A Better Alternative
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), more than 130 people die every day from opioid-related overdoses. Opioids truly took our country by storm in the 1990’s, when doctors began prescribing opioid pain relievers under the notion that they were not addictive. However, that notion was false and led to misuse of the medication and an increase in overdoses all across America. According to the NIDA, a study done in 2017 estimated that 1.7 million people in the United States suffer from a substance abuse disorder caused by a prescription opioid pain reliever. What if there was a better alternative? Marijuana has been effectively used to treat chronic pain as well as other ailments without the addictive side effects we see in other medications like opioids. However, for the longest time, marijuana has been seen as a dangerous narcotic. Even today the federal government still classifies marijuana as a schedule-one drug instead of medication that can help millions as a safe and nonaddictive alternative to the extremely addictive opioid painkillers.
Marijuana comes from the cannabis plant called cannabis sativa which can be found growing in tropical and temperate environments around the world. The main active ingredients found in marijuana are THC and CBD, both of which react differently to the body, producing differing effects. THC is the psychoactive compound found in marijuana which can have effects such as euphoria. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), THC has been found to eliminate extreme nausea found in patients going through chemotherapy (“Marijuana and Cancer”). Patients reported finding relief with just a low dose of THC and this can change their life, making it possible for them to eat again and gain weight as well as relieve the constant pain that they feel (“Marijuana and Cancer”).
CBD is not psychoactive and instead binds with CB1 and CB2 receptors found throughout our bodies that deal with our coordination, movement, thinking, memory, appetite, pain, and other functions. However, since CBD lacks the psychoactive aspect found in THC, it reacts to the body differently. According to Medical News Today, this is done by CBD attaching to these receptors and directing the body to use its own cannabinoids found naturally within (“How CBD Works”). Just recently the FDA approved a cannabidiol oral solution for the treatment of seizures found in two forms of epilepsy (Commissioner, Office of the FDA). According to the NCBI, CBD has also been used to treat Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s disease, and many other conditions (“Cannabinoids in Health and Disease”). Over the years we have seen over-the-counter medication being used to relieve stiffness and chronic pain, however, according to the NCBI, many people now believe that CBD is a better alternative due to its ability to inhibit inflammatory and neuropathic pain, which are actually two of the hardest chronic pain conditions to treat. On the other hand, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, CBD has also been known to reduce seizure activity in children with some of the worst childhood epilepsy syndromes. In some cases, it’s reported that the seizure activity stopped altogether (Shafer). This is a huge leap in the medical community due to most anti-seizure medications not typically working on these patients. However, unlike marijuana, CBD is legal. According to an article written by PBS, CBD is legal in the United States due to it having no psychoactive effects as well as many proven health benefits. Also, the article states that this is due to more research being done on CBD then marijuana. However just like CBD, THC has also been known to have some great effects on people suffering from various ailments, meaning that many patients don’t have access to medication, cannabis, that can really help them because it is not legal across the United States and which results in many people suffering from something that they wouldn’t have to if they had legal access to it. Marijuana is currently only legal in 33 states (“Legal Medical Marijuana States”), meaning 17 states in the U.S. still see marijuana as a harmful drug.
Marijuana is also being used to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in patients. According to Healthcare in America, researchers have found that marijuana can help with relieving the traumatic memories as well as nightmares found in most PTSD patients (“Cannabis could be the key to treating people with PTSD”). A recent study done by the NYU Langone Medical Center revealed that PTSD patients have much lower levels of a neurotransmitter called anandamide (“Cannabis could be the key to treating people with PTSD”). Anandamide is a natural antidepressant found in the brain and works similar to the way cannabis does in our body; a lot of patients found greater relief from their symptoms using cannabis than they did taking antidepressants. Marijuana also has been found to reduce or stop nightmares that frequent PTSD patients (“Cannabis could be the key to treating people with PTSD”). This is through cannabis reducing Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM) ,which is when these intense nightmares occur. Cannabis allows for the body to remain in the deep sleep state longer, which is where the least amount of dreams occur. Patients reported having their nightmares gone or drastically reduced after being treated with cannabis.
However, for a long time, a negative stigma has been associated with the drug and those who use it. PBS writes in an article “Marijuana Timeline” that this is mainly due to its association with the lower class and Mexican immigrants. It states that after the Mexican Revolution, when thousands of immigrants came to the United States, “Fear and prejudice about the Spanish-speaking newcomers became associated with marijuana.” Therefore, when understanding the bad reputation around marijuana, we might conclude that it came from a deeply-rooted prejudice held against Mexican immigrants. The article later states, “Anti-drug campaigners warned against the encroaching ‘Marijuana Menace,’ and terrible crimes were attributed to marijuana and the Mexicans who used it” (“Marijuana Timeline”). This is a great example of anti-drug advocates’ diversion away from the actual effects of the drug in their attempts to eliminate it all together. These advocates instead used the prejudice held against Mexican immigrants along with the association of marijuana as a way to sway the public’s opinion about the drug.
When looking at other stigmas surrounding marijuana, the topic of addiction always comes up. Marijuana is not known for having any physical addictive properties. However, according to the American Addiction Center, constant use of marijuana can lead to a psychological dependency. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that roughly 9% of marijuana users develop a psychological dependency. The article also says, “The presence of tolerance or dependence/withdrawal is not enough to make a diagnosis of marijuana addiction (for instance, not everyone who develops some amount of dependence to marijuana will necessarily begin to compulsively use it)” (American Addiction Center). This is important because there is a false stigma that marijuana is inherently addictive. However, when looking at opioid addiction, we see that 20-30% of people prescribed opioids misuse them and develop a physical dependency according to the Addiction Center (“Statistics on Opioid Addiction and Abuse”). This is important because far more people prescribed opioids develop an addiction/dependency then people using marijuana, legally or illegally. This is based on the fact that opioids are far more physically addictive to the human body than marijuana is. According to the same article from the Addiction Center, around 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, whereas a marijuana overdose is almost unheard of. Yet even today doctors are still prescribing patients these highly addictive and dangerous opioids which leads to higher rates of misuse and overdoses in America.
One step towards making marijuana legal across the U.S. is by educating ourselves and others on the issue. By doing this we are able to create a dialogue in which we can address the stigmas and misconceptions of marijuana and inform the general public of its medical benefits. This would make it more likely to convince others who oppose the issue. The next step would then be to contact lawmakers and inform them that their voters are in support of the legalization of marijuana. One way to do this is by going to city hall meetings, community events, and town halls to network and meet other people who are passionate about the issue. The more attention that is brought to the issue of marijuana legalization, the better our chance that lawmakers will notice and be forced to take action.
Works Cited
“Addiction Statistics – Facts on Drug and Alcohol Use – Addiction Center.” AddictionCenter, www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/addiction-statistics/.
Akpan, Nsikan, and Jamie Leventhal. “Is CBD Legal? Here’s What You Need to Know, According to Science.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 12 July 2019, www.pbs.org/newshour/science/is-cbd-legal-heres-what-you-need-to-know-according-to-science.
“Brain-Imaging Study Links Cannabinoid Receptors to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: First Pharmaceutical Treatment for PTSD within Reach.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 14 May 2013, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130514085016.htm.
Commissioner, Office of the. “FDA Approves First Drug Comprised of an Active Ingredient Derived from Marijuana to Treat Rare, Severe Forms of Epilepsy.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-drug-comprised-active-ingredient-derived-marijuana-treat-rare-severe-forms.
Fraser, George A. “The Use of a Synthetic Cannabinoid in the Management of Treatment-Resistant Nightmares in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).” CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19228182.
Grinspoon, Peter. “Cannabidiol (CBD) – What We Know and What We Don’t.” Harvard Health Blog, 27 Aug. 2019, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476.
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Mack, Alison. “MARIJUANA AND CANCER.” Marijuana as Medicine? The Science Beyond the Controversy., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK224387/.
“Marijuana Timeline | Busted – America’s War On Marijuana | FRONTLINE.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html.
Moss, Angelique. “Cannabis Could Be the Key to Treating People with PTSD.” Medium, Healthcare in America, 31 Oct. 2018, healthcareinamerica.us/cannabis-key-treating-ptsd-b4abf432215.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Marijuana.” NIDA, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioid Overdose Crisis.” NIDA, 22 Jan. 2019, www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis.
Shafer, Patricia O., and Elaine KiriakopoulosMDMSc. “Dravet Syndrome.” Epilepsy Foundation, www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-epilepsy-syndromes/dravet-syndrome.
“Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC – Medical Marijuana – ProCon.org.” Medical Marijuana, medicalmarijuana.procon.org/legal-medical-marijuana-states-and-dc/.
Becker, Sam, and Google. “What Can You Do to Get Marijuana Legalized in Your State?” Showbiz Cheat Sheet, 24 Nov. 2017, www.cheatsheet.com/culture/what-do-get-marijuana-legalized-your-state.html/.
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