The article this week revolved around a topic that has been debated in many political and medicinal, as well as ethical, discussions. After reading and discussing this article, and doing some questionable Google searches, my understanding of cannabinoids and the pathways affected by them has increased drastically. Learning the basics of what becomes influenced was interesting, but what really captivated my attention was the side-effects cannabinoids produced, or rather lack thereof. Of course there are precautions that need to be taken when putting anything into our body. However, it amazes me the amount of stuff we can put into our bodies that are considered “medicine,” yet they have so many awful side-effects. It blows my mind that addictive pain killers are prescribed on the daily, but this natural pain killer is illegal almost everywhere in the United States. It’s fascinating how many medicines have been rushed to the market with only the minimal amount of research done for it to become a drug, but cannabinoid is still illegal despite all of the studies done inside, and outside, the lab where it has been proved to be beneficial to people’s ailments.
I’m not advocating for everyone to go and get baked on the daily, but I don’t see the problem with people being able to access a natural therapy for pain, eating disorders, etc. We have become a society that is obsessed with “fixing” everything, and if we have found a fix for all sorts of psychological problems, why not implement it? It’s not uncommon to have cabinets full of bottles we barely know what they do to our brain, yet this drug we know the pathway for and a lot of its positive side-effects for shouldn’t be among them. There must be a believable argument for why cannabinoids should not be allowed for medicinal uses, but I have yet to find it.
