Schedule I drugs, substances, or
chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use.
Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all.[1]
Really, that bit about “no currently
accepted medical use” is completely ridiculous.
According to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse (a division of the National Institutes of
Health):
“The marijuana plant contains
several chemicals that may prove useful for treating a range of illnesses or
symptoms, leading many people to argue that it should be made legally available
for medical purposes. Medical marijuana
is not recognized or approved as
medicine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But scientific study
of the active chemicals in marijuana, called cannabinoids, has
led to the development of two FDA-approved medications already, and is leading
to the development of new pharmaceuticals that harness the therapeutic benefits
of cannabinoids while minimizing or eliminating the harmful side effects
(including the “high”) produced by eating or smoking marijuana leaves.”[2]
Put
simply, the feds would rather back a pill derived
from cannabis than the plant itself—one which takes all the “fun” [3]
out of it.
Contemporary
medical research is focusing on two main cannabinoids, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
According
to NIDA:
“THC stimulates appetite and reduces nausea (and there are
already approved THC-based medications for these purposes[4])
but it may also decrease pain, inflammation, and spasticity. CBD is a
non-psychoactive [meaning: it doesn’t get you high] cannabinoid that may also
be useful in reducing pain and inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures,
and possibly even treating psychosis and addictions.
Research funded by the NIH is actively investigating the
possible therapeutic uses of THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids to treat
autoimmune diseases, cancer, inflammation, pain, seizures, substance use
disorders, and other psychiatric disorders.”[5]
To
paraphrase: While cannabinoids do seem to be totally awesome, we just need some
more time (and money) to conduct some more research[6].
Officially:
“The FDA requires carefully conducted studies in large
numbers of patients (hundreds to thousands) to accurately assess the benefits
and risks of a potential medication. Thus far, there have not been enough
large-scale clinical trials showing that benefits of the marijuana plant (as
opposed to specific cannabinoid constituents) outweigh its risks in patients
with the symptoms it is meant to treat.”[7]
Nevertheless, several prominent
physicians, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Andrew Weil for instance, wholeheartedly
support the use of marijuana as a medication.
And not just for cancer, multiple
sclerosis, and AIDS patients.
Stress is a legitimate medical issue, isn’t it? Laughter is in itself a medicine, say most of us…
Any integrative medicine practitioner
worth his salt is over the moon about the benefits of meditation. Cannabis sativa has been used as a
meditation aid in India for dozens of centuries. Yoga, by the way, was invented in India, by the best of us. Bhang heads.
Regarding that point.
Is cannabis really one of the “most dangerous drugs of all”? Does the DOJ actually
believe joint smokers behave like heroin addicts? Um, more like they’ve had a few beers, bud.
What are the specific
risks of ingesting the marijuana plant (as opposed to its specific cannabinoid
constituents)?
According to NIDA:
“The known safety concerns of marijuana include impairment of
short-term memory; altered judgment and decisionmaking; and mood effects,
including severe anxiety (paranoia) or even psychosis (loss of touch with
reality), especially following high-dose exposures. Marijuana also
significantly reduces motor coordination and slows reaction time, which makes
it very dangerous to use before driving a car. Additionally, although we do not
yet know whether marijuana smoking contributes to lung cancer risk, it can cause
or worsen other respiratory problems such as bronchitis or chronic cough.
Growing evidence is showing that marijuana may be
particularly harmful for young people: It may cause long-term or even permanent
impairment in cognitive ability and intelligence when used regularly during
adolescence, when the brain is still developing.
Another safety
concern is that, contrary to common belief, marijuana can be addictive.”[8]
Let’s investigate each
of these “known safety concerns” in turn.
First off, they’re
right, being high is like dreaming
awake—although one makes brilliant connections and transcends the training of
one’s superego (which enables one to critically examine one’s paradigms), pot
sucks re: short-term memory. That’s why
it’s important for a stoner to always carry a notebook or a Dictaphone. That’s why musicians can never exactly replicate
a jam. And an expressionist painter could
never paint it exactly that way again.
Cannabis fosters inspiration, which is by nature ephemeral, and
impossible to recall.
Next, pot does alter
one’s judgment and decisionmaking—in a good way. One sees the beauty in things instead of
trudging through one’s mundane routines while high on THC (as opposed to CBD);
one chooses to respectfully interact with one’s fellow man, instead of fight
him.
Does weed make one
paranoid? Only where it’s illegal. Does it cause loss of touch with
reality? Rather, the opposite.
Clearly, one should not
drive (or operate heavy machinery) stoned—even if one’s natural inclination is
to drive 20 miles an hour under the
speed limit (as opposed to recklessly, like on alcohol, which makes one feel
invincible [in addition to uninhibited and irresistible]—how’s that for loss of touch with reality?),
but, as has been opined countless times by minds keener than mine, in this
regard (indeed, in all ways) marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol is. Yes, cannabis should be regulated—like liquor
is.
It is illogical to
prohibit marijuana smoking because it might
contribute to lung cancer risk when tobacco use is allowed. Similarly, although cannabis, like anything
good, can be addictive, it is far
less addictive than nicotine (or alcohol, or schedule II analgesics like
Vicodin).
But the feds’ main
concern, of course (and rightly so) is the kids.
According to NIDA:
According to NIDA:
“(Marijuana) use has been increasing
among young people since 2007, corresponding to a diminishing perception of the
drug’s risks that may be associated with increased public debate over the
drug’s legal status.” [9]
Sorry about that.
Given that many medical professionals
seem to agree, I am willing to grant that “when [marijuana] is used heavily by
young people, its effects on thinking and memory may last a long time or even be permanent.”[10]
(my emphasis.)
Indeed, it is someone disconcerting
to learn that “a large
long-term study in New Zealand showed that people who began smoking marijuana
heavily in their teens lost an average of 8 points in IQ between age 13 and age
38.”
However, it is imperative to note
that, according to the same study:
“Those who started smoking marijuana in adulthood did not show
significant IQ declines.”[11]
The Director of the
NIDA recently issued the following statement:
“Some teens are no doubt hearing and being influenced by
marijuana’s many outspoken advocates, who claim that the drug does not deserve
continued Schedule I status and that decades of prevention messaging have
overstated its dangers. The ongoing public conversation over medical marijuana
may contribute to the impression that, since some people use marijuana
therapeutically, it couldn’t be that harmful.
Given the increases we are seeing in marijuana use among this age group, it is more crucial than ever to challenge the impression many of them have that marijuana is a benign, unfairly demonized substance.”[12]
Basically: Pot might
make kids stupider, thus the Just Say No campaign must continue, so we must
continue to keep it Schedule I listed.
Setting aside for a moment the undeniable evidence that is the
long list of brilliant thinkers who are proud members of the Marijuana Majority[13]
since the government's own scientists admit that
smoking marijuana as an adult does not lead
to cognitive regression, it is nevertheless appropriate to criticize any “preventive
messaging” campaign that insists on continued Schedule 1 designation.
That is, a mixed message would
not be hypocritical. Pot is for
grownups, like lots of things are (like alcohol is). Kids aren’t idiots, they get it. But when you claim it’s psychoactive like
peyote and LSD and addictive like heroin you completely lose your credibility.
Even more imperatively: keeping
marijuana illegal encourages black markets, and black marketeers don’t give a
shit to whom they sell – including kids.
It does not follow from NIDA's reasoning that adults should be prohibited from using cannabis.
It does not follow from NIDA's reasoning that adults should be prohibited from using cannabis.
[1] Source:
http://www.justice.gov/dea/druginfo/ds.shtml
[2] http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine
[3] The psychoactive chemicals of
marijuana are precisely what engender creativity, mindfulness,
interconnectivity, and dialogue, i.e., the “spiritual” uses of the plant.
[4] Dronabinol and Nabilone are
used to treat nausea caused by chemotherapy and weight loss caused by AIDS
[5] http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine
[6] One of the best threads woven
into Initiative 502 (which legalized recreation cannabis in Washington state)
was the dedication of a percentage of tax revenue to research.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/directors-page/messages-director/2013/02/challenging-marijuana-myths
[13] Carl
Sagan, Steven Colbert, Bill Maher, etc. (marijuanamajoirty.com)
