The Blunt Truth
Isaac D’Agostino
Amarillo College
The Blunt Truth
THE BLUNT TRUTH
Marijuana is the name given to the dried buds and leaves of varieties of the Cannabis sativa plant. It goes by names including pot, grass, cannabis, weed, hemp, hash, ganja and many others. Marijuana, since its discovery, has been used as a recreational drug by many individuals and has always been seen as a “safe” drug. Unfortunately, it is still illegal. Legalizing marijuana wouldn't just benefit those who use it recreationally, it could also be beneficial for us in many other ways as well such as medical uses, tax revenues and emptying some of the overcrowded prisons we’re experiencing trouble with.
A lot of people today see marijuana just as a recreational drug for individuals to have a good time with, what they dontknow and see is that marijuana is actually very helpful medically. Different compounds in the marijuana have different effects on the human body. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) causes the “high” feeling reported by consumers and is also known to help relieve pain and nausea, reduce inflammation. Cannabidiol (CBD) helps treat seizures, reduce anxiety, paranoia and counteracts the “high” caused by THC. In Clinical Studies and Case Reports. (n.d.). I found many clinical trials showing how marijuana has medically helped some diseases. One of the cases was an open study(2016) case of a patient with pain and Parkinson disease and when given cannabis it improved the pain and movement. Another being an open study(2016) with Alzheimer's disease. They gave ten patients cannabis and within 28 days the following aspects decreased: delusions, agitation/ aggression, irritability and sleep distress. Other legitimate uses for medical marijuana I found on Blog, A.B. (n.d.). Addiction Blog. are treatment of AIDS, glaucoma, neuropathy (diseases affecting the nerves or nerve cells), nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, pain cause by psychological disorders, muscular spasticity, Parkinson disease, appetite stimulant for disease malnutrition and migraine headaches. All of these diseases and more are treated successfully or are pain relieved by marijuana. Unfortunately, only few people can and are prescribed with medical marijuana. Just think if marijuana were to be legalized, we could help thousands of more people in pain and suffering from these diseases they live with today.
Another issue we could solve with legalizing marijuana is help empty out overcrowded prisons. Miles, K. (2014, October 03). Just How Much The War On Drugs Impacts Our Overcrowded Prisons, In One Chart. The Federal Bureau of Prisons released an infographic showing over 50 percent of inmates are there for drug offenses. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, marijuana is the drug of choice for those convicted of drug offense also. Between October 2012 and September 2013, 27.6 percent of drug offenders were locked up for crimes related...
