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Keywords: Ailments, Availability and Legality, Aware, Epilepsy, High, Knowledgeable
Keywords: Ailments, Availability and Legality, Aware, Epilepsy, High, Knowledgeable
Curiosity has brought up the media to work on social issues – keeping us up-to-
date, knowledgeable and aware. Different forms of media has been published
everywhere to satisfy the people’s hunger for information. And through the evolution of
movement that aims to increase its availability and legality. But what's it actually good
for? Inaccurate, uncited memes claiming its efficacy in treating everything from cancer
to epilepsy travel on social media like wildfire, but what does the science actually say?
There are many misconceptions or myths about medical marijuana patients that
sometimes give the whole medical marijuana industry a bad name and bad reputation
which in return causes more hurdles and obstacles in the continuing effort to full
legalization of medical marijuana. Some believe that the majority of medical marijuana
patients take advantage of the law and only get access to medical marijuana to get
“high” as opposed to using the medicine to treat any actual ailments. Although it is
unfortunate that there are certain cases where there are some “patients” abusing the
law and simply obtaining medical marijuana to get high. However, the majority of
patients have actual ailments and find relief through the use of medicinal marijuana.
by doctors for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously
evidence suggests cannabis can: reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy,
improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS, and reduce chronic pain and muscle spasms.
Short-term use increases the risk of both minor and major adverse
effects. Common side effects include dizziness, feeling tired, vomiting, and
hallucinations. Long-term effects of cannabis are not clear. Concerns include memory
and cognition problems, risk of addiction, schizophrenia in young people, and the risk of
The Cannabis plant has a history of medicinal use dating back thousands of
years across many cultures. The use of medical cannabis is controversial. A number of
medical organizations have requested removal of cannabis from the list of Schedule I
liquid tinctures, vaporizing or smoking dried buds, eating cannabis edibles, taking
include: dronabinol and nabilone. Recreational use of cannabis is illegal in most parts of
the world, but the medical use of cannabis is legal in a number of countries, some of
the Netherlands, Poland, Peru, and Uruguay. Australia has passed laws to allow the
use of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes in some states. In the United States,
29 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation permitting the
possession, use, and distribution of medical cannabis in some form. Although cannabis
remains prohibited for any use at the federal level, the Rohrabacher–Farr
amendment was enacted in December 2014, limiting the ability of federal law to be
Many different cannabis strains are collectively called medical cannabis. Since
many varieties of the cannabis plant and plant derivatives all share the same name, the
There is often an assumption that this is somehow more potent than what is on
the streets or somehow more effective than what is available through other, illicit
means. In actuality, it is fairly similar to what is obtained on the street. The advantage is
obtaining the product if people think that this is something that might benefit them.
Other common misconceptions of the medical marijuana patient is that they are taking
advantage of the system by having safe access to medical marijuana and then turn
around and resell it to those whom don’t yet have safe access to medicinal marijuana. It
is unfortunate that this is somewhat true for some patients and the real patients whom
need it for legitimate reasons get tainted with the idea that they might be doing this as
well. The patients have no control over what other patients do with their medications. If
a patient is caught reselling their medication I am for prosecuting that individual and
revoking their safe access to medical marijuana. Just like it is illegal to resell
prescription drugs the same goes for medical marijuana because after-all it is a
completely legal and there was safe access available to the patients whom needed it. If
there was safe access to whoever benefited from the medicine there would be no
issues of “patients” abusing the law because there would be more strict regulations as
far as who has safe access to medical marijuana. Also if it were completely legal for
medicinal purposes there would be no worried patrons whom some are currently afraid
to get access to medicinal marijuana and therefore reselling would not be an issue. All
these myths about medical marijuana patients would be debunked if full legalization
were a thing of reality, but one can only hope and look forward to reform of current
Marijuana varies from state to state. As you know, this is still a schedule 1
narcotic, and so federally, it's still illegal. That's important for people to know. People
can't take it across state lines. If they were found to have the drug in one of those states
where it's not legal, it is a federal offense. People don't understand that because they
Since using marijuana is a federal offense, the doctors don't actually prescribe it.
In states where it is “legal,” if you will, the physician typically certifies the patient. What
that means is they're certifying that the patient has one of the diagnoses that's approved
in that state. Cancer is clearly at the top of the list. They certify that the patient has that
disease and, in their best judgement, could benefit from the palliative use of marijuana
and also that the doctor has a sustained relationship with that patient. This is not
someone who just set up a booth somewhere and is signing off for people they don't
know.
When the doctor certify, the patient fills out a form, the doctor has to fill out a
form, and all of that information goes to the state. In different states there are different
get passport photos. The patient also has to determine which dispensary they're going
to go to, and they have to keep going to that same dispensary. I'm often telling people,
"Check out the dispensaries. Which ones are easily accessible you, and which ones
have the products that you think may be more useful to you."
Then the patient get a card from the state and that card has the dispensary listed
on it. That serves as their "prescription." So, they technically don't actually have a
prescription. Patients can then go to the dispensary with this card and get their supply
of marijuana.
There's so much fear and concern right now. With the opioid epidemic that got so
many attentions, people are worried that if we make these compounds more accessible,
we're going to have the same diversions as with opioids. It's hard to predict what's going
to happen.
increase food consumption and some human trials have also shown positive results.
For example, a study comparing THC with a placebo in cancer patients found that those
taking THC had a better appetite and sense of taste, and although they didn’t consume
more calories they felt more relaxed and had a better quality of sleep compared to the
(THC) drug dronabinol in HIV/AIDS patients presenting weight loss found that those
taking THC ate more than controls and stopped losing weight. However, in
No surprises here, but a study in healthy people found that those inhaling marijuana
consumed more calories (had “the munchies”), especially from fatty and sugary snacks,
How does it stimulate appetite? The CB1 receptor is active in numerous areas of the
body that are known to stimulate eating behavior, such as the hypothalamus and limbic
forebrain, and also certain areas in the stomach and intestine. THC can exert effects
reduce and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. A 2001 systematic
found that the cannabinoids were more effective than the active control or the placebo
the cannabinoid drugs over the placebo and the active control drugs, and they
How do they work? The endocannabinoid system (the name for the group of
molecules and receptors such as CB1 and CB2 that are collectively involved in a variety
vomiting are higher cortical and limbic regions that can influence the stimulation or
suppression of nausea and vomiting. CB1 receptors are found in high quantities in
these areas, and drugs such as nabilone can agonize these receptors.
While neither nabilone nor dronabinol are FDA approved for pain management, a
few studies have shown that they may be beneficial. For example, a small 2010
study carried out by McGill University Health Centre investigated 21 adults with post-
receive cannabis at 4 potencies (0%, 2.5%, 6% or 9.4% THC) which was smoked at
home three times a day. All participants used all four potencies, which were rotated
throughout the duration of the study. Participants recorded pain intensity and also
mood, sleep and quality of life. They found that cannabis smoked at a concentration of
9.4% THC moderately reduced pain and improved sleep, with few side-effects. Larger
A 2007 study carried out by researchers from the University of California at San
Francisco looked at HIV patients with peripheral neuropathy and found that a
their vasorelaxant properties, and there have been a few studies since the 1970’s
investigating cannabis as a possible treatment for glaucoma. For example, an early and
small trial in 1971 demonstrated that smoking marijuana reduced IOP but the effects
only lasted 3-4 hours, limiting its usefulness when taken in this manner. However,
studies have shown that while marijuana may temporarily reduce IOP, it also lowers
blood pressure throughout the body, canceling out the beneficial effects.
A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine concluded that despite the observed
reduction in IOP by cannabinoids and marijuana, “…the effect is too short lived and
required too high doses, and there are too many side effects to recommend lifelong use
affects around 2.3 million Americans, almost half of whom live with uncontrolled
seizures. The use of marijuana to treat epilepsy has a complex history. Some animal
studies have demonstrated that THC can control seizures that are unresponsive to
other treatments, whereas a few have also shown that it might trigger seizures. So far,
there exists only one published human clinical trial demonstrating the effectiveness
of marijuana in the treatment of epilepsy which was conducted in 1980 and involved
only 16 participants. Half of the individuals receiving cannabidiol remained almost free
particular marijuana compound that showed great promise in the treatment of epilepsy
as it helped to reduce convulsions and was well-tolerated. To take this forward, a British
pharmaceutical company called GW Pharmaceuticals announced last September that it
epilepsy sufferers also spurred a senator in the U.S. to put forward a bill allowing people
in South Carolina to use CBD oil to treat epilepsy, which was passed into law two days
ago.
It has been suggested that marijuana may be able to help control both muscle
In 2001, a large placebo-controlled trial was initiated in Britain which set out to
investigate marijuana in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. 630 people with different
forms of MS were enrolled, and although the study found that oral derivatives or
physicians), the patients reported feeling improvements in spasticity and pain. Based on
these results, a further study was initiated to investigate whether dronabinol slows the
progression of MS. The study, which was published in Lancet Neurology, found that
individuals with MS found that muscle stiffness improved by almost twofold in the
Therefore, some inconsistencies remain in data and medics are currently unsure
suggested that THC can suppress the immune system of rodents through epigenetic
sequence), raising the possibility that it could be used to treat autoimmune diseases
such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis. However, it is certainly early days yet and further
investigation is warranted since the study left many questions unanswered, for example
how long the effects of THC last for. Furthermore, their results also hinted that the
infamous BRCA2 gene may be suppressed by THC. This tumor suppressor gene
There have been numerous laboratory and animal-based studies that have
studies have shown that cannabinoid administration can prevent the growth of cultured
brain cancer cells and tumor xenografts (human tumor tissue transplanted into animals)
One study investigating the most aggressive glioma, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM),
antitumor activities in mice with glioma xenografts. They also found that administering
cancer and cannabis, the promising results gathered so far from cell culture and animal
studies prompted researchers to initiate the first human trials using cannabis to treat
GBM. The small pilot study will involve a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled
A 2007 Harvard study investigating THC also found that non-toxic doses of the
cannabinoid inhibited the growth and spread of lung tumor cell lines and also
reduced tumor size in mice with human lung cancer xenografts when compared with a
control group. However, the researchers cautioned that they did not know the exact
mechanisms behind this and that further investigation is needed since some studies
have actually shown that THC can stimulate some cancers. For example, a 2000
study published in the Journal of Immunology found that THC promoted lung tumor
There are many websites which state that “cannabis cures cancer”- it doesn’t. As
laboratory and animal studies have yielded some promising results with regards to
cancer. But cancer is not one single disease, and saying it is a “cure” is wrong,
especially due to conflicting results and the fact that studies so far regarding antitumor
If you'd like to find out more, check out this great review of cannabis studies
currently being researched all around the world, and there are many situations in which
it can be helpful. However, anything being touted as a "miracle" cure for anything should
be treated with suspicion. There is no such thing as a miracle, and everything that has
an effect also has side-effects. The positives and negatives to every treatment must be
carefully weighed up. It is also important to not overstate the importance of laboratory
and animal models - while useful and scientifically interesting, they do not prove
anything with regards to human treatment. Long term, human trials are required before
we can state definitively how useful medical marijuana is in treating each of these
illnesses.
CONCLUSIONS
Many physicians believe that marijuana is the best available treatment for some
of their patients, because marijuana produces no unacceptable risks to its users or the
community, because it is half the price of the legal drug Marinol (which works less
efficiently than marijuana for some patients) and because 70% of the US population
Even if it were clear that marijuana caused long term risks to such patients, the
Proposals to fund medical marijuana research go through the same peer review
process available to any other drug research. With a limited amount of funds available,
the government can only afford to support the most well-designed and promising
studies. Medical marijuana has to stand in line with other research proposals, so that
It is hoped that scientific input on this issue will take it out of the political
arena and the state-based referenda process, and place it where it belongs: in the
laboratory and in the hands of researchers and medical professionals working to help
people in pain.
RECOMMENDATION
help the country in any way, plus, it causes a lot of problems. There is no scientific
evidence that suggests prohibition decreases drug use, but there are several theories
that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use. One effect of marijuana
prohibition is that it makes the drug available to minors. Marijuana dealers usually don't
care how old a buyer is, as long as they have the money. It is actually easier for high
school students to obtain marijuana than it is alcohol; this is because alcohol is legal
and therefore regulated to keep it away from teenagers. If marijuana were legal to
people above the age of twenty-one like alcohol, then it would be harder for teenagers
to obtain it. Prohibition is not working and I believe that education and treatment are
The two most deadly drugs in America are legal. Marijuana is not a dangerous
drug and has never killed anybody. Alcohol and tobacco accumulate over 675,000
American deaths each year. Over the counter drugs and aspirin kill over 35,000
Americans each year. Alcohol and cigarettes are highly addictive and can cause an
endless amount of health problems. Alcohol alone can cause gastritis, pancreatitis,
ulcers, liver cancer, cirrhosis, and other liver diseases. Tobacco contains at least
nineteen different types of cancer and is the major cause of cardiovascular disease.
Despite the known health risks of these drugs they remain legal and available almost
anywhere. If the government wants to have drug policies that are logical and effective,
then marijuana should be regulated and taxed similar to alcohol and tobacco.
Marijuana should also be legalized because of its medical benefits. Written
references to the use of marijuana as a medicine date back nearly 5,000 years. Well
documented studies show that cannabis can relieve minor pain, nausea, spasticity,
glaucoma, movement disorders, and can help with insomnia. The active ingredient in
marijuana is called THC. Studies at Harvard University show that THC has been found
to reduce tumor growth in common lung cancer by fifty percent, it also reduces the
spread of cancer in some patients. Cannabis is also a very powerful appetite stimulant,
especially for patients suffering from HIV or eating disorders such as anorexia. Studies
also show that marijuana helps with multiple sclerosis, depression, headaches, labor
pains, and menstrual cramps. Despite all of these documented records of marijuana
drug. Other schedule one drugs include heroine, meth, crack, PCP, and LCD. In order
for a drug to be schedule one, the substance has to have no medical uses, and the drug
also has to have a high potential for abuse. Marijuana is not physically addictive and
when compared to legal drugs, abuse problems with marijuana are far less severe.
Marijuana is also legal in fourteen states for medical use, and over 2,500 different
physicians have recommended it for use by their patients. I don't get it, marijuana has
been proven to have medical uses and doesn't have a high potential for abuse, yet it is
still classified in the same category with some of the deadliest drugs on this planet.
causes America to have the highest prison population of any country, causes the waste
of trillions in taxpayer dollars, causes wars, and causes violence and death in other
countries.
REFERENCES
BOOKS:
5 Common uses of medical cannabis. Retrievedfrom Discovery Fit and Health:
Alaoui, M., Melloul, M., Amine, S., Stambouli, H., El Bouri, A., Soulaymani, A., &
ElFahime, E. (2013). Extraction of High Quality DNA from Seized Moroccan
CannabisResin (Hashish).Plos One, 6
WEBSITES:
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/medical-marijuana-
what%E2%80%99s-it-good/
http://www.mbc.ca.gov/Licensees/Prescribing/medical_marijuana_cma-
recommend.com
https://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000142
https://vialsondemand.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/common-misconceptions-of-
medical-marijuana-patients/
https://www.curetoday.com/articles/expert-addresses-common-misconceptions-
about-medical-marijuana-use-in-patients-with-cancer
MANUEL S. ENVERGA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING