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Alex Cerda

7-31-23

ENGL 1302

Professor Saadi

Marijuana should’ve been legal a long time ago.

At a young age Lucy Stafford was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS) which

is a muscular disorder that weakens her connective. This means that her tendons, ligaments, and

joints have hyper elasticity and hypermobility causing her to be susceptible to injuries such as

dislocated joints, easily bruising internal organs and even easily (Smith 2021). As one can

imagine living with this type of disease can be extremely painful and exhausting to bear. When

Lucy interviewed on the Colin Murray show she says how most prescribed opioids did not help

ease the pain. She had to resort to using fentanyl, which is a stringer drug than heroin, by the age

of 18 for her injuries. She said it wasn’t until she was prescribed medicinal marijuana and

cannabis-based medicines that made a difference in her daily living. “I have no idea whether I

would still be here if I was on my previous treatment. We were at the end of the line, and it was

my last hope, so I would say it saved my life" (Ing and Varkey 2021). The reason it took Lucy

this long to find some sort of remedy for her condition was due to the lack of cannabis related

medicines that are prescribed in the UK. The drug in the U.S. has been outlawed for almost a

century and it was with to real understanding as to why it was made illegal in the first place.

Marijuana is a drug that has many positive effects that can be used for people not only in

recreational use but also in the medicinal practice. Marijuana has many positive and beneficial

uses in our society, but with the history and negative connotations around marijuana it is

something that is taboo in today’s world.

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One of the main arguments for the legalization of marijuana is the health benefits

marijuana can provide for people suffering from all forms of illness. Marijuana has many active

compounds which are called cannabinoids which give marijuana the healing properties it does.

These cannabinoids have been found to help or even completely get rid of issues like chronic

pain, reduce nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients, and aid in the treatment of certain

neurological disorders like epilepsy and multiple sclerosis (National Academies of Sciences,

Engineering, and Medicine, 2017). The most common of the cannabinoids is Cannabidiol (CBD)

which has shown to have many positive effects that help an array of treatments for a plethora of

illnesses and injuries. CBD has also been found to help reduce the risk of stroke and heart

disease with participants in a 2017 study led by JCI insight found that CBD had helped reduce

blood pressure, increasing heart rate, and even decreased stroke volume. These results were in

due to the “high glucose–induced proinflammatory changes in human coronary artery endothelial

cells, and myocardial dysfunction associated with animal models of diabetes, and it preserves

endothelial integrity in diabetic retinal microvasculature” (Rajesh et al. 2007). This finding

means that using CBD can also help lower the chances of heart disease and stroke.

CBD has also shown to help with multiple symptoms of cancer further propelling the

cannabinoid in the medicinal practice. In a study by Shrivasrava et al. in 2011, it was found that

CBD caused cell death in breast cancer patients by inducing both apoptosis and autophagy in

breast cancer cells. This means that CBD can help kill cancer cells naturally along with reusing

the damaged cells for support. CBD can also help mitigate the effects of cancer like the effects of

chemotherapy which can include physical pain and nausea. The way CBD oil works for physical

pain is the compound sends signals to modulate a receptor called the vanilloid receptor which
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regulate the form of pain that is caused by either heat or inflammation which causes things such

as arthritis, infection, and muscle damage (Julia 2023).

One of the biggest ways CBD has helped in a medical practice is through the help with

mental illness. These mental illnesses are in a wide net and can be helped with marijuana like

depression, bipolar disorder, and even schizophrenia. According to Wieckiewicz et al. study

performed in 2020 CBD showed to reducing severe depressive symptoms and anxiety compared

to the participants that had lower amounts. CBD can also help with problems sleeping related to

anxiety, as shown in the 2019 study by Shannon et al. they conducted a case series that looked at

the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). On

an average the anxiety and sleep quality improved for most of the patience which were sustained

for a period. On the first month of the assessment 72% of the total patience experienced an

improvement with their anxiety and sleep, but around 20% of the participants felt their

symptoms worsening. After two months of doing the CBD treatment 67% of the participants

reported improvements in comparison to the previous visit. Only about 23% of the patients

reported worsening problems with their test results.

CBD has also been shown to be an aid in neurodegenerative diseases like Lateral

Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases (Silvestro et al. 2019). As part of

their clinical trials Silvestro et al. found that CBD is a useful treatment for epilepsy. It helps as an

aid for epilepsy by “exert their action by interacting with cannabinoid receptors, but CBD shows

a low affinity for these receptors. Nevertheless, it affects the activity of other receptors such as

serotonin receptors [5-HT], opioid receptors [ORs], and non-endocannabinoid G protein-coupled

receptors (GPCRs) and other targets (ion channels and enzymes)”.

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Marijuana can also help with social issues that are happening in our society today that

have been started since the initial war on drugs in the 70s that are still prevalent today. One of

those issues can be Justice reform and can help the ethnic communities that are commonly

affected by this lack of reform. African Americans are up to four times more likely to be arrested

for marijuana incidents than white Americans even though about 12.5% account for all substance

users (NCAAP). In the first two weeks someone is out of incarceration, they are up to 129 times

more likely to overdose (Verda 2017). The number of Americans which have been arrested since

1980 has tripled with 2015 reaching over a million arrests per year (Wanger Sawyer 2018). In a

letter to the white house in 2017 from the PEW trust shows evidence with there being no

correlation between drug imprisonment and drug related problems. Legalizing marijuana could

reduce the stress of the criminal justice system on matters relating to marijuana which can give

law enforcement to deal with more severe matters. This can also give people who are

imprisoned for non-violent marijuana related crimes for expungement and can help with getting

them back to their normal lives when they reenter society.

The legalization of marijuana can also lead to new forms of taxable revenue for the states

which can come back to benefit the communities. In 2021 Washington collected over 550 million

dollars in legal marijuana revenue (Pellicciotti), and 423 million in Colorado which was up 10%

from the previous year (CDR). Legalizing marijuana could also lead to more job opportunities

which means even more income can be flowing. As most states first step after legalizing

marijuana would be to open marijuana dispensaries which would not only create more jobs but

would also start economic action in the marijuana industry. In her 2023 article Mrinalini Krishna

writes more about the income opportunity that legalizing marijuana has by saying “RCG

Economics and Marijuana Policy Group study on Nevada says that legalizing recreational
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marijuana in the state could support over 41,000 jobs till 2024 and generate over $1.7 billion

in labor income. The ICF study estimates at least 81,000 additional direct, indirect, and induced

jobs in California because of legalized marijuana sales. It also projects an increase in total labor

income by at least $3.5 billion”. This monetization of marijuana can also lead to investment

opportunities for people to capitalize on for the growth of their portfolios. Although this may be

difficult as the amount of marijuana companies are scarce in the public stock exchange. This

would allow even more growth for the economy and the marijuana sector of public business.

For a long time now, marijuana has had this negative notion around itself about how bad

the substance can be being regarded as the “Devils Lettuce” among other negative connotations.

Marijuana has many just reasons to become legal once again as it has shown to help not only in

the medical field but also with state revenue and people’s recreational day to day lives. Even

though some people and legislators have already turned the book with their stance on marijuana

there are still lots of people who are widely against the substance even with all of the known

benefits it can provide. For years marijuana has shown many benefits that can help our society

and it is thankfully starting to become a serious topic of national legislature.

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Works Cited

Criminal justice fact sheet. NAACP. (2022, November 4). https://naacp.org/resources/criminal-

justice-fact-sheet 

Johnson, A., & ost_admin. (2023, February 2). Washington Marijuana Revenues, and health.
Washington State Treasurer. https://tre.wa.gov/portfolio-item/washington-state-marijuana-
revenues-and-health/ 

Julia, N. (2023, May 23). Best CBD oil for pain relief & inflammation: Highest quality brands
on the market. CFAH. https://cfah.org/best-cbd-oil/ 

Krishna, M. (2023, May 25). The economic benefits of legalizing marijuana. Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/110916/economic-benefits-legalizing-
weed.asp#toc-income-and-jobs 

Marijuana tax reports. Department of Revenue. (n.d.). https://cdor.colorado.gov/data-and-

reports/marijuana-data/marijuana-tax-reports 

The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2017, June 19). Pew Analysis finds no relationship between drug
imprisonment and Drug Problems. The Pew Charitable Trusts.
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/speeches-and-testimony/2017/06/pew-
analysis-finds-no-relationship-between-drug-imprisonment-and-drug-problems 

Read “the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: The current state of evidence and
recommendations for Research” at nap.edu. Front Matter | The Health Effects of Cannabis
and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research |
The National Academies Press. (n.d.).
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/24625/chapter/1 

Sawyer, P. W. and W. (n.d.). Mass incarceration: The whole pie 2018. Mass Incarceration: The
Whole Pie 2018 | Prison Policy Initiative.
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html 

Shrivastava, A., Kuzontkoski, P. M., Groopman, J. E., & Prasad, A. (2011, July 6). Cannabidiol
induces programmed cell death in breast cancer cells by coordinating the cross-talk
between apoptosis and autophagy. American Association for Cancer Research.
https://aacrjournals.org/mct/article/10/7/1161/91099/Cannabidiol-Induces-Programmed-
Cell-Death-in-cbd 

Silvestro, S., Mammana, S., Cavalli, E., Bramanti, P., & Mazzon, E. (2019, April 12). Use of
cannabidiol in the treatment of epilepsy: Efficacy and security in clinical trials. MDPI.
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/24/8/1459 
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Varley, J. I. and C. (2021, May 17). Medical Cannabis “Saved My Life.” BBC News.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57098858 

WebMD. (2021, February 17). Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: Symptoms, diagnosis, treatment.

WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ehlers-danlos-syndrome-facts 

Wieckiewicz, G., Stokłosa, I., Stokłosa, M., Gorczyca, P., & Pudlo, R. (2022, February
24). Cannabidiol (CBD) in the self-treatment of depression-exploratory study and a new
phenomenon of concern for psychiatrists. Frontiers.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.837946/full