[All this week, GS will be covering stories on Marijuana - its traditional uses, basic biology, criminalization, neurological effects and more. Join us all this week for our in depth study of this fascinating, controversial plant!] The word “marijuana” has undoubtedly earned its fair share of criticisms and accolades. When I hear “marijuana,” the first image that crosses my mind is a group of teenagers in the 1960s listening to the Beatles while saturating their parents’ basement with smoke; but throughout the centuries, marijuana has been utilized for much more than entertainment for adolescents looking to pass the time.

From as early as 2700 B.C., different societies around the world have incorporated marijuana into their cultures. Although marijuana is most widely associated with recreational drug usage and ability to affect a person’s state-of-mind, the plant has also been used in religious ceremonies, medicine, and even in the making of textiles. Today, I would like to turn the focus on this diverse plant towards the application of marijuana in the world of medicine.

Marijuana is derived from dried leaves, stems and seeds of the cannabis plant. The main active chemical in cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which leads to intoxication. Although the cannabis plant contains over 400 different chemicals, THC is the only cannabinoid that leads to intoxication by binding to cannabinoid receptors in the brain. (To learn about more about THC, refer to the Wednesday, April 22 article, “The Science of Weed”)

While THC may acquire mostly negative connotations in taking sole responsibility for altering a person’s state-of-mind (commonly referred to as receiving a “high”), this same chemical has many medicinal values. The cannabinoids in marijuana have been documented to interfere with the pain receptors in the nervous system; thus, marijuana serves as an effective painkiller for patients suffering from a wide array of illnesses. Some of the medical uses of marijuana include:

• Relieving nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
• Appetite stimulation in HIV/AIDS patients who experience severe weight loss, referred to as AIDS wasting
• Reduction of intraocular pressure, within the eye, in patients with Glaucoma
• Relief of spasticity and pain associated with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Chronic pain relief

Considering the many positive effects that marijuana has for patients with chronic illnesses, one may ask, “Why is marijuana not a more commonly prescribed pain reliever?” As it turns out, marijuana was in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia until its removal in 1942 because of federal legislation that made the drug illegal. Here are the facts for medical marijuana usage today:

• Thirteen states within the U.S. have legalized marijuana for medical purposes.
• Patients utilizing marijuana as medicine are protected under state law as long as they possess a doctor’s consent.
• Smoking marijuana is the most effective way to reap the benefits of THC.
• Smoking marijuana allows for faster uptake of THC in the blood stream through the capillaries of the lungs.
• A THC pill has been formulated to reproduce the benefits of marijuana without damaging the respiratory system as with the smoked form.
• Vaporizers have been noted to reduce toxic effects of smoked marijuana to the respiratory system, while continuing to deliver THC to the blood stream at a faster rate.
• Using a vaporizer will help conserve the effectiveness of THC, without resorting to a synthetic version of the drug.

Whether society continues to support or to oppose the usage of this controversial drug, we cannot deny the fact that marijuana has many medicinal purposes. If you suffered from any of the previously mentioned chronic illnesses, would you not want relief from your pain?

Discussion Question: Do you believe that patients suffering from chronic pain or illnesses should be allowed to possess marijuana for medicinal use? What are some of some of the advantages and disadvantages of sole legalization of marijuana for medical use only?

Links to additional resources:
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=000881
http://www.mpp.org/library/medical-marijuana-science-and-studies.html
http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/medical/challenges/litigators/medical/conditions/pain.cfm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16637053?dopt=Abstract
http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf