While doing research on the side effects of weed for my novel Bastard’s Brew (Family Portrait 3). I came across these points that I thought I’d share with you.
Marijuana, despite many studies proving its medical value, is still classified by the government as a Schedule I Substance.
So what exactly is a Schedule I Substance? And what does a substance have to be to deserve such a title? According to Wikipedia the drug has to have a high potential for abuse, have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or have a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision. The drug is therefore illegal for any person to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense (the other part was confusing but this is the jest of it).
The UK’s Medicinal Cannabis Research Foundation found that cannabis has the potential to improve the quality of life for people suffering from the following:
| AIDS wasting syndrome | Glaucoma |
| Alzheimer’s disease | Hypertension |
| Arthritis | Multiple sclerosis |
| Asthma | Nail Patella Syndrome |
| Brain injury/stroke | Nausea w/chemotherapy |
| Crohn’s/colitis | Pain |
| Depress./mental ill. | Phantom limb pain |
| Eating disorders | Migraine |
| Epilepsy | Spinal cord injury |
| Fibromyalgia | Tourette’s syndrome |
A US study showed that THC, one of the active ingredients in marijuana, was able to stave off HIV (or RIV in monkeys). The team administered high concentrations of THC twice a day to 4-to 6-year-old male rhesus monkeys who were RIV positive. They examined intestinal tissues before and after, and revealed a dramatic decrease in immune tissue damage in the stomach, plus significant increase of normal cells in the same region.
The battle now according to The Daily Beast is getting approval to get this research tested on humans. In my opinion, if HIV patients are already using marijuana to treat wasting symptoms why not allow them to be tested? Seems simple enough. It could be on a voluntary basis of course. I can’t imagine any HIV patient saying no.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, Director of ProjectSAM an anti-marijuana group, “This study looked at THC—not marijuana—and they should not confuse the two issues,” he told The Daily Beast.
“This is not about marijuana—and any characterization as such is flawed…It would be like saying people should smoke opium because Morphine might help with X condition.”
While I agree with Dr. Sabet, maybe research should be done to separate THC and make it in a pill form. That way it wouldn’t offend anti-marijuana groups.
While one can sing marijuana high praises, we must also remember its adverse effects which include high addiction rate known as dependence, irreversible cognitive impairment, psychosis, schizophrenia, depressive disorder, cancer, endocrine abnormalities and respiratory problems.
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