Medical marijuana
Medical marijuana is manufactured by extracting the chemicals in the marijuana plant to treat certain conditions or diseases. When appropriately used, researchers have proven that medical marijuana is beneficial rather than harmful to the patient. For the proven medicinal use of the marijuana plant, the university of south Florida was selected by the state system of Florida’s governor’s board to steers the national association in the studying the health benefits of medical marijuana. The association working under the University of Florida, comprised both private and public universities involved in the clinical outcome of medical marijuana. As the head institution, south Florida’s university was set to receive 1.5-million-dollar funding annually from the Florida state aid the associations’ research. The consortium’s primary role will be analyzing and determining if the use of medical marijuana is effective and safe. The team was also tasked with discovering the side effects of smoking medical marijuana and the various consumption methods. Critics of medical marijuana use argue against the vast funding by the Florida state in the research. Reducing the funding will derail the research that would be beneficial to most patients in need of medical marijuana. In this paper, I support the research of the health benefits of medical marijuana and explain the various medical conditions that can be treated y the use of medical marijuana.
First, medical marijuana has proven beneficial to students as it can treat stress and depression issues. According to the world health organization, depression is the leading cause of poor health and mental disability amongst all available illnesses. More than 300 million people worldwide are living with depression. Depression is highly prevalent in college students since students tend to have many first experiences in these institutions, such as lifestyle change, introduction to new friends, activities, and environment. An individual suffering from depression is most likely to experience stress-related issues. Stress can be explained as to how a person chooses to react to specific outcomes. Research carried out by the Washington state university indicates that a single puff of marijuana high in CBD and low in THC has the power to relieve a patient of symptoms of depression. Two puffs of marijuana are sufficient in anxiety reduction, and going the extra mile and taking ten puffs reduces stress to the user. Accurate research has also proven that patients using cannabis experience a substantial reduction in their depression cycle by a significant percentage. These are some of the minimal research carried out on marijuana. The Florida state board should maintain the funding on the medicinal use of marijuana in curing illnesses such as depression and stress. Investing more funds in the University of Florida medical marijuana research will help college students deal with depression and stress and focus more on living mentally healthy lives.
Secondly, very few researches have been conducted on the medicinal use of medical marijuana as a pain reliever. In today’s world, chronic pain affects more people than heart disease, diabetes, and cancer inclusive. In America, the leading cause of long-term disability is chroming pain. Most marijuana-based products have not yet attained the necessary approval from the relevant foods and medicine consumption board, and more research is needed for their effectiveness to be determined. Despite the hurdle, non-formal research has indicated that the compounds in marijuana help relieve certain types of pain. Different strains of medical marijuana are available, and each may give different side effects to the consumer. The different types of marijuana plants include cannabis Sativa, hybrids, and the cannabis indica. An online survey carried out in 2014 indicated that patients preferred using the indica strain for pain and sativa for energy and mood improvement. If the research at the University of Florida is slashed, no detailed research would determine which cannabis strain to use in chronic pain management.
Also, smoking medical marijuana, as prescribed by a physician, is beneficial to the lungs. In the united states, 23 states have legalized the use of medical marijuana and Washington, D.C. A report published by the lung institute on their research finding indicates that medical marijuana helps reduce swellings, relieve pain, and support the immune system. However, smoking marijuana is harmful to people suffering from lung conditions as there is no filter since the user can inhale the smoke more in-depth into the lungs. For this group of patients, results have shown that instead of smoking cannabis, there is an alternative way of enjoying the medicine’s health benefits by consuming it through foodstuffs such as brownies and cookies or vapor. Heating the medical marijuana at a low temperature releases the active chemicals into a vapor, consumed through inhalation. Patients with lung conditions experience temporary relief and a reduction in lung disease symptoms after using medical marijuana. Reducing the University of Florida’s research funding would not allow room for exploration of the various ways in which patients suffering from lung diseases can consume the medicine without inhaling the smoke directly.
However, not all stakeholders are of the idea of using marijuana as a way of treating any disease. Many physicians don’t recognize medical marijuana as a drug due to nature with which the drug is treated. The main argument is classifying medicine as a drug, but the packaging and handling are different from all other drugs in the market. In the united states, available medicine is subjected to rigorous clinical trials to determine their safety and efficiency. Specific individuals are fixed minded with the idea that smoking cannabis is illegal and harmful to the consumer. Contrary to their opinion, I believe that medical marijuana, if taken in the right amounts and when prescribed by a doctor, does good than harm to the patient. For instance, patients with lung diseases have an alternative option to consume medical marijuana without experiencing any side effects.
In conclusion, the Florida state governor’s board’s initiative to fund the research on the health benefits of medical marijuana was a milestone in offering patient relief from certain health conditions. Medical marijuana has been proven in the past research to be of health benefits in conditions such as the treatment of chronic pain, lung disease, depression, and stress. Over 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression and stress-related issues, and this occurs mostly in university students. Taking different quantities of marijuana have curative substances to stress and depression. In pain relief, marijuana is categorized into three strains, which are cannabis indica, cannabis sativa, and hybrid. These strains have different chemical compounds that provide relief for various types of pain. Finally, patients with lung diseases also benefit from the use of f marijuana as a medication since they can consume by inhalation. Medical marijuana can also be consumed through food products such as brownies; hence the risk of lung infection by smoke is eliminated. I stand by my position that the University of Florida research receives the full funding for the research towards the health benefits of medical marijuana to the community.
Work Cited
Piomelli, Daniele, and Ethan B. Russo. “The Cannabis sativa versus Cannabis indica debate: an interview with Ethan Russo, MD.” Cannabis and cannabinoid research 1.1 (2016): 44-46.
Joshi, Manish, Anita Joshi, and Thaddeus Bartter. “Marijuana and lung diseases.” Current opinion in pulmonary medicine 20.2 (2014): 173-179.
Santamaria, Nicole. “Medical Marijuana Legislation in Florida: The Recommendation vs. Prescription Distinction for Healthcare Providers.” Stetson L. Rev. 45 (2015): 537.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7006108/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/pot-smokers-can-maybe-breathe-a-little-easier