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Marijuana is a topic on the minds of many people around the world. More studies involving the drug are taking place than ever have before. With medical marijuana sweeping across the United States and whispers of legalization in the streets, people want to know the facts about this drug/medicine. Marijuana is not just a topic for a America, it is a topic that the entire world is dealing with; the Unites States has been the spearhead in the creation of no tolerance drug policies that have traveled half-way around the world. The University of Queensland in Australia (a country that has modeled America's zero-tolerance policies) recently conducted a study regarding the long term effects of marijuana use. The results of this recent study are shocking as much as they are surprising, and as most studies do, will leave you with more questions than answers.
The new study indicates that the longer people use cannabis or marijuana the more mental problems they may encounter, including hallucinations, delusions, and can even suffer from psychosis. The study, lead by John McGrath, observed that individuals age 15 or younger that used marijuana had were twice as likely to develop a "non-affective psychosis", such as schizophrenia than individuals who refrained from using the drug. "Among all the participants, a longer duration since the first time they used cannabis was associated with multiple psychosis-related outcomes," the study said.
According to General Psychiatry, the study which is not the first of its kind, included 3,801 twenty-year old individuals; 17.7 percent of the test group said they had been using marijuana for three or fewer years, 16.2 percent for four to five years, and 14.3 percent for six or more. The study asserts that sixty-five individuals were diagnosed with "non-affective psychosis", i.e. schizophrenia and another 233 people had in their life experienced at least one hallucination. Past studies had come up with similar results, but, concerns were raised about the research not properly accounting for particular variables. One interesting point, according to the study: people who were more likely to have a psychotic episode, were more likely to use more marijuana, thus increasing one's chances of developing a full blown psychotic disorder.
The medical cannabis wave has been sweeping across the country with increasing speed; there is not a day that goes by without buzz about it in the media. States that have legalized medical marijuana have essentially opened the door for everyday people to become pharmaceutical manufacturers; let's face it, classifying marijuana as a medicine means some one has to produce and distribute the drug. New grow ops are going up every night and people who don't even smoke marijuana are witnessing the profit margins in that business. In Michigan, you can now attend pot college in order to learn crucial skills for participating and succeeding in the marijuana industry. Med Grow Cannabis College, located in Southfield, offers a wide variety of classes covering everything from soil nutrients to cannabutter; upon graduation you should have the skills required to grow and sell marijuana legally. Med Grow offers new classes every month and on their website they ask you if "you're ready to begin your new career"; medical marijuana is truly becoming less about medicine and more about money.
Every year pharmaceutical companies profit from selling legal drugs, some of those drugs are narcotics and are legal. Marijuana is now considered a medicine in many states but federally it is illegal. This discrepancy in classification is probably leading a lot of people down a path that could wind them in jail. People should not be led to believe that the marijuana enterprise is a particularly safe path. If marijuana is going to be taken seriously as a pharmaceutical then it needs to be treated that way before people start running off to start their new career in the drug game. According to the New York Times, "the students are a diverse group: white and black, some in their 20s, some much older, some employed, some not. Some keep their class attendance, and their growing plans, close to the chest". It's not just pot heads and drug addicts going into the marijuana industry, have people forgot that when you make drugs you have to sell them. How many forty year old accountants have ever sold drugs, pot or not?
It appears that the progression with medical marijuana, almost naturally, has transitioned towards business; it's now more about making money than it is about treating illness. Marijuana has become legalized under the guise of medicine and well being; people are hopping on board not fully understanding what is actually taking place. Is marijuana a medicine, economic relief, or just a way to make a buck? It's becoming all those things, but it is also one more thing too - addictive.
The Marijuana culture has been quietly finding its way into the national mainstream via the media. "Cannabis Planet" is a show dedicated to the world of Marijuana and has become a clear sign of how the drug is finding its way into the culture of Californians. "We're trying to show the legitimacy of this plant," said Brad Lane, the executive producer of the half-hour program. According to the New York Times you can find, "tips for cultivating Marijuana. Testimonials by patients about its medical benefits. Cannabis cooking lessons. Even citations for award-winning strains of pot. Viewers here can now watch, every week, what amounts to a pro-weed news program." Brad Lane pays for the twice-weekly air time on the independent station KJLA. The station claims that nobody that has witnessed the show has made a complaint, which, I believe is very hard to believe. Legalizing the drug is one thing, but advertising it on public television is a completely other thing; are we sending out a message that can be misinterpreted by the masses?
"Medical marijuana is now legal in 14 states and the lobbying organization NORML says efforts to legalize it are under way in 15 other states. Marijuana use remains illegal under federal law, but in a break from prior policies, the Obama administration said in February that federal officials would stop raiding dispensaries of medical marijuana authorized under state law," the New York Times reports. Cannabis Planet is not the only show about Pot on television and there are others on the way. Pretty soon there will be a huge market for an already billion dollar business and the media intends on capitalizing on it.
Legalizing weed is not without its controversy and people have been abusing the drug for some time now. Marijuana is the number one drug in the United States and with the curbing of certain laws there will be a "Green Rush" that will sweep across the country, which will no doubt increase the abuse. There are good arguments on both sides and if the drug becomes totally legal I do not believe that advertising the drug in the media is acceptable. Cigarettes companies are not allowed to advertise their product; I don't understand how proponents of Marijuana can advertise theirs.
