Marijuana Usage and Consequences
The path to marijuana legalization comes with problems. Since marijuana is classified by the federal government as a “Schedule 1” controlled substance, marijuana has no acceptable medical benefit. (Hoffmann & Weber, 2010) The Schedule 1 classification of marijuana has made rigorous clinical studies on the treatment efficacy of this substance to be difficult. Without careful scientific study and medical trials, there can be no reliable guidelines for marijuana’s administration, or indications of potential side effects from long time use. This is one of the biggest reasons that medical associations are trying to re-classify marijuana and remove it from “Schedule 1”, in order to permit further study, instead of …show more content…
(Armentano, 2013; D'Souza et al., 2004; L. Degenhardt & Hall, 2008; Grotenhermen et al., 2007; Lynskey et al., 2012; Moore et al., 2007) The effects of marijuana are influenced by mode of ingestion, prior experience with marijuana, the social context in which use occurs, and of course by dose. (Hall & Degenhardt, 2009) The immediate effects of taking marijuana include rapid heartbeat, disorientation, and lack of physical coordination, often followed by depression or sleepiness. Some acute adverse psychiatric reactions are anxiety and psychotic symptoms. This mostly occurs among users who have not previously used marijuana. Panic attacks and loss of memory or “blackouts” have also been reported after marijuana use. Marijuana use also impairs judgement which leads to risky behaviors such as unprotected sex or driving while intoxicated which may result in motor vehicle accidents ( this increases further if cannabis is consumed with doses of alcohol) (L. Degenhardt & Hall, …show more content…
DeSimone (1998) conducted a study on whether regular marijuana consumption leads to consumption of cocaine. The researchers collected data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) which gathered information from 1979, on 12,686 individuals aged 14 to 22. The study found evidence of the gateway hypothesis from marijuana to cocaine at ages 18 to 22, and that past marijuana use increases the likelihood of cocaine use by 29%. However, the author did mention that the extent of marijuana use needed for the gateway effect to cocaine to occur needs to be recurrent. Moreover, the author noted that earlier cocaine use may reflect a preference for cocaine making it less likely to be a result of
The path to marijuana legalization comes with problems. Since marijuana is classified by the federal government as a “Schedule 1” controlled substance, marijuana has no acceptable medical benefit. (Hoffmann & Weber, 2010) The Schedule 1 classification of marijuana has made rigorous clinical studies on the treatment efficacy of this substance to be difficult. Without careful scientific study and medical trials, there can be no reliable guidelines for marijuana’s administration, or indications of potential side effects from long time use. This is one of the biggest reasons that medical associations are trying to re-classify marijuana and remove it from “Schedule 1”, in order to permit further study, instead of …show more content…
(Armentano, 2013; D'Souza et al., 2004; L. Degenhardt & Hall, 2008; Grotenhermen et al., 2007; Lynskey et al., 2012; Moore et al., 2007) The effects of marijuana are influenced by mode of ingestion, prior experience with marijuana, the social context in which use occurs, and of course by dose. (Hall & Degenhardt, 2009) The immediate effects of taking marijuana include rapid heartbeat, disorientation, and lack of physical coordination, often followed by depression or sleepiness. Some acute adverse psychiatric reactions are anxiety and psychotic symptoms. This mostly occurs among users who have not previously used marijuana. Panic attacks and loss of memory or “blackouts” have also been reported after marijuana use. Marijuana use also impairs judgement which leads to risky behaviors such as unprotected sex or driving while intoxicated which may result in motor vehicle accidents ( this increases further if cannabis is consumed with doses of alcohol) (L. Degenhardt & Hall, …show more content…
DeSimone (1998) conducted a study on whether regular marijuana consumption leads to consumption of cocaine. The researchers collected data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) which gathered information from 1979, on 12,686 individuals aged 14 to 22. The study found evidence of the gateway hypothesis from marijuana to cocaine at ages 18 to 22, and that past marijuana use increases the likelihood of cocaine use by 29%. However, the author did mention that the extent of marijuana use needed for the gateway effect to cocaine to occur needs to be recurrent. Moreover, the author noted that earlier cocaine use may reflect a preference for cocaine making it less likely to be a result of