Legalizing marijuana has been a hot topic in media recently. In class last week we talked about the way that marijuana affects the body and the different chemical pathways that are important in these processes. The pathways in total are called the endocannabanoid pathways. We learned that this pathway is incredibly complicated and is not well known.
What we do know, however, is that THC is the active ingredient in marijuana. THC can do many great things in the body. It often is neuroprotective, it can act as an anti-inflammatory, and it can cause apoptosis (cell death) in cancer cells. These are great things! However, THC also has psychoactive effects. This begs the question, are there alternatives to THC that can be as effective as THC in the body without having the psychoactive side effects? The answer is yes! There is a medicine that was recently approved by the FDA to mimic the actions of THC and it is without the psychoactive side effects found in THC. Have you heard of this great option though? My guess is probably not because of…
It seems that the legalization of medical marijuana has been such a big deal because some individuals just want to get high. When we have legitimate medicinal options such as cannabidiol, with the only difference being that there are no psychoactive effects, what benefit would legalizing medicinal marijuana actually give patients? If certain individuals wanted to smoke marijuana, they should just say so. We are seeing states legalize and consider legalizing recreational marijuana and that is a whole different discussion. Recreational marijuana can be a great source of tax revenue for a state, but if these individuals that are pushing for this hide behind medical marijuana then it can tarnish the movement for medical marijuana. Just think of it this way, when you first heard of medical marijuana, what did mental image formed right away? And so I say: if you want to party with Mary Jane, just say so.
If you want to party with Mary Jane, just say so.
