From day one, kids are taught that drugs are wrong. Drugs will destroy your life, and you will hurt your loved ones. In my lifetime, medical marijuana has been legalized and now states are legalizing recreational marijuana. If you would have asked me at the beginning of this class if I thought marijuana was okay, I would have said no. After reading this article, my mind has started to change. While I don’t like the idea of using recreationally, I think that there is value in using it medically.
Marijuana has been used recreationally for hundreds of years. The main component of this drug is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). This is what causes the psychoactive effects that we know like hallucinations and paranoia. Scientists figured that if marijuana was causing neurological responses, there must be receptors in the body for it. They eventually discovered the endogenous cannabinoid system (ECS). This system consists of two different receptors called CB1 and CB2. While these receptors bind components of marijuana they also bind neurotransmitters that are created in the body called endocannabinoids. While there are many details concerning the ECS, the most important thing is that this system takes part in the control of cell functions. If this system experiences changes, cell death is a possibility.
While the recreational use of marijuana hasn’t been accepted by the whole of society, medical marijuana has started to be condoned in some states. Minnesota recently passed a law that would allows certain patients to use it. The drug itself has to be in pill or vapor form, and there are many limitations on how it will be administered and distributed. Medical marijuana can be used to treat pain, severe nausea, anorexia in HIV/AIDS patients, and muscle spasms in MS. Research on medical marijuana has shown some some promising results for different diseases. There is evidence that it could be used to actually stop the spread and or kill cancer cells. There are studies that show it stopping seizures in patients with epilepsy. Research even shows that it could help with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. That is just a sample of the amazing research that’s happening right now.
Learning about these different uses for medical marijuana has made me more open to the idea of its legalization. I’m still hesitant about legalizing all forms of marijuana, but that comes from the fear of not knowing what would happen. We are conducting the best social experiment right now in Colorado and the state of Washington. So far things have gone smoothly. Crime is down and tax revenue is high. I don’t know if that’s enough to convince me that it should be legal, but it does make me curious. The most important thing that we can do right now is to study and learn about marijuana and the ECS because it might just change your mind.
https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/390911/mod_resource/content/0/endocannabinoids.pdf
http://skunkskool.com/index.php/topic/4466-understanding-cannabinoids/
Marijuana and a Change of Mind
