Flick the lighter. Burn. Inhale. Ahh…that’s the good stuff.
It appears that this routine is becoming more and more common in the daily lives of many Americans. Medical marijuana is on the rise, and multiple states have now legalized it. A lot of people criticize this new trend, while many others are green with envy of the availability of medical marijuana. Why such a discrepancy in opinion? When most people think of weed, the only thing that comes to mind is burnt out hippies and junkies. Weed has a bad rap, and carries a stigma with it. But why?
This week’s article, Endogenous cannabinoids revisited: A biochemistry perspective, introduced us to a pretty fascinating system within the body. The endocannabinoid signaling system is a family of receptors in the brain that bind the endogenous cannabinoids, 2-AG and AEA, that our body makes naturally. These endocannabinoids (eCBs) play a role in pain relief, appetite stimulation, and motor control. It also just so happens that these eCBs are extremely similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana (incredulous gasp!). This means that there are actually specialized receptors in our brains that are made to bind things like THC. This brings me back to the above question: Why does medical marijuana get such a bad rap? Ignorance, mainly.
It has been supported by scientific studies, like the paper we read this week, that THC as a cannibanoid binds the eCB receptors in the brain and has beneficial therapeutic effects. So why not make medical marijuana legal everywhere? One of the biggest arguments against the use of medical marijuana is it’s addictive qualities. Now yes, marijuana might be addictive, but what isn’t? It isn’t any more addictive that the pain meds that people take everyday. It seems silly to me that people would rather keep using chemically synthesized pills that have who knows what side effects, over this natural alternative. One of the coolest things about medical marijuana (besides the pain relief, and other awesome benefits) is that there are essentially no negative side effects (with proper use of course).
I think that steps need to be taken towards universal legalization of medical marijuana. The biggest thing that needs to be done is raising awareness of the benefits. People opposed most likely don’t know that medical marijuana actually does have positive effects on the user. Maybe if everyone knew that THC is basically the same as the endocannabinoids already found in the body they would be less opposed to using it as a therapeutic drug. This would be a huge step in medicine, and would help countless individuals suffering from chronic pain, eating disorders and many other diseases.
