Positives and Negatives of Cannabis Usage 9 employers watching this wave of legislation to end marijuana prohibition have good reason to wonder about the future of their employment policies (NYT, 2015). In questionable workplace situations that involve medical marijuana, employers might be confused about what they are and are not required to accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The inability to accurately test for marijuana impairment compounds this problem; in states that have passed marijuana-related impairment laws, such as the driving-while-impaired law in Colorado, much debate has centered around where to set the legal blood limit for THC (NYT, 2015). Minnesota’s
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Now, research on marijuana and sleep helps explain why. Besides
Positives and Negatives of Cannabis Usage 10 easing insomnia, marijuana seems to have a wide range of effects on sleep. This is because chemicals in marijuana, known as Cannabinoids, actually mimic the activity of chemicals found naturally in the brain (MRD, 2010). These chemicals and their biological pathways make up the body’s endocannabinoids system, which is responsible for regulating sleep, among other things. Some of the earliest research on marijuana and sleep shows that marijuana’s main ingredient, THC, can significantly reduce the time it takes for both insomniacs and healthy people to fall asleep. In one study, increasing the dose of THC also increased the amount of time spent sleeping. However, higher doses of THC also caused a “hang over” feeling in some subjects when they woke up, while the feeling was not present at lower doses (MRD, 2010). Some of the more interesting effects of marijuana on sleep involve its impact on the sleep cycle. Studies show that THC can increase the amount of slow-wave sleep, also known as deep sleep that a user experiences during their slumber. This is likely a good thing, since deep sleep is believed to play a major role in the restoration process that occurs during sleep. Another way marijuana affects the sleep cycle is a reduction in REM sleep. Many people …show more content…
George Patton wrote in the British Medical Journal that use in young women was associated with an over fivefold increase in the odds of reporting a state of depression and anxiety after adjustment weekly or more frequent cannabis use in teenagers predicted an approximately twofold increase in risk for later depression and anxiety. On the other side of the coin Mitch Earleywine, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Albany wrote not only does marijuana not cause depression; it looks like it may actually alleviate it (MAYOCLINIC, 2002). Those who use marijuana to battle the symptoms of illness may be depressed because of their illness, not because of marijuana. Thirty percent to 40% of patients with bipolar disorder are not consistently helped by or cannot tolerate standard medications. His study found that a number of sufferers were discovered who believed marijuana to be more effective than conventional anti-manic drugs, or who used it to relieve the side effects of drugs like lithium. Ethan Russo, MD, Senior Medical Advisor at the Cannabinoid Research Institute wrote the following in the Dec. 2002 issue of Cannabis Health. A surprising number of people so afflicted [with bi-polar disorder] have independently made the discovery that cannabis has improved their conditions, whether the mania or depression. Endocannabinoids seem to be intimately
Now, research on marijuana and sleep helps explain why. Besides
Positives and Negatives of Cannabis Usage 10 easing insomnia, marijuana seems to have a wide range of effects on sleep. This is because chemicals in marijuana, known as Cannabinoids, actually mimic the activity of chemicals found naturally in the brain (MRD, 2010). These chemicals and their biological pathways make up the body’s endocannabinoids system, which is responsible for regulating sleep, among other things. Some of the earliest research on marijuana and sleep shows that marijuana’s main ingredient, THC, can significantly reduce the time it takes for both insomniacs and healthy people to fall asleep. In one study, increasing the dose of THC also increased the amount of time spent sleeping. However, higher doses of THC also caused a “hang over” feeling in some subjects when they woke up, while the feeling was not present at lower doses (MRD, 2010). Some of the more interesting effects of marijuana on sleep involve its impact on the sleep cycle. Studies show that THC can increase the amount of slow-wave sleep, also known as deep sleep that a user experiences during their slumber. This is likely a good thing, since deep sleep is believed to play a major role in the restoration process that occurs during sleep. Another way marijuana affects the sleep cycle is a reduction in REM sleep. Many people …show more content…
George Patton wrote in the British Medical Journal that use in young women was associated with an over fivefold increase in the odds of reporting a state of depression and anxiety after adjustment weekly or more frequent cannabis use in teenagers predicted an approximately twofold increase in risk for later depression and anxiety. On the other side of the coin Mitch Earleywine, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Albany wrote not only does marijuana not cause depression; it looks like it may actually alleviate it (MAYOCLINIC, 2002). Those who use marijuana to battle the symptoms of illness may be depressed because of their illness, not because of marijuana. Thirty percent to 40% of patients with bipolar disorder are not consistently helped by or cannot tolerate standard medications. His study found that a number of sufferers were discovered who believed marijuana to be more effective than conventional anti-manic drugs, or who used it to relieve the side effects of drugs like lithium. Ethan Russo, MD, Senior Medical Advisor at the Cannabinoid Research Institute wrote the following in the Dec. 2002 issue of Cannabis Health. A surprising number of people so afflicted [with bi-polar disorder] have independently made the discovery that cannabis has improved their conditions, whether the mania or depression. Endocannabinoids seem to be intimately