Reefer, green, skunk, herb, cannabis, weed and hundreds of more monikers all describe the same substance that nearly everyone reading this blog post will probably have some memory of and ideas on. Whether you think of rebellious adolescence, your college roommate or the terrifying slide anti-drug P.S.A.'s the push on middle schoolers most people have at least a basic understanding of what it is but for the sake of clarity, I will give an objective view on the scientific nature of this drug.
Marijuana is a drug that can be smoked, eaten in the form of edibles or capsules, vaped, and sublingually (dissolved on the tongue). The main chemical in Marijuana is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). This mouthful of letters is the name for the chemical that causes numerous effects when consumed including the famed "high". The main effects of Marijuana are: feelings of well being, euphoria, increased perception, decreased problem-solving abilities, decrease in intra-ocular pressure, increase in appetite, and an increase in heart rate. Marijuana has been tested for traits of being physically addictive and has not shown evidence of being physically addictive though as most substances and even behaviors it can cause a psychological addiction. The difference between the two is that a physical addiction causes cells to require the substance to function while a psychological addiction is a compulsion or perceived need to use the drug. The drug has numerous properties that can be used for a variety of uses both medical and recreational.
Marijuana has great potential in the treatment of numerous medical and psychological conditions. Patients undergoing cancer treatment such as chemotherapy can have relief from nausea and pain as well as raising their appetite. The use of medical Marijuana has been shown to treat pain from a variety of illnesses such as AIDS, chronic migraines, Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis, Hepatitis and various other conditions. The use of the drug has been also found to relieve symptoms of Alzheimers, Epilepsy, asthma, and glaucoma. Marijuana has also been used to treat mental disorders such as anxiety, anorexia depression, bipolar disorder and Tourette's Syndrome. The potential for this drug in medicine has become close to undeniable, however, due to the drugs standing as a contraband substance research on it has been limited even by highly esteemed Universities and Medical and Scientific organizations.
In the United States, Marijuana is illegal on the federal level and is classified as a schedule one drug. According to the website of the D.E.A. (Drug Enforcement Administration ) a Schedule I drug is defined as "...substances or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.". This means according to the federal government Marijuana has no medical uses despite wide acceptance of medical uses in both the Academic world and the general public. The reason behind this stigmatization dates back to the War on Drugs in the 1970s. During this time President Nixon and the federal government began a crackdown on drugs which included labeling Marijuana as a "Gateway Drug" (a drug that could lead to the use of more dangerous substances.). This tendency has been for the most part disproved through medical studies making it likely that this claim was part of the vast propaganda waves that occurred during this.
With time much of the motives of the War on Drugs has been revealed to be quite questionable. Both the policies of the War on Drugs and current policy have shown immense bias against minorities. This can be shown through a simple comparison of statistics. Nearly 55 million adult Americans admit to using Marijuana regularly out of 249,485,228 million over eighteen. With the massive number of Americans of all demographics using Marijuana, it would be reasonable to assume those facing Marijuana charges would be just as diverse, yet this is far from the truth. Out of a whopping 60,000, low-level marijuana arrests 86% where Latinx or African American. This indicates that the prejudice in these laws goes not toward only the drugs but minority communities.
Despite the Federal laws, progress on the state level is growing by leaps and by bounds. Thirty states and Washington D.C have legalized medical Marijuana and another nine have legalized it for recreation. The change signified a move away from the war and drugs and it's agendas and may open countless doors in the treatment of both medicals and psychological disorder as well as further research the was previously made unavailable. This turn toward legalization has signified a change in the tides in the nation's attitude toward Marijuana and with several states set to follow it, The question arises whether the federal government will soon be forced to follow.
