Woods 1

AnneMarie Woods

Professor Kunzinger

English 111 D23B

May 1, 2018

Medical Marijuana Research Laws

The legalization of medical marijuana is a growing debate not only in society but also

under state and federal laws. Since many believe marijuana has several health benefits, there

have been demands to legalize the drug. Twenty-nine states have legalized medical marijuana

and even some of these states have legalized recreational marijuana in response to these uproars

(U.S. Department of Health). However, “there is a substantial amount of misleading

information, causing many to believe that marijuana is harmless and is a panacea and miracle

drug for a plethora of medical diseases,” says Pennsylvania House of Representative Matt Baker,

“when the substantiated medical research that has been conducted up to this point simply does

not support these claims.” Before making medical marijuana legal, federal laws should allow

more research on this drug which will thus provide sufficient information for legalization and

create an appropriate FDA process for testing and administrating the new type of medicine.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, marijuana is a Schedule I drug

meaning that it has a high risk for abuse and no accepted medical use. This means it is treated

like any other controlled substance such as heroin and cocaine. Marijuana has over 100

components with the most commonly know being tetrahydrocannabinol, abbreviated as THC

(Grinspoon). THC is the active ingredient known to give the “high” feeling, but also comes

along with many other negative effects such as difficulty thinking, impaired memory, changes in

mood, impaired body movements, and, when taken in high doses, hallucinations, delusions, or
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even psychosis (“What is marijuana”). Chuck Rosenburg, the administrator of the Drug

Enforcement Administration, states, “if you talk about smoking the leaf of marijuana -- which is

what people are talking about when they talk about medicinal marijuana -- it has never been

shown to be safe or effective as a medicine (Reid).” In addition, the brain does not fully develop

until the age of 25 and using these types of drugs greatly impacts this development (Dyke)

specifically because THC is a mind-altering drug. Although new evidence has shown that

marijuana may have potential medical benefits, marijuana can still be addictive and abused,

especially when smoking begins in the adolescence.

In addition, a politician’s main goal during their term is to pass laws that will get

them reelected. Due to this marijuana was legalized because of popular demands and not

legalized based upon valid research. Many believe that when they receive medical marijuana,

that they will be able to receive the same high produced by the THC when that is not the case.

There are components of the plant that may potentially be beneficial for several medical uses, but

these components will not create a high. The president of the American Epilepsy Society, Amy

Brooks-Kayal, even reached out to Pennsylvania House of Representative Matt Baker asking to

delay the passing of cannabis legislation because of the limited amount of legitimate research.

She states, “There simply is no clinical, controlled research to support the adoption of new CBD

legislation for epilepsy.”

However, the legalization of medical marijuana has had many benefits to the medical

world and the economy. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have

presented a cumulation of previous research on the effects of cannabis providing substantial

evidence that marijuana is effective for treatment of chronic pain in adults, as antiemetic from

chemotherapy, and for improving spasticity symptoms for patients with multiple sclerosis. Since
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it has been proven there are medical uses for this drug, it does not make marijuana a Schedule I

drug under the Controlled Substance Act, but the Drug Enforcement Agency has rejected two

petitions to re-schedule the drug. This means the likelihood of changing marijuana from a

Schedule I drug is low (Grant). Even though cannabis may be classified as a Schedule I drug,

preventing the research of a potentially beneficial, new medicine should not be illegal.

Moreover, Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard economics professor, looks farther into the

economics prospects of legalizing medical marijuana. In his report, he predicts the government

will save 7.7 billion dollars per year from the cost of enforcing marijuana laws. From that

money, 5.3 billion dollars will go to state and local governments and the federal government will

receive the remaining 2.4 billion dollars each year. Furthermore, as Christopher Ingraham from

the Washington Post states, “In 2015, the legal marijuana industry in Colorado created more than

18,000 new full-time jobs and generated $2.4 billion in economic activity, according to a first-of-

its-kind analysis of the economics of legal cannabis in the state.”

Lastly, there have been concerns that legalizing the drug will allow easier access to

adolescents. However, in one study done by three doctors in the American Public Health

Association, it showed that in the state of Colorado that medical marijuana laws have not

affected adolescent use within the first few years of legalization. Though the long-term results

may differ, it is still shown that legalization does not greatly impact usage by the youth. On the

same topic, the National Institute on Drug Abuse conducted a survey showing that “most

measures of marijuana use by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders peaked in the mid-to-late 1990s and

then began a period of gradual decline through the mid-2000s before levelling off,” and that

“most measures showed some decline again in the past 5 years” (What is the scope of marijuana

use).
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Despite the economic and possible health benefits of legalizing medical marijuana, a

FDA process for testing and administrating should have been created before the drug was

legalized. Michael Bostwick, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic, discusses that there are other

difficulties to understanding the drug being there is no previous approach or model for a smoked

substance and no approach or model for a non-pure substance made of several different

compounds. In return, Mark Ware, a pain management physician who has been studying

cannabinoids for 18 years, proposes that instead of researching smoked cannabis, scientists

should shift to study extracts of the plants or other forms of ingestion (Grant). Mary Haag,

president of PreventionFIRST!, also agrees that if there are potential components of marijuana

that may have medical benefits, it would be in the best interest of the people to discover what

they are. Studies have shown that changing the way cannabis is ingested, such as an edible or

vaporizer, mimics the route smoking takes throughout the body, but is much less dangerous

(Grant).

Furthermore, there is a greater problem at hand: public safety. Not only do adolescents

find marijuana less risk posing a threat to their cognitive development at risk (Letter from the

Director”), there is tremendous uncertainty regarding what and who to protect under the medical

marijuana laws, and the ever-changing legislation does not provide the information we should

know (Pacula). This very profitable business of medical marijuana has become unsafe. For

example, In California clinics referred to as “quick in, quick out” allow for brief evaluation with

minimal documentation and poor follow up procedures. The main reasons these foul practices

are because of inadequate training and the physician’s concerns of their own legality (Lucido).

The president of the American Epilepsy Association also expressed her concern that the drugs

given to many families and children treated in Colorado are neither pure nor uniform and cause
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adverse effects (Brooks-Kayal). Also, Kevin Hill, M.D., discusses that, “Medical marijuana is

used to treat a host of indications, a few of which have evidence to support treatment with

marijuana and many that do not,” and continues to explain that physicians should inform their

patients of the new drug to ensure the best use of the medicine and be sure that the drug is used

properly. Medical marijuana should be treated like any other prescription drug.

Therefore, despite the possible downfalls of medical marijuana, there are many potential

opportunities for a highly beneficial medicine. Disregarding the societal idea of smoking the leaf

of the plant, there are many components of the leave that may be ingested or vaporized to receive

the same therapeutic effects. Before releasing this new drug, the federal laws must allow for

further research and the FDA must have a methodical approach to test and regulate the new

medicine.
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Works Cited

Baker, Matt. “Why Oppose Legalizing Marijuana.” Why Oppose Legalizing Marijuana, 11 June 2017,

web, < www.sungazette.com/opinion/other-commentaries/2017/06/why-oppose-legalizing-

marijuana/>

Bostwick, Michael. “What You Can Expect from Medical Marijuana.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation

for Medical Education and Research, 14 Oct. 2016, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-

lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/medical-marijuana/art-

20137855?_ga=2.169330788.412266201.1524786018-1539634279.1524786018.

Brooks-Kayal, Amy. Senator Baker, www.senatorbaker.com/wp-

content/uploads/sites/28/2015/05/aes.pdf.

Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Scheduling, www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml.

Dykes, Todd. “Should Fate of Medical Marijuana in Ohio Be Left in Hands of Lawmakers,

Voters?” WLWT, WLWT, 7 Oct. 2017, www.wlwt.com/article/should-fate-of-medical-

marijuana-in-ohio-be-left-in-hands-of-lawmakers-voters/3562625.

Grant, Bob. “Marijuana Research Still Stymied by Federal Laws.” The Scientist, 23 Jan. 2017,

www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/48122/title/Marijuana-Research-Still-Stymied-

by-Federal-Laws/.

Grinspoon, Peter. “Medical Marijuana.” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Medical School, 9 Jan. 2018,

www.health.harvard.edu/blog/medical-marijuana-2018011513085.
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Hill, Kevin P. “Medical Marijuana for Treatment of Chronic Pain and Other Problems.” JAMA,

American Medical Association, 23 June 2015, jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-

abstract/2338266?redirect=true.

Ingraham, Christopher. “The Marijuana Industry Created More than 18,000 New Jobs in Colorado Last

Year.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Oct. 2016,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/27/the-marijuana-industry-created-over-

18000-new-jobs-in-colorado-last-year/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1b9b2d143ed1.

Jeffery, Miron. The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition. June 2005,

hanfinfo.ch/info/it/IMG/pdf/The_Budgetary_Implications_of_Marijuana_Prohibition_MironRep

ort_2005.pdf.

Lucido, Frank. Medical Marijuana Law- Preface. Google Books, 2006,

books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=c1Tw_UFU2XEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=medical%2

Bmarijuana%2Blaws&ots=P2e6CcBExp&sig=iHbXBCycT_Bw51En-

2o78zpHy5Q#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Lynne-Landsman, Sarah, et al. “Effects of State Medical Marijuana Laws on Adolescent Marijuana

Use.” American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, 10 July 2013,

ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/ajph.2012.301117.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. “The Health Effects of Cannabis and

Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research.” National

Academies Press: OpenBook, 2017, www.nap.edu/read/24625/chapter/2#7.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Letter From the Director.” NIDA,

www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/letter-director.
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National Institute on Drug Abuse. “What Is Marijuana.” NIDA, Feb. 2018,

www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “What Is the Scope of Marijuana Use in the United States?” NIDA,

www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-scope-marijuana-use-in-

united-states.

Pacula, Rosalie Liccardo, and Eric L. Sevigny. “Marijuana Liberalization Policies: Why We Can't

Learn Much from Policy Still in Motion.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Wiley-

Blackwell, 22 Oct. 2013, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pam.21726.

Reid, Paula, and Stephanie Condon. “DEA Chief Says Smoking Marijuana as Medicine ‘Is a

Joke.’” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 4 Nov. 2015, www.cbsnews.com/news/dea-chief-says-

smoking-marijuana-as-medicine-is-a-joke/.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Medical Marijuana.” National Center for

Complementary and Integrative Health, 24 Sept. 2017, nccih.nih.gov/health/marijuana.