Imagine, getting up every day and being in pain. No matter what little task you perform, even daily task such as getting dressed is painful. Your doctor prescribes you painkillers, but with those come averse side effects. They are also very addictive. In 2016 64,000 people died from an opioid related overdose.The world of healthcare is faced by significant contemporary issues that can stir up debates about the controversial nature of the item of discussion. In modern medical practice, medical marijuana is one of those issues.
It has been responsible for a considerable number of controversial debate among healthcare professionals and legislators. The issue has mainly been its legality and legitimacy as a drug. It has caused strong emotions in debates which have now decreased in controversy due to the legalization of marijuana for both medical and leisure purposes is different countries and states of the world (Koppel, et al., 2014). Nonetheless, the purpose of this paper is to provide a look into the benefits of medical marijuana to provide distinct support for the legalization and making it a legitimate medical substance.
The least controversial part about the debate on the legality and significance of marijuana as a medical substance is based on the component of the hemp plant which is referred to as CBD. CBD which stands for cannabidiol is one of the many components of the hemp plant. Ideally, Marijuana has more than 100 active components. Of the 100 components, CBD is one of the components that have the little, if any intoxicating properties.
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Most of medical marijuana is the CBD dominant strains, which lack the component of marijuana that causes the “high” or rather the intoxication. The substance that causes intoxication in marijuana is referred to as THC which stands for tetrahydrocannabinol. Therefore, medical marijuana is based on the CBD-dominant strains which contain little to no THC making a patient report the least of alteration in the consciousness of their actions and thoughts (Andrade, 2016).
However, looking at marijuana from the medical perspective it is important to take into consideration that the plant has not been approved as medicine by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The term medical marijuana is however defined as the use of the whole plant of some of its basic extracts to treat symptoms or illness as well as other health conditions (Hill, 2015). Even though the whole plant has not been approved as a medicine, there are various components such as cannabinoids which have led to two FDA-approved medications. These medications contain the component of marijuana, cannabinoids in pill form (Koppel, et al., 2014). Ongoing research into other ways through which the plant or some of its extracts could be used for medical purposes is currently ongoing.
The debate about the controversial issue of using marijuana for medical purposes has been going on for the last two decades or so. However, there has been evidence-based information on how marijuana can serve for different medical purposes. The main or major use of marijuana for medical purposes in the contemporary healthcare industry is for pain control. Medical professionals agree that marijuana may not be a significant pain reliever, specifically for severe pain (Hill, 2015). Sever pain being described as the type of pain one experiences after breaking a bone or post-surgical pain.
The drug is, however, used for chronic pain that plagues most of the people in the world during their aging and used in treating pain experienced by cancer patients. In comparing marijuana with other drugs, such as opioids, it appears to be a safer option due to its decreased ability of overdose and far less addictive on the patient (Powell, Pacula & Jacobson, 2018). As such it can be used in place of other types of medical substances such Aleve, NSAIDs, and Advil if people cannot be able to take these drugs due to complications with their kidneys, GERD or ulcers (Hill, 2015).
Marijuana is also significantly used in treating multiple sclerosis which is described a nerve pain. The significance of using marijuana for treating such health conditions is that the alternative forms of medications that could be used which include opiates, Neurontin and Lyrica are perceived to be highly sedating (Hill, 2015). As such, it becomes easier to treat such health conditions using medical marijuana for the purposes of resuming one’s duties almost immediately after recovering from the condition. A fete which could not be achieved through the use of other forms of medication that prove to be highly sedating. As such, patients have provided support for using marijuana for medical purposes as they are able to carry on with their normal life activities without necessarily feeling disengaged and completely out of it (Koppel, et al., 2014).
The medical world has listed marijuana as a significant factor in the management of weight loss and nausea. The effect received by patients who use medical marijuana is that it is relaxing and creates a positive feeling in the individual. As such, nausea can be avoided through the use of medical marijuana, which is depictive of its importance as an alternative medical substance (Hill, 2015). Marijuana has also been used in the treatment of glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group related form of eye disorders that cause significant damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve is a nerve in the body that is used to carry information from the eye to the brain. As such, marijuana has been depicted to be of importance in the treating of glaucoma as it has a reversal effect on the disorder that exists in the patient’s eyes.
Medical marijuana has also been used as a muscle relaxant. It has actually been proved to be a fantastic muscle relaxant by both patients and their physicians. There have been various accounts which also support the use of medical marijuana as it lessens the tremors in Parkinson’s disease. Apart from the above, medical marijuana has also been used in the treatment of other significant cases in which the common pathway was identified to be a chronic pain (Hill, 2015). These health conditions include endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and interstitial cystitis. So far, the majority of patients who use medical marijuana do so due to its ability to relieve them from chronic pain.
A growing body of research shows that marijuana can also be significant in the treatment of psychological health conditions. This body of growing evidence particularly points to the use of medical marijuana for veterans who have just come from war and are suffering from PTSD. However, in this case, the veterans report drastic improvements in their conditions which calls for more studies amidst the significant restrictions that are currently placed by the government on research entailing the use of medical marijuana for treating PTSD patients who are veterans. Therefore, there is a significant call for more studies and research into the benefit of medical marijuana for the patients suffering from PTSD which can open up a new world of understanding into the benefits of medical marijuana for the patient’s psychological health.
Another related positive outcome of the use of marijuana for medical purposes is the decreased prescription of opioids. Medical professionals argue that opioids can be a significant drug for pain relief. Nonetheless, it has been the cause of many significant problems arising from overuse of the drug which leads to a significant number of overdose deaths (Powell, Pacula & Jacobson, 2018). Furthermore, opioids are far much addictive compared to medical marijuana.
As such, there have been significant debates over the legalization of medical marijuana for the sole purpose of reducing the use of opioids which will place patients in far safer environments of medical use since they cannot overdose on marijuana or suffer addiction to it at a similar rate as opioids (Shah et al., 2018). However, the debate is faced with one significant drawback that is based on the insufficient nature of the relationship between medical marijuana and the decrease in death or the changing of the drug-taking behavior of pain patients which has been the cause of drug overrode and addiction problems (Koppel, et al., 2014).
In some parts of the debate on the controversial nature of medical marijuana, professionals have been recorded stating that the significance of emotional pain is similar to that of chronic physical pain. Therefore, the use of medical marijuana has been applied in treating instances of emotional pain such as mood disorders and anxiety, thoughts of suicide or self-harm to generally create a positive psychological feeling in the individual in question (Andrade, 2016).
not only is medical marijuana beneficial for health, it can also help benefit our economy. I know you may be asking your self , How is marijuana going to benefit our economy, but it can in many ways. It would help create revenue for the federal and local government. This would lead to billions in tax revenue being collected by 2025. Pueblo County, colorado has made headlines for its scholarships that are funded by a local marijuana excise tax. Last year, the county dedicated $420,000 to scholarships for 210 students.
This year, the county is set to triple the number of scholarships it offers as tax collections are expected to top $750,000. In the states of Washington and Colorado, marijuana sales are better than was expected over the past years. In 2015, for example, the state of Colorado received more than $135 million in tax revenue and fees for recreational and medical marijuana. The total sales in 2015 were more than $996 million. In North America, 2016 sales grew to $6.7 billion. Experts project sales to reach $20.1 billion in 2021. With these huge figures, the state of Colorado has shown that getting into the legal cannabis industry is a great way of achieving economic benefits. In 2016, Colorado earned $122 million from tax revenue. Massachusetts could reach $1.1 billion by 2020. Connecticut has a potential of reaching up to $100 million in tax revenue each year.
Don’t talk about the state of California, which is expected to exceed $15 billion in marijuana sales and $3 billion for tax revenue. It can help by creating jobs. In 2015 the legal marijuana industry in Colorado created more than 18,000 jobs. A RCG Economics and Marijuana Policy Group study on Nevada says that legalizing recreational marijuana in the state could support over 41,000 jobs till 2024 and generate over $1.7 billion in labor income.
Legalizing marijuana wouldn’t be just about the amount of dollars working their way into the system. It would also entail saving some of the dollars that might otherwise be flowing out of the system. In 2013, a report from the American Civil Liberties Union found that federal marijuana enforcement costs approximately $3.6 billion a year. If cannabis were made legal, these costs would drop dramatically. Additionally, removing marijuana from the controlled-substances list would reduce the number of court cases that go to trial. Fewer court cases mean fewer incarcerations, and therefore a lot of saved money.
In summary, there are many significant benefits of medical marijuana that have been proved. Most benefits are related to how it can be used for not only chronic physical pain but also emotional pain arising from psychological health conditions. There are also benefits to the economy. More research is ongoing on the importance of marijuana as a medical alternative to other drugs as it is safer, contains a lesser possibility of a drug overdose and less addictive. Even more, research exists on the potential benefits of medical marijuana all in support for its legalization as medicine.
References
- Andrade, C. (2016). Cannabis and neuropsychiatry, 1: benefits and risks. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 77(5), e551-4.
- Hill, K. P. (2015). Medical marijuana for treatment of chronic pain and other medical and psychiatric problems: a clinical review. Jama, 313(24), 2474-2483.
- Koppel, B. S., Brust, J. C., Fife, T., Bronstein, J., Youssof, S., Gronseth, G., & Gloss, D. (2014). Systematic review: Efficacy and safety of medical marijuana in selected neurologic disorders Report of the Guideline Development Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology, 82(17), 1556-1563.
- Powell, D., Pacula, R. L., & Jacobson, M. (2018). Do medical marijuana laws reduce addictions and deaths related to painkillers?. Journal of health economics, 58, 29-42.
- Shah, A. B., Hayes, C. J., Lakkad, M., & Martin, B. C. (2018). Impact of Medical Marijuana Legalization on Opioid use, Chronic Opioid use and High-Risk Opioid use. Value in Health, 21, S247.
- Ingraham, C. (2016, October 27). The marijuana industry created more than 18,000 new jobs in Colorado last year. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/27/the-marijuana-industry-created-over-18000-new-jobs-in-colorado-last-year/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.437e95294760
