The soaring rates of recreational use of marijuana in the United States have drawn discussion across different spheres of the American population. There are limited scientific assertions supporting the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The legalization of marijuana culminates with some ethical issues which could draw further debates. This discussion entails the ethical issues around the legalization of marijuana, its medicinal benefits as well as negative effects. Most importantly, the article is seeking to establish the specific diseases that can be cured with marijuana medicine.
Ethical issues around Legalization of Marijuana
Some of the ethical issues which should be considered in the legalization are of concern to the consumers who will be using the marijuana products. There should be a priority for consumer safety in selling these products. As a requirement and recommendation, consumers should ensure that the dosage and potency of marijuana are clearly placed. Apart from safety, there are issues of age limits which are the benchmarks for the usage of the drug. In Washington and Colorado, the age limit for one to use marijuana for recreational purposes is 21. Selling and trading in marijuana without paying taxes or observing state laws may attract charges in the court of law. Some of the ethical considerations for the use of marijuana revolves around regulation of its usage.
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It remains unclear the recommendations which should be prescribed in the recreational use of marijuana. In addition to the indication for marijuana use by the retailers who will be dealing in the herb. Importantly, the ethical considerations for dispensing the drug such as the quality and the standards. Again there are ethical questions pertaining to the distribution of the product such as labeling and packaging standards ( Bridgeman& Abazia, 2017). Lastly, the prescription of marijuana to people by pharmacists and the ethical considerations based on consumer demand and addiction.
Negative Aspects of the use of Marijuana as Medicinal Herb
Cannabinoids extracted from marijuana can be used as painkillers as they have the same characteristics as codeine. However, it has extreme side effects such as severe sleeplessness and negative impacts on the central nervous system. There are people who smoke marijuana to treat glaucoma, stimulation of appetite and fever. However, smoking of the herb for an extended duration of time has been linked to the effects of the central nervous system. Marijuana is used by people with HIV related weight loss for stimulating their appetite. Consequently, the smoking of marijuana cigarettes can have adverse effects on the people with HIV as it can result in excessive weight gain. This case is only applicable to HIV patients who are in use of nelfinavir and indinavir. Marijuana can also be used on the people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in which the drug can be smoked or be used as a mouth spray. With this treatment, the drug is very effective as it relieves the challenges of shakiness and muscle tightness in the people with MS problem. The shortcoming with this is that taking the drug through the extract of the mouth seems not to be effective as it leaves no impact on the MS reduction. Research concerning the treatment of back pains caused by HIV shows that smoking marijuana at least three times a day creates a state of pain relief. However, excessive use of marijuana is likely to cause addiction which in return can lead to brain damage. Excessive use of marijuana has health shortcomings such as vomiting, nausea and lung infections. On the issue of pregnancy, expectant women should not take marijuana by ingesting or smoking. This is due to the fact that marijuana components can pass through the placenta and cause slow growth of the fetus. On the same note, marijuana can cause leukemia for young children as well as the development of abnormal effects on the fetus.
The use of marijuana by women who are breastfeeding can have health challenges such as slowed growth of the baby as one of the components of marijuana known as Dronabinol (THC) passes through the breast milk. The drug is also associated with the cases of heart diseases as it increases the chances of heart attack. On the lungs, excessive use of marijuana is likely to cause lung infections such as emphysema and worse lung cancer. Depending on the body response of an individual, marijuana can cause a seizure or it may reduce seizure. The use of this drug has adverse effects on surgery. It is recommended that a patient on a surgery schedule should avoid using the drug for about a fortnight to reduce the risks it poses on the patient. The effect it has on surgery is that it affects the nervous system in response to the necessary drugs such as anesthesia which is used in surgical processes ( National Center for Biotechnology Information, n.d.) Combining marijuana with other sedatives is likely to cause severe sleepiness. Further, combining marijuana with disulfiram may cause irritability and agitation. Marijuana has effects on irritation, nervousness and excitement when taken in combination with Prozac. Taking marijuana with warfarin is likely to cause bleeding.
Increased use of marijuana may lead to the effects of addiction. This is the reason behind prescription by doctors on the opioids. As a matter of concern, adults who smoked a lot of marijuana during their adolescent stage have the problem of brain connectedness as a result of inadequate fiber connections in some parts of the brain. The cases of reduced brain and neuron functionality have been connected to the routine use of marijuana. These negative effects of the use of marijuana are more prominent when the case involves a victim who started the use at the younger age or at their adolescent stages.
There is impairment in the brain connectivity as a result of exposure to marijuana for the adolescents as well as significant IQ damage and loss. This shows that cannabinoids play a vital role in synapse development when there is brain growth. In relation to the psychological and mental illness, the use of marijuana is likely to cause emotional challenges associated with depression and anxiety. On the same note, marijuana usage has been linked to the problem of psychos such as schizophrenia. There are high cases of hyperactivity disorder for the adults seeking medical attention on the treatment of cannabis use related disorders. It remains at a point of controversy on whether the use of cannabis reduces the effect of stimulant medication (Murray et al.,2016)
Benefits Aspects in the Use of Cannabis as a Medicinal Herb
Cannabinoids play a vital role in the mediation of various neuropsychological processes. The use of marijuana in Canada was instigated by a case of a patient who needed legal backing to help him treat epilepsy ( Beaulieu,2016). Cannabinoids have been proven to be effective in the treatment of chronic pains and other pain-related conditions. Some of the components of cannabinoids have been found to be effective in alleviating pain especially the neuropathic pains. There is a lot of impact on pain conditions which are relieved by the use of cannabinoids. This substance is responsible for most of the treatment of pain related to chronic conditions and diseases.
One of the greatest advantages of the use of marijuana for pain relief is that it is different from other opioids in terms of side effects. Some of these advantages include cannabinoids are less addictive, they are improbable to reach the state of overdose. In general, the drug relieves the pains emanating from multiple sclerosis as well as the nerve pains. As narrated by many patients who recover after the administration of marijuana, there are less negative effects which may pose a challenge of disengagements. On the same note, marijuana has proven to be an effective muscle relaxant as people tend to laud the drug on the ability it has on the reduction of tremors. The use of cannabinoids is effective in the battle against diseases such as fibromyalgia and other diseases which leads to chronic pains. The drug is important for the treatment of nausea as well as weight loss. Importantly, this drug can be used to treat glaucoma. This has been seen in the effect of the drug on war veterans once they have left the battlefields. Most of these veterans’ reports indicate the need for more research and study of the effect of the drug on pain relief. The use of marijuana is of importance to the patients who suffer from the HIV caused pains and wasting syndromes.
As a matter of recommendation, marijuana proves to be effective in relieving pains associated with other diseases. Compared to other opioids, these drugs seem to be more effective as they have the least side effects. In the history of the American medical field, it is learned that most patients were not ready to open up to their physicians concerning their use of marijuana for treatment. This reason was triggered by the fact that these patients feared being victimized. Again there are patients who are in use of marijuana yet they are not out to show their doctors of the use. As a matter of advice, there should be mutual understanding and a good working relationship between these two individuals in the health sector ( Grinspoon , 2018).
There is an essential benefit of marijuana when it comes to the issue of the deadly disease cancer. According to reports from California Pacific Medical Center, the cannabinoids can reduce the spreading of cancer cells. The researchers conducted the investigation in the laboratory using a breast cancer cell as a specimen in which there was the establishment of positive results from marijuana treatments. This conclusion was made upon asserting that the cells could not spread rapidly like they were initially before the introduction of marijuana. The use of marijuana reduces the cases of Alzheimer. This can be attributed to the presence of Tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC) which is an effective component in the marijuana. Research carried out by the Scripps Research Institute found out that THC impedes the formation of amyloids plagues. They prevent these formations by blocking the enzymes in the brain which might be responsible for their production ( Lopez-Rodriguez et al., 2013) .
Marijuana is confirmed to be effective in relieving pain. This can be of essential help in the treatment of arthritis. The reduction of the inflammation within the body can be eliminated through the use of cannabis. The use of cannabis, therefore, can be linked to the relieving the pains brought about by the arthritis diseases. Another proved medicinal importance of marijuana is that it can help in containing seizures emanating from epilepsies. The THC found in the drug is responsible for the reduction in the cases of these seizures as it binds the brain cells which are responsible for managing excitability as well as regulation of relaxation. Marijuana is effective in easing the pain caused by multiple sclerosis within the human body system. marijuana endeavors to prevent the muscle spasms which are caused by multiple cases of sclerosis. According to the study placed in the Canadian Medical Association gives a suggestion that marijuana is in a capacity to eases the painful situations caused by multiple sclerosis. In her research, Jody Cory studied thirty patients with the challenge of sclerosis in which there were no cases of response to drugs but upon smoking of marijuana, the case changed. Again marijuana is of importance in the treatment of Chron’s diseases. The Chron’s diseases are characterized by an inflammatory bowel disfigurement which causes pain, weight loss, vomiting, and diarrhea. Smoking of marijuana has been found to be effective in the elimination of these diseases. Finally, marijuana is essential in the treatment of hepatitis C as it enhances treatment effectiveness. In the treatment of Hepatitis C, there is the case of severity in which some patients are not capable of completing their treatment process. The side effects associated with the disease are a loss of appetite, depression and muscle pains. Approximately 54% of the patients suffering from Hepatitis C reported relief in that they got lower viral levels.
Diseases that can be Treated by Marijuana
In many societies in the world, people abhor marijuana as it is seen based on wrongful smoking and illegality. Most of the people who are not familiar with the medical instructions and practices find it hard to believe that marijuana can have any medicinal value to human beings. However, it should be noted that there are many diseases which can be treated with the use of this drug. Together it should be put into account that for marijuana the treatment can either be directly or indirectly. Again the method of putting the drug into the system of an individual is different from other traditional ways. The patients using marijuana can either rub it in the mouth or smoke it. There are a number of diseases which can be treated with this drug as seen herein.
One of the most renowned diseases in the United States and Canada is the epilepsies. This disease is marked by seizures which are ranging from relatively mild to the extreme levels. At the mild stage, there is a characteristic of impaired concentration from the victim of the disease. When the disease reaches the extreme end there are cases of lack of concentration and a total loss of consciousness as well as awareness. Marijuana medication has proved to be effective in the treatment of this defect. One of the components of marijuana Cannabidiol (CBD) is essential in this case as it reduces the severity and frequency of epileptic seizures. There are efforts which have been seen to be directed to the use of cannabidiol in the treatment of epilepsy in children ( Liu,2016). It should be put into consideration that this treatment should only involve the cases of resistance seizures only.
Another disease known to be dangerous for the human population is multiple sclerosis. In this, there are cases of pain, spasms, balance issues and to some extent impairment of the visual senses of an individual. The main areas that are affected by this disease in human beings are the brain and spinal cord. Research involving the treatment of sclerosis points to cannabis as one of the treatments which can be applied in ensuring that the disease is treated. It does not necessarily treat this disease but rather it reduces the pain caused by the disease. Cannabis has been proven to be a treatment for spinal cord injury and related diseases. These spinal cord related diseases are in most instances known to have a negative impact on the motor skills and can lead to an individual victim getting paralyzed or amputation of other parts of the body. Research conducted by Oxford points out that extracts from marijuana can be used to eliminate pain posed by such injuries.
Marijuana offers some insight into the treatment of some major killer diseases such as cancer and HIV. Even though marijuana cannot treat cancer, it can be used to significantly reduce the effects of cases of cancer severity and frequency in a given patient. The treatment of cancer in most cases is complex and involves sophisticated equipment and highly qualified health practitioners. The use of marijuana in this incident is just to enhance the appetite of the patients so as to reduce cases of weight and strength loss. On the same note, marijuana is linked to the treatment of nausea which in some instances result from the process of chemotherapy conducted on cancer patients. In the case of HIV, there are steps which have been made to change the narrative about its severity. Though marijuana does not directly treat HIV, it can help in reduction of its effects by treating the symptoms such as nausea, weight loss, and anxiety. For the case of weight loss, marijuana medicine is injected to stimulate the patients’ appetite.
Conclusion
To summarize, there are a number of challenges noted in the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana in the United States. However, there are various medicinal values seen in the marijuana as pointed out in the discussion. The legalization of marijuana in some states is a wakeup call to other states to take the best practices for the betterment of their states. On the issue of legalization still, there are no set guiding principles and standards to ensure that there is conformity in the products and other issues such as consumer safety, branding of the product as well as its distribution. Therefore, it is appropriate to infer that the legalization of marijuana should be informed by some laid down effects on people who are consumers of the drug. Again it is within a good standing for the entire stakeholders in the healthcare sector to appreciate the importance of marijuana and to fully put it in the list of medical utilities. This should be shared between the patients and the doctor.
References
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