation of Cheechs and Chongs.
Springfield College Professor Joseph Berger from the science department talked about what he knew on the subject.
“Some chemicals, such as THC, have a molecular structure that is similar to that of neurotransmitters that occur naturally in the brain. There are receptors for neurotransmitters in different regions of the brain.”
“One category of receptors are called cannabinoid receptors. THC binds to these receptors and can produce various effects on the brain. When THC binds to cannabinoid receptors in the hippocampus, it affects memory.”
In a normal brain, neurotransmitters are active in the brains synapse to inhibit dopamine levels. Anadamine is a naturally found cannabinoid in the body. This cannabinoid blocks the release of the inhibiting neurotransmitters. As a result dopamine can be released.
THC(the most active ingredient in marijuana) mimics Anandamine. The only difference is that THC lasts longer. This is why THC results in a “high”.
Marijuana isn’t some harmful drug, but a mimic of a naturally found pain killer in the body. More importantly marijuana plants are grown naturally. So it is much healthier and cheaper than on the market drugs.
For example, pain killers are not natural and have a much higher dependency percentage than marijuana. In addition, with most pain killers other drugs are needed to keep the liver and kidneys functioning properly.
Trevor Marcotte experienced this first hand. “I actually saw a 5 percent decrease in my liver enzymes and an 8 percent decrease in my kidney enzymes.”
According to a John Hastings study for an “In Health” magazine, pain-killers are ranked 60 spots higher than marijuana out of 100 addictive drugs.
The joke goes, marijuana is not addictive, but growing it can be. Like any other medication, people start to rely on it for relief. That doesn’t make marijuana addictive.
Susanne Hynes, a nutritionist from Shelburne Mass, recently attended a medical marijuana conference in San Fransico. She said “there has never been any cannabis overdoses reported!” An amazing statistic when you compare to alcohol and cigarettes, which are both taxed and legal.
She continued, “The positive effects of marijuana range from stunting cancer growth, easing people thru a seizure, enabling people to cope with pain, creams can help with arthritis, the list goes on and on.”
Berger said he was “not aware that marijuana is specifically a pain killer, and very doubtful that it is the best form of pain killer.”
Another stereotype of marijuana is that it affects learning, motivation, and intelligence.
Berger’s view on intelligence was that “Some people report that marijuana helps a student concentrate or improve their grades. Most of the evidence is that it does the opposite. It does make many people feel good when they get high, and that may give them the feeling that it is helping alleviate pain or other problems.”
Although he is self-admittedly not an expert on the topic, Berger said that “there is significant evidence that marijuana interferes with memory and can lead some people to be less motivated to study or do work.” Overall Berger just felt that “in some of the cases the medical uses are an excuse to simply get an enjoyable high.”
Hynes finds evidence like this incorrect. “As far as laziness goes, I think that is more of what people think of when they think of marijuana smokers, but that is on a recreational level. There are stains that can motivate and energize, enabling people who need to medicate at work to keep working.”
Comedian Doug Benson can attest to Hynes statements. Benson smoked medical marijuana multiple times everyday for 30 days in the movie “Super High Me” in order to see if all the stereotypes about marijuana’s negative effects were true. The result, they were NOT.
Benson went through two physicals and no differences were found. More importantly, Benson took the SAT before smoking weed and received a score of 980 out of 1600. Then, after 30 days he improved to a score of 1030 while high. Although, marijuana alone won’t make people smarter or more athletic, it’s safe to say that it won’t hurt either.
According to Americans for Safe Access, there are more than 200,000 people in California with a prescription for Medical Marijuana. In 2006 alone estimated sales from California Cannabis alone exceed 12 billion dollars. If taxed, marijuana could have made one billion in government revenue.
Medicare costs are growing inversely to the unemployment rate. The legalization of marijuana should seem logical when you look at the cheap expense of marijuana besides the high return in government profits.
Even some of our founding fathers like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson are documented praising the drug. So why, in an economic depression, is the government so against its number one cash crop?
Hynes believes that the government and big pharmaceutical corporations are to blame for medical marijuana not being legalized.
“It's money and fear. Big pharmaceuticals do not want money taken out of their pockets. They make so much money off of synthetic drugs. The idea that someone could grow something naturally and medicate themselves scares them. It's actually criminal to deny sick people this option to better line their pockets!”
There are countless interviews online with amazing genuine people who express a vast appreciation to marijuana for how it positively influences their lives. With marijuana, people are no longer the slaves of multiple prescriptions and weekly hospital visits.
Marijuana is an organic drug that should no longer be associated with criminals or moronic imbeciles like the media portrays. With no proven side effects, the miracle of THC can be the cheap solution to pain for anyone who is terminally ill with cancer, aids, or just someone trying to battle the depression/anxiety that comes with everyday life.
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