Marijuana, also known as cannabis, hemp, pot and weed has been an extremely common part of human society for thousands of years, but in 1937 the Marihuana Tax Act outlawed marijuana at the federal level.  This never stopped people from using marijuana recreationally.  “With 125 million people in the world smoking marijuana, the drug industry is blossoming.” (Caulkins)  This industry has been so dominant it has caused the United States to classify their fight against drugs a war.  But what if marijuana wasn’t as bad as we thought?  What if it could actually help people?  In the last decade we have seen marijuana become a large topic of discussion on if we should legalize marijuana not just for medical use, but for recreational use.  There has been a long history of using the plant to treat a variety of physical and mental ailments.  It is believed that marijuana was used for medical purposes in China as early as 5,000 years ago.  Currently, 28 states plus Washington D.C., have legalized the use of medical marijuana, and 8 states have legalized the drug recreationally. (Radical)  Once these medical marijuana laws are fully implemented, the drug will be available for almost 200 million Americans, or over 60% of the U.S. population. (Radical)  An additional 15 states have legalized cannabis extracts for medical use, leaving only four states that refuse to take any legal position on the subject. (Radical)  Many people in the medical, that study marijuana, or are users of medical marijuana have come out publically saying they believe marijuana can be very promising for many different medical issues and has shown to work much better and be much safer than current powerful drugs they use.  Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, world renown surgeon and a member of the presidential administration said, “We have some preliminary data showing that for certain medical conditions and symptoms, that marijuana can be helpful.” (Murthy)  Marijuana needs to be legal, not only for medically uses, but recreationally.  So, with a growing belief in its health benefits, why hasn’t the U.S government relaxed federal laws on medical marijuana to follow the states?

So how exactly does marijuana function?  Marijuana is a mind-altering (psychoactive) drug that comes from the cannabis plant.  The main effects come from one of two chemicals in the plant called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).  THC is the chemical that causes the traditional “high” that associated with smoking marijuana.  However, THC also has been known to effectively treat pain, nausea and lack of appetite.  This has been understood for decades. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved certain medications that use a synthetic THC, including dronabinol and nabilone, which are delivered in capsule and liquid form as an appetite stimulant in AIDS patients and for nausea and vomiting in cancer patients taking chemotherapy. (Scott)  CBD, on the other hand, more recently has shown to be effective in treating a range of conditions, such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, heart disease, anxiety, brain injuries, nausea, eating disorders, pain, AIDS/HIV, Alzheimers, cancer, etc. (Grant)  Interestingly, CBD does not create the “high” for users that THC does.  It is this feature of marijuana that seems to be convincing state governments to recently consider the use of marijuana for medical purposes despite the fact that the federal government continues to consider it to be an illegal substance.  What makes this even better is the ability to lower the “high” by ridding the plant of THC and raising its CBD.  “In the cannabis plant, CBD and THC generally have an inverse relationship: The more THC there is, the less CBD, and vice versa.  In recent years, growers have bred some plants to contain high levels of CBD.” (Kohn)  This is exactly why Charlotte, a girl from CNN’s show “Weed” who was having 300 seizures a week and was losing her ability to function properly, was able to get her 300 seizures a week down to only one a week and to do that while regaining the ability to function while avoiding getting high from the medical marijuana. (Gupta)  Even though marijuana may not be a cure for any such illness, it appears to have great effect on many critically ill and untreated patients.

The federal government has not allowed marijuana to be broadly used for medical purposes because it has not been proven in rigid clinical studies, like other approved drugs, to be effective and safe.  Because of this, the FDA is not sure if the potential benefits might outweigh the risks.  This is despite the fact that informal studies and observations have reported that marijuana might also help to treat epilepsy, PTSD, autoimmune disorders, autism and insomnia.  An open study was conducted on 75 children with epilepsy who were experiencing multiple seizures on a daily basis.  57% of the children reported improvements in their overall health and 33% reported more than a 50% reduction in seizures.  A secondary analysis was taken on additional benefits with 33% of the patient’s reporting improved behavior/ alertness, 10% demonstrating improved language skills and 10% having improved motor skills. (Press, Knupp, Chapman)  Unfortunately, because this case study and all others like this are short term studies, the U.S. Government will not take them into consideration stating large scale long-term studies need to be performed before such results can become fact.  Because marijuana is illegal beyond a small amount everywhere, such large scale research and case studies can’t be performed to prove marijuana can be more helpful than harmful.

Many people view marijuana as being more helpful, but what causes marijuana use to be more harmful?  Well there are negatives to using marijuana; almost all possible permanent issues are causes of long-term using like impaired thinking, lower IQ, drug abuse, and respiratory issues.  But there are short-term effects from marijuana using.  “Reviews suggest the most frequent side effects are dizziness or lightheadedness (30%-60%), dry mouth (10%-25%), fatigue (5%-40%), muscle weakness (10%-25%), myalgia (25%), and palpitations (20%).” (Grant)  In clinical trials people have complained of coughing and throat irritation.  Other examples include: anxiety, psychosis, panic attacks, hallucinations, loss of senses, lower reaction time, and increased risk of stroke and heart attacks.  I got to experience firsthand these negative effects when my roommate started to experience a combination of anxiety, panic attacks, and severe psychosis.  He had to go to the hospital because of it.  Even though seeing it first hand, it is a rarity.  These issues only occur when you seriously abuse the drug.  Side-effects like these will happen regardless of what drug you use if you abuse it.  Fact is you will find many more issues erupting from legal medication now over marijuana, and we have to take into account that these forms of weed have been either developed to get a better high or have possibly been laced with other ingredients.  The legalization of this drug will lead to those issues being expunged though government regulations to prevent such accommodations.

The promising aspects of marijuana should get people excited about its possibilities.  We already know what marijuana can help with: Epilepsy, schizophrenia, heart disease, anxiety, brain injuries, nausea, eating disorders, pain, AIDS/HIV, Alzheimers, cancer, etc. but how is marijuana helping each disease?  Epilepsy is caused by abnormal electrical discharges, or misfiring, among brain cells. The electrical discharging causes the body to convulse violently.  Sometimes people will experience hundreds of these per day.  Marijuana, because of the CBD, is able to slow down the abnormal electrical discharges or even stop them.  This will prevent the seizures coming from the misfiring of brain cells.  Schizophrenia and anxiety go hand-in-hand.  Both are psychological issues that manipulate the brain.  In a way because of the same reason it helps epilepsy, it helps schizophrenia and anxiety.  It slows things down.  Marijuana being a depressant, dulls a person’s excessive thinking which occurs in both.  It is able to relax them into a state where they are not experiencing either anxiety or schizophrenic attacks.  In cases of brain injury, cancer, and Alzheimers, a person’s cells have been damaged.  Cancer can be anywhere, but Alzheimers and brain injuries result from dying brain cells.  Marijuana can help the body regrow those brain cells.  It isn’t a cure for brain injuries and Alzheimers, but it will be beneficial for the person to keep their mind a little longer.  As for cancer, marijuana will do the opposite in this case.  It will kill cancer cells.  It isn’t a replacement for chemotherapy, but more of a booster.  Heart Disease has been one of the leading killers for a while.  Marijuana doesn’t have the ability to cure or improve a person’s heart disease status, but more of a prevention theory.  Marijuana’s depression traits will help slow down a person’s heart rate.  This will help some people with heart disease from having heart attacks.  It may also give you a secondary benefit by making you more focused, and using that focus to battle heart disease through the best way possible; working out.  As for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or AIDS/HIV, you usually would be experiencing many symptoms because of it, some already talked about.  These symptoms include nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety.  All these symptoms can be erased with the use of medical marijuana.  Marijuana has all these wonderful possibilities yet we can’t find a way to legalize it.

So why doesn’t the government want it legal?  The reasons are simply political and money related.  War is profitable, and the U.S. government has declared war on drugs.  “The War On Drugs makes money for cartels, police, the government, prisons, politicians, crooks, and all those other people we can’t see, like the Glad Bag people and the grow-light industry.” (Rikess)  He has a point; people have been finding wars to profit off of marijuana being legal.  Some profit comes from defending against marijuana, while others make their money be selling cheaper and less effective substitutes.  My dad who is on the board of directors for multiple pharmaceutical companies had this to say, "It is generally accepted that the pharmaceutical industry is against the legalization of marijuana. Informal studies looking at the impact of legalized medical marijuana have shown a decrease in the number of prescriptions for pharmaceuticals that treat a range of conditions, such as pain, anxiety, seizures and depression. This reduction in the number of prescriptions directly impacts the finances of certain pharmaceutical companies." (Fekete)  He is/has worked at DFB Pharmaceuticals, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, SeaSpine Holding (medical device company), and Symetis.  Pharmaceutical companies know they can’t control the marijuana industry the way they control the drug industry currently.  They would lose money because less product is being sold, and because marijuana is and would be less expensive.  Another possible and more emotional reason why marijuana isn’t legal today is its involvement in our histories slavery period.  Marijuana was used to pacify slaves into compliance.  This is actually one of the reasons why marijuana became recreationally used among Americans.  Being such a disgusting act, I understand why such history wants to be avoided, but that era is now over.  This drug has the potential to help millions of people.  If history is holding marijuana back, then we need to let go of the past and look toward the future; a future that can be improved with the legalization of marijuana.

Marijuana has proven to be helpful, more helpful than substances like alcohol and cigarettes.  Marijuana has the ability to heal, rid the body of pain, change lives, and we are still at the tip of the iceberg.  Alcohol can kill from overdose, while marijuana doesn’t.  Alcohol can cause brain damage, but marijuana doesn’t.  Alcohol and cigarettes are linked to cancer, and marijuana is not.  Not to mention alcohol and cigarettes are more addictive than marijuana.  With all these facts at hand, how can you keep marijuana illegal when other legal substances can cause far more damage?  Alcohol on average as killed 88,000 people each year resulting in 2.5 million years of potential life loss. (CDC)  Of those who have died from alcohol related deaths have on average 30 years of shorter life span. (CDC)  As for cigarettes, 16 million people live with disease because of smoking tobacco. (CDC)  480,000 people die from smoking, including 41,000 more from second hand smoking. (CDC)  If we include prescription drugs we have another 100,000+ people die from overdose per year. (CDC)  How can you justify marijuana being dangerous when you have far more destructive substances out there in stores all around the United States?  You can’t!  People can’t overdose on marijuana, something that is very unique compared to the other substances talked about.  You still can’t drive while on marijuana.  It will have similar symptoms as alcohol when driving and can lead to accidents, but the drug itself is much safer than many other drugs deemed safe to use.  

With thousands of years of experience behind us, increasing clinical evidence of safety and effectiveness and a wave of support from U.S. citizens and state legislatures, it seems that the tide should turn to allow marijuana to be approved broadly for the treatment of various medical conditions, and legalization.  It is safer than alcohol, tobacco, and most prescription drugs.  It is shown to help treat may diseases and disorders like epilepsy, schizophrenia, heart disease, anxiety, brain injuries, nausea, eating disorders, pain, AIDS/HIV, Alzheimers, and cancer.  The government, even with all these facts at hand, has pushed harder and harder to prevent it from becoming legal.  They have restricted research to better make their claim all so they can line their pockets with more money, regardless if it costs lives.  As states continue to legalize the non-medical, recreational use of marijuana, the product may very well become available to all people in the U.S., including patients who could benefit from the therapeutic properties of the drug.  Unfortunately, the product may not be as safe and effective as it might otherwise be if it was produced under strict regulations.  The irony is that the federal government might be increasing the risk of marijuana by trying to control it too much.  It’s time for are government to be more proactive in getting this potential miracle drug to the market.
