Introduction
Cannabis, also known as marijuana, is a psychoactive drug which is extracted from a cannabis plant and used for recreational and sometimes medical use. Its medical use has been increased in the modern world, but before that it was considered a dangerous drug (Kotwani et al., 2018). The foremost psychoactive segment of marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is one of the 400 components in this plant, including 65 other cannabinoids. Marijuana, is used in forms of smoking, vaporizing, as an extract, or in food.
Cannabis is mostly used for entertainment purposes or as a medical drug, and sometimes used for religious benefits. According to surveyed conducted in 2013, almost 230 million people used marijuana, which include 5% of the population between the age of 15 and 25 (Kotwani et al., 2018). Then in 2015, 43% of the American population used marijuana which was increased to 51% in 2016. From the recent surveys, 12% of the people have used marijuana in the last year and almost 7.3% have used it in the past month. Marijuana is considered the most dangerous and commonly used illegal drug in US and around the world (Kotwani et al., 2018). However, marijuana has its medical benefits, where a lot of countries have legalized it for medical treatments. But, in a number of US cities, it has been formally legalized to smoke same as cigerrates.
This paper will discuss the benefits and affects of using marijuana, that how it has emerged in the world’s population. It will also include the legalization of marijuana in some parts of USA and the factors leading to its legalization.
History of Marijuana
Marijuana (Cannabis) is originated from Central and South Asia, which was used for rope and fabric dates in the Neolithic age in Japan and China (Kotwani et al., 2018). When the emergence of Cannabis first gained interest by the scholars, it was believed that in the Indian religious books, Soma (another illegal drug) was actually marijuana, but this theory is of great dispute among the believers. Cannabis was also introduced to the Assyrians, who explored its properties from the Aryans (Kotwani et al., 2018). They also used in their religious ceremonies and called it qunubu, which means “the way to produce smoke”, which is now the modern word cannabis or marijuana. Later on, marijuana was introduced to different civilizations, who burned cannabis plans to the ground (Kotwani et al., 2018). Marijuana has its acient history of ritual usage, and it was found in a lot of pharmacological experiements.
Benefits of using marijuana
Marijuana has more of the medical benefits than any recreational benefits. It is widely used nowadays in medicine field because of its properties which help the patients get better in time. The benefits of marijuana are listed below:
- One of the benefits of marijuana is, it treats the chronic pain in patients effectively. Referring to its medical benefits, marijuana has the unique properties of treating patients with chronic pain which has positive results. A report generated by National Academies of Sciences, it declared that marijuana is the best cure for chronic pain and that’s why it is the most demanding and common reason of request by the people (Loria, n.d.).
- Marijuana also helps in treating muscle spasms. There have been strong medical evidence about the treatment of muscle spams with marijuana, as it treats the multiple areas of sclerosis in patients (Loria, n.d.). It also treats a lot of other muscle spasm problems like diaphragm which is untreatable by any other medicines.
- Using marijuana does not harm the lung capacity, but it might improve it. There is a lot of evidence that marijuana does not effect the lungs, unless a person is smoking tobacco also. A study published in Journal of American Medical Association, concluded that marijuana not only impair lung functionality, but might increase the lung capacity (Loria, n.d.). Researchers also looking into the risk elements of heart diseases, tested the lungs of more than 5000 adults in 20 years of time and showed that, tobacco users lost lung function in a large capacity, as compared to marijuana users (Loria, n.d.). It is most definite that the increased lung ability, might be due to taking deep breaths while inhaling the smoke, and not from the chemical property of the drug. The National Academies Association said that, there are practical studies depicting that marijuana smokers might not have cancer associated with the usage of marijuana (Loria, n.d.).
- A chemical formulation which is found in marijuana can stop cancer from spreading in the human body and it is possible to stop cell structures of it. Researchers from California Pacific Medical Center reported that, cannabis can help prevent the spreading of cancer, and is most likely to treat it in a natural way (Loria, n.d.). It can also shrink or reduce the tumors with the accurate dose, which has gained more importance to have research for it. A study done in 2014, told that marijuana can also reduce the growth of brain tumor by 80%, which has the highest percentage compared to other medicines (Loria, n.d.). Still, medical practitioners are finding ways to gather data to resolve it to the fullest.
- Marijuana can also reduce anxiety, if taken in low doses. In recent years, researchers have identified that people use marijuana to relax themselves from any external stress (Loria, n.d.). But, the issue is that people consume a large amount of cannbis which can lead to high level of anxiety and tension. To resolve this, medical researchers have made discussions about using the right amount of marijuana which can help in relaxing a person. Emma Childs, a professor at University of Illinois, said that “we have gathered results which say that THC should be used at a low amount which will reduce stress among peope, while higher usage can lead to the opposite effect” (Loria, n.d.). A practical survey in Chicago, identified that a few puffs of marijuana helped the subject to relax, while more puffs resulted in increased tension and bad behavior (Loria, n.d.).
Effects of using Marijuana
Keeping the benefits in mind, marijuana has effects and disadvantages as well. For a medical use, marijuana is benefical but it also has other effects related to the usage. These effects include:
- The foremost effect of marijuana is, that it caused addiction to a person. At first, the person is taking marijuana just for entertainment. But, with the passage of time it becomes a habit in a person and leads to its addiction. It obviously effects the health, but also changes the living patterns of a person (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana,” 2017). A marijuana addicted person might react to situation in a rude manner, and spend all his/her money on buying pots oftenly.
- Using marijuana causes change in habits, in a large amount. A person might sleep less, interact with family and friends differently, and disconnect with the social life very less. Studies from psychology theorists, found that a person high on marijuana, tend to react 80% less to their family and friends and when interacted, will be in a rude manner (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana,” 2017). As marijuana causes a person an urge to take a hit, it creates a disruptive behavior in people when they do not take marijuana oftenly.
- It causes mental illness in younger people. Nowadays, youngsters are more prone to using marijuana which is mostly done for fun and show off. But, the fact that they are using this drug has a lot of risks which they do not keep in mind. A younger person has an increased heart beat rate increased upto 1-3 hours while they are using marijuana, which is 80% more than the normal heart beat (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana,” 2017). It is the most fatal situation for the youngsters, which can lead to a lot of disruptive situations.
- It increases the metabolism in the body. Studies have identifies that, weed stays in the body for atleast 30 days, which is more than any other drug in the world. It directly affects the metabolism rate of a person which can rise upto 20% than normal (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana,” 2017).
- Smoking marijuana increases depression in a person. A study from Netharlands found that, people who use marijuana to overcome their depression problems, were more depressed afterwards (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana,” 2017). It is of simple logic that, a person trying to overcome his/her depression by using marijuana, will be more stressed afterwards because of the limited time effect of the drug usage. After it is over, the person will feel the same as it was before.
- In recent times, marijuana has been legalized in a lot of states in USA and other countries. It is beneficial for the medical usage but not for the general public. Legalizing marijuana means a person can have a marijuana joint, anywhere he/she wants and whenever he/she wants (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana,” 2017). It causes a great sense of bad image on the society, where every person has access to buying weed and in as much quantity. Youngsters will be more influenced by it, which is the major issue of the topic.
Conclusion
Referring to the description listed above, it is obvious that marijuana has its reasons of being legalized, as it serves a lot of medical benefits. But, at the same time it also has the effects on people which cannot be treated according to the trends set by the modern world. However, marijuana should be used only for medical treatments and restricted to only a specific amount of people to use because of its side effects.
References
Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana. (2017, February 3). Retrieved from http://www.drawbacky.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-marijuana/
Kotwani, P., Saxena, V., Dodge, J. L., Roberts, J., Yao, F., & Hameed, B. (2018). History of marijuana use does not affect outcomes on the liver transplant waitlist. Transplantation.
Loria, K. (n.d.). 23 health benefits of marijuana. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/health-benefits-of-medical-marijuana-2014-4
