Marijuana And Medicine
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Marijuana And Medicine
I decided upon the question “Should Marijuana be Medicine?” because I wanted
to confirm my strong beliefs of an anti-drug policy, but after research, my
attitude towards medical marijuana changed because it seems the benefits far
out-weigh the risks. Of the 60 some chemicals unique to the marijuana plant, the
main psychoactive ingredient and the one for exploring the physiological as well
as the psychological role in the anandamide system is delta-9
tetrahydrocannabinol, or more commonly known as THC. The anandamide system is
concerned with mood, memory and cognition, perception, movement, coordination,
sleep, thermoregulation, appetite, and immune response (a). Cannabis is the term
used to describe the dried hemp spike. When burned and inhaled, the cannabis
receptors bond to the macrophages in the brain and spine, which control the
anandamide system. Macrophages are chemicals in the body, which attack the
infected areas in the body and help take away the waste from an injury (a). THC
acts as a catalyst in this process. It speeds up the macrophages’ disposal of
the waste and is why therapeutic relief comes as such a rapid onset to the user
(b). Even though the THC bonds with the processes going on inside the brain,
there are few THC receptors in the part of the brain that controls the basic
life functions therefore making it impossible for cannabis intoxication to lead
to death (c). There are strong links to cannabis relieving aches and pains,
numbing the symptoms of opiate withdrawal, improving sleep, reducing anxiety,
and alleviating the vomiting, anorexia, and depression associated with certain
AIDS related disorders, specifically AIDS wasting syndrome(c). Some studies have
also shown that cannabis can relieve muscle spasms especially in multiple
sclerosis patients’ (b). “With smoked marijuana, patients get immediate
relief, whereas with the oral drug they get a delayed, big rush of
unpleasantness. ” Studies on animals have shown it could also quite possibly
be an anticonvulsant. Doctors have been able to make a synthetic delta-9
tetrahydrocannabinol, which they call Nabilone, that helps relieve nausea and
vomiting after chemotherapy and may pose as the strongest evidence that
cannabinoids do work (a). It is a non-psychotropic drug and therefore greater
accepted. Researchers have also developed a delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, which
they call dronabinol (a). This oral drug has proven itself in stimulating the
appetite of AIDS pat...
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