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Effects of using Medical Marijuana

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Effects of Using Medical Marijuana

Medical marijuana refers to the use of cannabis and the products extracted from it in

therapy. Although numerous studies show evidence for the benefit of medical marijuana in

relieving many disease conditions, its use has elicited much controversy. The controversies range

from a legal perspective to social and ethical issues, impacted by the limited prospective studies

(Schleider et al., 2022). Marijuana has a high potential for abuse. This has led to its ban in many

countries due to its classification as a harmful psychoactive substance. Most healthcare

practitioners still hold diverse opinions on the use of medical marijuana (Schleider et al., 2022).

The potential medical benefits of marijuana have inspired more research into its use as a potent

analgesic in chemotherapy and chronic pain management. However, its use has been hindered by

the limited data on safety.

Existing prospective studies support the use of medical marijuana in managing pediatric

cancer patients, adult cancer patients, and psychotic and neurological conditions. Examples of

these studies include the scoping review on the benefits and harms of medical cannabis by Pratt

et al. 2019, the study by Avram et al. 2022 and Vinette et al. 2022. Further investigation of these

medical uses can help outline the benefits and existing gaps for its utilization in the medical

sector (PageII et al., 2020). Assessment can be carried out to compare outcomes between patients

who utilize medical marijuana and those who do not to gauge the effectiveness of marijuana as a

safe therapeutical agent. Despite the numerous benefits of medical marijuana, the known primary

historical use of marijuana remains recreational (PageII et al., 2020). This aspect of its use has

led to many ethical concerns about what effect the promotion of its service via legalization could

have. Therefore, many stakeholders, such as policymakers, healthcare professionals, and

governments, still hold concerns about the use of medicinal marijuana. On this note, limited
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safety guidelines and profiles have further hindered its use as a therapeutic agent. Therefore, this

essay describes the benefits and potential risks of using medical marijuana as well as the ethical

and legal implications associated with medical marijuana.

Medical Marijuana and Chronic Pain

Marijuana has proven very effective for both chronic and acute pain. Therefore, it would

be beneficial in managing pain in severe illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and rheumatism.

There are pharmaceutical products that contain cannabis products as the active pharmaceutical

ingredient. For instance, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are highly effective

against chronic and neuropathic pain (Vinette et al., 2022). Medical marijuana has been shown to

be more efficacious than the opioid alternatives that are often used for chronic pain. In the study

by Aviram et al. (2022), the treatment of cancer pain by cannabinoids was generally assessed as

safe and effective, considering that many patients preferred it. The use of opioid agents may

sometimes fail due to high pain levels during cancer chemotherapy (Aviram et al., 2022) and

also are associated with higher dependency levels compared to medical marijuana. Therefore,

due to their multiple remedies, medical marijuana removes the need for numerous medications,

especially for patients with long-term illnesses and associated comorbidity such as cancer

(Aviram et al., 2022). On these notes, the use of medical marijuana for pain management is

considered both safe and highly efficacious.

Medical Marijuana and Cancer

The proponents of the legalization of marijuana in oncological treatment and care cite the

numerous side effects and limited efficacy of conventional treatment options for cancer. For

instance, in Aviram et al. 2022, a multi-center, prospective and long term study observed a
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bigger decline in cancer symptoms burden over the period of the study compared to the use of

other medications such as opioids to manage symptoms. About 60% of the patients reported a

positive effect on improvement of cancer symptoms. The side effects are even more pronounced

in pediatric cancer care, given the patient's age and tolerance levels. Cancer is mainly treated

through surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, gene therapy, and the use of interferons,

monoclonal antibodies and tumour growth inhibitors (Vinette et al., 2022). Most of these

treatment options are often aggressive hence requiring more potent remedies. Furthermore, the

patients are exposed to numerous side effects and pain (Cherkasova et al., 2022). Side effects

include loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, nerve problems and pain, delirium, constipation,

hair loss, and sexual dysfunction. Some side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, neurological pain,

delirium and appetite loss, can be treated by THC and cannabinoids. During cancer

chemotherapy, patients predominantly suffer chemotherapy-induced vomiting, which studies

have shown to be prevented by cannabinoids (Cousins et al., 2021). Additionally,

pharmaceutical agents which contain a delta-THC are helpful as an antiemetic agent. They

manage nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy (Vinette et al., 2022).

Furthermore, using marijuana as an antitumor agent may lead to no need to expose the patient to

some of the aggressive therapies, especially when the tumour is detected early. This implies that

medical cannabis treatment is safe for oncology patients even with the limite clinical studies that

exist.

Medical Marijuana and Neurological Conditions

Additionally, the cannabinoids present in cannabis have been proven to have

neuroprotective functions. This aspect aids in treating and managing neurological conditions

such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In treating various sclerosis (Mecha et al., 2020), the strain
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sativa is more efficacious than indica in treating spasticity. Marijuana has been proven to be an

effective disease-modifying therapy for this condition. Furthermore, it helps manage chronic

neuropathic pain associated with MS (Mecha et al., 2020) by inhibiting the inflammatory

processes in the brain which is the basis of the progression of MS. These medical benefits often

prove safer than the standard treatment options due to their ability to minimize side effects.

Medical Marijuana and Psychotic Disorders

Marijuana is also effective when dealing with psychotic disorders such as post-traumatic

stress disorder, epilepsy, and seizures. Additionally, cannabis has been shown to act as an

antidepressant hence an effective agent against anxiety and depression. The antipsychotic benefit

is mainly due to its psychoactive agents, THC and CBD (Krediet et al. 2020). These agents have

proven more efficacious than the current pharmacotherapy options (Cousins et al., 2021). For

instance, in the study by Krediet et al. (2020), a patient focus group was asked to give their

experiences with cannabis to manage their PTSD symptoms. Generally, they reported improved

condition and slight addiction and arousal effects. This observation contradicts most

antipsychotic agents and opioids used to control psychotic disorders, which have a higher risk of

developing dependency. Therefore, there is a need to carry out more safety and efficacy research

on the use of medical cannabis in treating psychotic ailments to encourage more acceptance of its

use.

Side Effects of Medical Marijuana

However, there are several adverse effects of medical marijuana. To begin with, there are

health risk concerns such as cardiovascular problems (Aviram et al., 2022), urinary tract

infections, nausea and dry mouth (Pratt et al. 2019). Similarly, PageII et al. 2020, asserts that
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cases of increased heart rate and hypertension from the products of marijuana have been

reported (Pratt et al. 2019). Additional health concerns include, nausea, weaknesss and fatigue.

Most of these side effects are generally mild to moderate and mostly are difficult to predict due

the diffferent levels of concentration of THC and CBD in cannabis products (Pratt et al. 2019).

These side effects can be minimized by considering patient by patient conditions and the need to

regulate potency of the administered drug.

Marijuana also has negative cognitive effects. It affects the functioning of the brain by

inducing hallucinations and worsening depression. Patients have often complained of behavioral

changes, drowsiness, dysphoria, paranoia and dizziness (Glickman & Sisti, 2020; Pratt et al.

2019). In cases of existing psychotic problems, the propensity to cause dependency is higher.

This may lead to patients opting to self-medicate hence are likely to abuse the drug. However,

there is no clear association between medical marijuana and psychosis. The most convincing

argument is that patients may develop substance abuse disorder due to unregulated use which

ultimately leads to addiction (Glickman & Sisti, 2020). The risk of addiction is worsened in early

exposure especially for peadiatric patients. Therefore, there should be caution and close

monitoring on the use of medical marijuana to treat mental illnesses and psychotic disorders and

when used in paediatric cases.

Proponents of its adoption classify these risks as within the acceptable criteria of any

pharmacotherapy agent (PageII et al., 2020). Additionaly, the adoption of medical marijuana and

its widespread acceptance would inspire more research into its safety. This would be a shift from

the limited safety studies on the drug compounded by the continued restriction and limitation of

its use (PageII et al., 2020). Therefore, rather than use them to discourage the use of medical
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marijuana in treatment of disease conditions, more research should be conducted to ascertain the

proper dosage and contraindication protocols to promote safe use of medical marijuana.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical arguments show that all legal pharmaceutical agents have side effects and may be

deleterious to the user when misused. Opponents of the use of marijuana, medically or otherwise,

base their argument on its side effects, its risk of addiction and the likelihood of promoting its

recreational use and abuse (Sznitman & Bretteville-Jensen, 2015). They argue that medical

marijuana can also lead to addiction and withdrawal symptoms for patients post-treatment.

Furthermore, the patients would be exposed to the risk of developing cognitive impairment,

especially if the addiction leads them to use the drug post-recovery continually or in cases of

long-term medicinal use (Glickman & Sisti, 2020). These effects impact policy agenda and

ethical debates on the necessity of legalization and adoption of medical marijuana. The dilemma

sets in considering the general agreement that cannabis has significant therapeutic value

(Glickman & Sisti, 2020). Additionally, there is evidence that cannabis is not as addictive as

some prescription drugs that have been legalized and accepted in society (Pratt et al., 2019).

Furthermore, the potential risk of encouraging the illegal sale and recreational use (Sznitman &

Bretteville-Jensen, 2015) can only be managed via strict guidelines, as in the case of other drugs

with a high potential for abuse. Therefore, the potential benefits of this drug should be weighed

against the risk and directions given based on the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence

(Glickman & Sisti, 2020). As a result, such claims should not be used to criminalize medical

marijuana or diminish its public acceptance.

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Another primary ethical concern is that promoting the medical use of marijuana can lead

to an increase in off-label and recreational usage of the drug. The legalization of marijuana as

alternative medicine has its basis in its long-term use as a complementary therapy in traditional

medicine (Glickman & Sisti, 2020). This dates to ancient Egypt, where marijuana was used to

cure migraines and tumours. Therefore, there is fear that its popularization through adoption and

legalization would gain easy momentum in society (Sznitman & Bretteville-Jensen, 2015). This

can expose the population to health risks such as respiratory problems and mental health

problems. For instance, habitual smoking of marijuana can cause lung cancer and bronchitis.

Furthermore, prolonged marijuana use is associated with depression, anxiety and other psychotic

disorders. These harmful effects call for strict examination of policies that govern deliberations

on the use of medical marijuana to ensure the potential medical benefits are not lost in the heat of

the debate.

Furthermore, each state has adopted different regulations for the use of marijuana, which

impacts its utilization as a medical product. Due to this, there is a scarcity of standardization

protocols leading to non-regulation of the quality of the product (Sznitman & Bretteville-Jensen,

2015) This inadequacy may lead to the use of products that do not have the appropriate

composition and potency. A case example can be seen in the role of medical marijuana in the

management of epileptic seizures in pediatric conditions. There is evidence that cannabinoid oil

extracted from cannabis is highly efficacious in treating Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a rare but

lethal type of epilepsy. More advantageously, CBD oil has no psychoactive side effects (Pratt et

al., 2019) compared to conventional remedies for the condition. Furthermore, some pediatric

patients present with drug-resistant epilepsy. Therefore, questions arise whether the potential

benefit of using marijuana to manage such forms of epilepsy outweighs the suffering that the
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child would undergo even with conventional treatment. This dilemma calls for more research to

allow marijuana to be used as an alternative remedy for such conditions.

Conclusion

The use of marijuana as a medicinal element significantly affects peoples' lives both

positively and negatively. Generally, its use has shown substantial advantages since it is safer

than most conventional medications. This paper has elaborated the rationale behind the

continued calls to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes owing to itss high effectiveness as

an antitumor and analgesic agent and its minimal number of side effects. However, there are

serious concerns about some of its side effects and the probability of being abused. For this

reason, the paper recommends that more safety guidelines be adopted to control its prescription

and usage to ensure its medicinal benefits are not lost in the legal and ethical debate.

Furthermore, there is a need for more rigorous scientific research to determine safety protocols

for the use of medical marijuana in each disease condition it can cure. These steps will encourage

more acceptance and adoption of the safe and appropriate use of medical marijuana for the

benefit of patients and society.

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