MR.HEADY
Member
Would North Carolina Benefit From Medicinal Marijuana?
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Some in todays society are opposed to the use of medicinal marijuana because of the propaganda that the government and the past opposing society has put into their heads, that marijuana use of any sort is bad. However, there are still some that believe North Carolina would benefit greatly from legalizing medicinal marijuana. House Bill 1380, The Medical Marijuana Act, introduced by Representative Earl Jones (D-Guilford), also known as the Medical Marijuana Act., received a hearing in the Committee on Health on June 18, 2009. This bill would allow patients suffering from debilitating medical conditions to legally use medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it (Marijuana policy project, 2010). Even now, after a little over a year, House Bill 1380 has made it no further than the House Committee on Health because the decision is not unanimous. The decision is not unanimous because some of the House Committee on Health will not pass House Bill 1380 until the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves it.
Marijuana is the dried flower that comes from the cannabis sativa and the cannabis indicia plants which contains the chemical delta-9-tretrahydrcannabinol (THC) (Marijuana timeline in the United States, 2010, pg. 1). THC is one of the main active compounds in the cannabis plant and must be present in order to achieve its effects (420 magazine, 200
. It was after the Mexican Revolution of 1910, that the Mexicans introduced the American culture to the recreational use of marijuana (Marijuana timeline in the United States, 2010, pg. 2). Marijuana can be smoked by rolling it up in a cigarette paper, known as a joint; or by rolling it up in a cigar paper, known as a blunt. Some might even smoke it from special made glass pieces made for smoking marijuana. Marijuana is not only smoked but it is also edible. To use marijuana as an edible, one would boil the marijuana for several hours, extracting the THC and incorporating it into a recipe, such as brownies or cookies. Marijuana is also used in vaporizers, this is one would heat it enough to extract the cannabinoids without having to burn the marijuana (Vaporizers for medicinal marijuana). Even though marijuana is used for recreational use, it is also used for medical purposes, this is known as medicinal marijuana. For example, In the 1930s an instigated research linked the use of marijuana with violence, crime and other socially deviant behaviors, primarily committed by racially inferior or underclass communities. By 1931, 29 states had outlawed the use of marijuana (Marijuana timeline in the United States, 2010, pg 2). However, it was the Marijuana Act in 1937 that effectively criminalized marijuana, causing all medicines containing marijuana to be pulled from the market (Eddy, 2010, pg. 2). After criminalizing marijuana in the late 1930s many studies began to test the theory of whether or not marijuana has any medicinal values. The Human and Health Services (HHS) is the United States governments principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans . It was in 1995 that the HHS completed a scientific and medical evaluation of smoked marijuana, that study concluded that marijuana has a high potential for abuse and is not safely accepted for medical use (Americans for safe access 2004, pg.3). The Food and Drug Administration is the United States agency that oversees medications and much more. The FDA are the ones who are responsible for ensuring that medicines, along with many other things are safe for the people of the United States. Based on the HHS report in 1995, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submitted a one page report on April 20, 2006 implying that smoked marijuana is harmful to ones health and has not been approved for medicinal use (Marijuana policy project, 2010). Since some scientific and medical communities say that smoked marijuana is not a good way to deliver medication because marijuana smoke can have dangerous effects on the human body (Tandy, 2005), Marinol was put on the market in 1985 by the FDA. Marinol is a pill form of synthetic THC designed to produce similar effects of the cannabis plant. Marijuana smoke seems to be the biggest issue in health report findings; according to the British Lung Foundation in November of 2002, 3-4 marijuana cigarettes a day can have the same effect as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day. With these kinds of findings, it is possible for some to see that chronic marijuana smoking can have many damaging effects to the body. Some state and federal government say that chronic marijuana smoking can affect the lungs, cardiovascular system and possibly the immune system (Tandy, 2005). Not only do state and federal government say that it affects the body but effects the mind as well, causing impaired coordination, decision making and can alter behavior (Tandy, 2005). In addition to the health risks, there is the fact, that marijuana itself is illegal. The War on Drugs was launched in 1989 by President George Bush (Marijuana timeline in the United States, 2010, pg.6). Some say that legalizing medicinal marijuana would defeat the War on Drugs, making it harder for law enforcement to distinguish between medicinal and recreational use of marijuana because of this, there has been many arrest for medicinal possession (Dowling, 2004, pg. 12). Not only do some say that it would defeat the War on Drugs but some say that it would send the wrong message to todays youth, making marijuana a gateway drug (Eddy, 2010, pg. 37). Even though some believe that marijuana is not a good choice for medical use, they are those who believe, that society could benefit from the legalization of medicinal marijuana. The cannabis sativa plant, also known as medicinal marijuana, has been used for medicinal purposes dating back thousands of years (Prater, 200
. Marijuanas therapeutic potential began to be recognized by some United States physicians no later than the 1840s (Eddy, 2010, pg. 1). Not only was it recognized by some physicians, it was also included the United States Pharmacopoeia as a medicinal from 1850 to 1941 (Eddy, 2010, pg. 1). The development of aspirin, morphine and other opium-derived drugs replaced marijuana in the treatment of pain and other medical conditions (Eddy, 2010, pg. 1). The American Medical Associations (AMA) legislative counsel, Dr. William C. Woodard opposed the Marihuana Tax Act, stating that marijuana had potential and did not need to be criminalized (American medical association, 1937). The AMA also stated that the physicians and pharmacologists should be left to decide what the best when it comes to medicine (Williams, 2010, pg. 3). Medicinal marijuana has many benefits in the medical world treating patients who suffer from a variety of illnesses, the main ones being those that suffer from terminal illness and chronic pain. It was recently discovered that the human brain and immune system have cannabinoid receptors which bind with THC , creating cellular reactions that ultimately lead to what users call a high; this explains why marijuana has been effective in treating multiple symptoms of illness (Scientific America, 2004, pg. 70). Not only was it found that we have cannabinoid receptors but the human body also produces their own cannabis like compounds, known as endocannabinoids which is a marijuana like substance that acts at specific receptors on the blood vessel wall to produce vasodilatation; these react with the cannabinoid receptors (Scientific America, 2004, pg. 70). The brain stem and spinal cord cannabinoids play a key role in relieving pain (Scientific America, 2004, pg. 71). Various parts of the human brain are plentiful in cannabinoid receptors; these play a role in controlling the vomiting reflex, appetite, emotional responses, motor skills and memory formation (Scientific America, 2004, pg. 71). Some scientist believe that because humans produce our own cannabinoids in the nervous and immune systems, that marijuana holds the key to many promising drugs in the future (Eddy, 2010, pg. 2. It was found by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that cannabinoid drugs might offer broad-spectrum relief not found in any other medications (Information quality appeal, 2001, pg.6). The FDA had approved Marinol in 1985, which is used to treat nausea and anorexia in AIDS patients. For people suffering from nausea it would be difficult to take oral medication, since taking oral medication would obviously worsen the condition. Some also say that Marinol is not as effective as the cannabis sativa plant itself (Eddy, 2010, pg. 30). Not only is medicinal marijuana more effective than nausea medications, it also has less side effects than pain relievers do. If not properly used, pain relievers can have serious side effects. Not only can prescription pain medications have serious side effects but over-the-counter pain medications can too, including the well known, Tylenol (Zimmerman, et al., 199. Some of the side effects of pain medications are nausea, constipation, liver damage and in some cases, death (McElfresh, 2010). Medicinal marijuana has no dangerous side effects that one can find. If anything, medicinal marijuana helps relieve the most common side effects of the prescribed opiates which is nausea. There also have been no reported deaths from the misuse of medicinal. Even though the medical benefits of medicinal marijuana are great in the medical field, it would also be good for our economy. In 2007, there were over 25,000 arrests in North Carolina for possession of marijuana, 91 percent of those arrests were for simple possession (Marijuana policy project, 2010). Not only is this costing tax payers dollars to keep up these so-called criminals while in jail, it is also costing tax payers dollars to fight these petty crimes, when law enforcement could use the money better spent on fighting real crimes. In 1978, the government selected a group of patients that would receive government-grown marijuana from the governments own IND Compassionate Access Program (National institute on drug abuse, 199. It was noted in Eddys 2010 report on pages 28-29 that, Nothing reveals the contradictions in federal policy toward marijuana more clearly than the fact that there are still eight patients in the United States that receive a tin of marijuana joints (cigarettes) every month from the federal government . . . . These individuals legally possess and use marijuana, at government expense and with government permission. Yet thousand of other patients can be fined and jailed under federal law for doing exactly the same thing. Not only will legalization of medicinal marijuana stop the use of taxpayers dollars, it would also create jobs for North Carolina. In the first year of legalization, medicinal marijuana would create jobs and generate in excess of sixty-seven million dollars, with expectations of one hundred eighty million within three years (North Carolina cancer patient network, 2010). Someone could only perceive what this would do for North Carolina. After reading this, maybe one has tried to be unprejudiced to both sides. In addition, maybe one has seen that not anything was found that says medicinal marijuana would not benefit North Carolina. The only thing that was found is that marijuana smoke itself can be harmful to ones health but maybe one has seen that sometimes the benefits of smoked marijuana outweighs the risks. With the findings, that marijuana can be vaporized, one can only question how the FDA can approve pain pills, which can be habit forming and have had many reported deaths from over dose but still will not approve medicinal marijuana. Even though some in todays society are still opposed to medicinal marijuana, it is clear to see that, North Carolina would benefit from the legalization of medicinal marijuana. References *American medical association (July, 1937). American medical association opposes the marijuana tax act of 1937. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/AMA_opposes_1937.hmtl *Dowling T. (August, 2004). Community rights counsel. Retrieved July 13, 2010, from http://www.communityrights.org/PDFs/Breifs/Raich.pdf Eddy, M. (April 2, 2010). Medical marijuana: review and analysis of federal and state policy. Retrieved June 20, 2010, from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33211.pdf *Information quality appeal (April 18, 2002). Retrieved July 14, 2010, from www.aspe.hhs.gov/infoquality/request&response/20c.pdf Marijuana policy project (May 12, 2010). North Carolina. Retrieved June 20, 2010, from www.mpp.org/states/north-carolina/ Marijuana policy project (2010). The fda and medical marijuana. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from www.mpp.org/assests/pdfs/download-materials/FDA-REBUTTAL_0707.pdf *Marijuana timeline in the Unsited States. Retrieved June 22, 2010, from www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/mj005.htm McElfresh, A. (April 21, 2010). About chronic pain medications. Retrieved from www.livestrong.com?article/109741-chronic-pain-medications/ National institute on drug abuse (199
. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from www.medicalmarijuana.procon.org/veiw.answers.php?questionsID=000256 *Nicoll, R. and Alger, B. (2004). Retrieved July 14, 2010, from www.doctordeluca.com/Library/WOD/BrainsOwnMJ_SA04.pdf North Carolina cancer patient network (2010). 2010: its time to start a new page! Retrieved June 20, 2010, from http://nccpn.wordpress.com/ Prater, A. (April 16, 200. The origins of marijuana. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from www.war-on-drugs.suite/01.com/article.cfm/the_orgins_of_marijuana Tandy, K. (April 26, 2005). Marijuana: the myths are killing us. Retrieved July13, 2010, from www.usdoj.gov/deal/pubs/pressrel/pr042605.html Williams, M. (2010). Report of the counsel on scientific affairs. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from www.ama-assn.org/ama/upload/mm/hod_d6_doc.doc Zimmerman, B. (September, 199. Is marijuana the right medicine for you?: a factual guide to medical uses of marijuana. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from www.drugpolicy.org/library/books/zimmerman2.cmf
　
