Melissa Towey- The benefits of Medical Marijuana

The Benefits of Medical Marijuana

                           

Introduction

Imagine a medication that could treat symptoms for all cancer patients, drug addiction (illegal and prescription), anxiety, depression, mental disorders, eating disorders, autoimmune disorders, arthritis, and chronic pain just to name a few. Imagine a medication that was cost efficient, derived from nature, and can be used in a multitude of ways. The medication I am referring to is medical marijuana and all the benefits that arise from the cannabinoids found in the leaves steams and buds of the plant. The benefits outnumber the deficiencies, yet the stigma towards cannabis is so misconstrued. The world lives in a constant state of creating new pharmaceuticals that have such negative side effects on the human body, yet an all-natural alternative is viable, and it has been known to help people with a variety of disorders. Tetrahydrocannabinol also known as THC, “is the active chemical in cannabis and is one of the oldest hallucinogenic drugs drug known. Cannabis contains approximately 60 different psychoactive chemicals called cannabinoids, of which the most important one is tetrahydrocannabinol.”  Cannabidoil, also known as CBD, is a non-psychoactive cannabis compound that has a variety of medical benefits. According to CBDalive, CBD-rich cannabis allows patients to seek treatment for things like anti-inflammatory, anti-pain, and anti-anxiety without the “stoned” feeling.  

Research  

Marijuana is still considered a schedule I drug under federal law. The Drug Enforcement Administration also known as the DEA. The DEA states that a schedule I is “drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples are: heroin, LSD, marijuana (cannabis) Ecstasy, Methaqualone, and peyote.” Schedule I is considered the most damaging and high potential for abuse. Most opioid's are considered Schedule II drugs although, still very dangerous with high potential of abuse, its still seen as less dangerous then schedule I drugs.  With this it directly interferes with scientist and different universities from being able to do proper research on cannabis to allow for it to help medically.

With the huge opioid crisis going on in America currently doctors and scientist have been looking to marijuana and other non-traditional ways to help try and alleviate the addiction and other problems associated with this horrible crisis. According to the New England Journal of Medicine in 2010 there were 16,651 overdoses involving opioids. They also stated that in 2007 it cost health insurers roughly 72.5 billion for opioid abuse related services.

There is a California based company that makes Evie’s Drops. The drops are a special formula made 20:1 CBD to THC ratio that was specifically made to help Evie with her epilepsy. Evie was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy that was causing her to have several seizures daily even while being heavily medicated. The mediation was not helping her and was causing other side effects along with the seizure. This mainly CBD product has allowed Evie and other like her to live a more normal life without being heavily medicated.

 CBD-rich products provide relief of symptoms for individuals who suffer from seizures or epilepsy. There are many other individuals besides Evie who suffer from similar issue and that have also had relief from those symptoms.  

References

Anonymous, (2018). Drug Scheduling. Retrieved from http://www.dea.gov/drufinfo/ds.shtml

Anonymous, (2018). Tetrahydrocannabinol-THC. Retrieved from http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/vchemlib/mim/bristo/thc/tch_txt.htm

CBD Alive, (2018). Evie’s Drops. Retrieved from http://www.cbdalive.org

Personal

Imagine being a cancer patient going through chemotherapy and having zero appetite but need to eat. Medical marijuana has been able to help so many patients having issues with appetite. A new trend is athlete’s being able to use CBD to help aligning injuries and not have to miss out on as many games because of it.

Medical marijuana has personally helped me with appetite issues. Several years ago, I was hospitalized after taking prescription strength ibuprofen and caused me to get 4 ulcers and hemorrhage. Because of all of this I am required to take antacids for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, there is a huge side effect to taking antacids for long periods of time. You will become deficient in magnesium which can also result in a variety of other problems like muscle cramps, anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite and confusion. Cannabis has allowed me to not have to take the antacids daily and helps my issues with appetite. I experience what feels like I am hungry all the time or the exact opposite, I do not feel hungry at all. I also experience migraines and one of the triggers for my migraines in not eating.  

Marilyn Morgan

“I think we should medically legalize it for medical reasons only, I don’t think we should legalize it recreationally because they will abuse it not allowing medical patients to receive it.”

Addison Laird

"I am an advocate for legalization of marijuana"

Rachael Hutcherson

“I feel that medical marijuana is a beneficial for everybody that is affected by various diseases and ailments. For war veterans, it may help with dealing with PTSD. For cancer patients, it helps them not feel the effects of chemotharapy and live a better life.  I see more positive affects with medical marijuana than the negative, I like how it helps an individual live a better and pain free life.”