Cannabinoid Analysis

For many years, the prohibition of marijuana has led people to believe that marijuana was extremely dangerous, therefore, it could never be legal; but, most dangers spoken about marijuana are myths as it is found less harmful than alcohol, and even tobacco. In 2007, research done by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare came to the conclusion that alcohol was a large contributor to death and the cause of more than 3% of the overall disease and injury in Australia, while marijuana was accountable for no deaths and only 0.2% of disease and injury. Despite what many are told to believe, this research poses that marijuana holds way fewer risks than alcohol does, and alcohol is legal. Around 88,000 deaths occur each year due to alcohol consumption, and half of those are due to binge drinking. With this in

In order to gain an understanding of marijuana's so called "harmful" negative effects; it should be compared to other drugs that are presently legalized in this country. In the pharmaceutical world, over-the-counter drugs are being prescribed for everything these days. Ritalin and Adderall are readily available for college students in the university health centers across the country. Kids are staying up all night studying, complaining that they can not pay attention, and are immediately referred to the prescription drugs which in many cases they do not even need. Along with the prescription drug problem in our nation, we have a serious issue concerning alcohol and tobacco. Alcoholism is killing people daily with liver malfunctions

Studies have proven that marijuana is no more harmful to a person’s health than alcohol or tobacco. Every year, tobacco kills roughly 390,000 people, alcohol contributes to 80,000 deaths in America and marijuana contributed to 0; no deaths from marijuana have ever been recorded in US history (Abovetheinfluence.org). When smoking tobacco, the user inhales tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and 200 other known poisons into the lungs (Abovetheinfluence.org). All forms of tobacco, including cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, and chewing tobacco, contain the addictive drug nicotine, and can also cause cancer. Alcohol alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. Alcohol plays a role in at least 50 percent of traffic deaths, about half of murders, and about 25 percent of suicides (Abovetheinfluence.org). Marijuana side effects include delusions, impaired memory, hallucinations and disorientation, which are no different from the side effects of alcohol alone.

The Government should legalize the use of marijuana because of the economic benefits it would offer, The debate over whether the federal government should legalize marijuana has been escalating and states such as Colorado, and Oregon have legalized the use of medical and recreational use of marijuana due to the realization that marijuana could greatly benefit their economies, such as the creation of jobs, tax revenue, and young business leaders. The legalization of marijuana is highly beneficial to the United States government because it will save the government billions of dollars. According to Jeffrey Minron a Harvard economist “If marijuana were legalized, the government would save $7.7 billion dollars annually in law enforcement costs, and it could bring an additional $6.2 billion a year” (3).If the government were to legalize marijuana nationwide, there would be billions of dollars, which could be used to solve actual problems in the United States like education, poverty, Instead, the billions of dollars are being wasted to loosely enforce the ban.

The time and money being used to help fight marijuana has proved to be an unsuccessful cost and could be used in more beneficial uses like education or fighting violent crime. By legalizing marijuana the government would be able to save about $7.7 billion a year (geekpolitics). Not only would law enforcement costs be cut by legalizing marijuana but the government would also receive an increase in tax revenue. If marijuana would be legal it would be sold in the same method as alcohol and cigarettes. This method would allow the government to keep a close watch on the production of the marijuana and control the business cycle of the drug (geek). The legal marijuana would be taxed in the same ways as cigarettes and alcohol and the companies who would produce the product would also be taxed. Licenses for the sale of the legal marijuana would also be applied which would allow tight restrictions on the sale of the drug as well as provide safety.

CBD has positive effects on reducing and managing psychotic, anxiety, and depressive-like behaviors. The mechanisms appear to be related to the CBD's benefit to provide enhanced neuroprotection and inhibition of excessive neuroinflammatory responses in neurodegenerative diseases and conditions. Common features involving neuroprotective mechanisms influenced by CBD—oxidative stress, immune mediators, and neurotrophic factors—are also important in conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), postconcussion syndrome, depression, and anxiety. Many studies confirm that the function of the ECS is markedly increased in response to pathogenic events like trauma. This fact, supports the role of cannabinoids and their interactions with CB1

First, let’s talk about the funds spent on marijuana. “60,000 individuals are behind bars for marijuana offenses at a cost to taxpayers of $1.2 billion per year. Taxpayers annually spend between $7.5 billion and $10 billion arresting and prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations” (Marijuana Decriminalization Talking Points). Legalizing marijuana will allow citizens to walk into a dispensary and pay for it

If marijuana were to be legalized than the government would benefit greatly from the taxes placed on it. “Legalization would generate tax revenue of roughly $8.7 billion if marijuana were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco,” (Miron). Along with the taxation on weed, the government would save money due to a decrease in the population of jails and prisons. In Colorado alone, “analysts suggest that taxing the drug could raise anywhere from $5 to $22 million annually,”

In current studies of working memory researchers have shown evidence that suggested impairment in encoding, storage, management and recovery in long-term of heavy cannabis users. Nonetheless, research has shown that there is little known about the effects of cannabis on brain activity. Research disputes the claim that cannabis has an effect on memory, suggests that impairments are not likely to be associated with acute intoxication .But, is instead related to the duration, frequency, dose and age of onset of cannabis use. The lack of sufficient evidence from recent studies of cannabis users in the un-intoxicated state to draw a connection to the long-term heavy cannabis use is associated with impaired memory function. In recent research is has suggested that cannabis users displayed greater and more widespread brain activity than non-cannabis user when attempting to perform a spatial working memory task (Solowij & Battisti, 2008). This has suggested that recent cannabis users may experience some neurophysiological deficits and because of this that working harder which calls upon additional brain regions to meet the needs of the task. This literature review considers that cannabis has no association to memory problem; not that of long-term, short-term and/or spatial working memory problem in relation to longtime user or

Review findings concluded that there is insufficient evidence to assess whether the all-cause mortality rate is elevated among cannabis users in the general population. There is not enough information to draw clear conclusions about the relationship between cannabis use and all-cause mortality. Indirect effects of cannabis use and associated mortality may also exist, such as the argument that cannabis use may be associated with other illicit drug

Money that is spent on the War against Drugs is about $75 billion a year for something that has not even come close to stopping the use of marijuana. 50 million people each year still try marijuana at least once with no adverse effects(Marijuana). This money is wasted, whereas the government could produce a revenue with the sale of marijuana. In fact 18 million people use marijuana once a month despite drug laws, and large amounts of people think it is acceptable(Marshall 89).

Psychomotor skills are affected with the consumption of marijuana. When drivers consume marijuana, they are more aware of their condition and tend to be careful by following the speed limit and traffic signs,

Let’s also assume that marijuana costs $15 a gram and of those 75,000,000 people smoking they smoke 5 grams a week. After calculations of 5 grams a week at $15 a gram times the 75,000,000 people that use, the total revenue would be $5,625,000,000, most of which if regulated by the government would be profit. Would it be more beneficial to society for this substantial amount of money to continue to be made by the illegal drug trade or the economy? Legalizing marijuana would also create jobs. The government would need to employ many Americans to produce and regulate the sales and distribution of the product. Facilities to grow and sell the product would be required and therefore people to run the facilities would be required. Another bonus is the fact that law enforcement can focus on other more serious crime issues within the community, instead of utilizing time and resources on marijuana. The number of people arrested yearly for marijuana offenses outweighs the total number arrested for violent crimes including murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. This also puts a strain on the prison systems that house these offenders which are mostly hard working Americans who simply smoke to relax. While these are all good points those who oppose the legalization state that marijuana is still a drug that alters perception, it is addictive, and long term use

Many people claim that there is no known case of people dying due to marijuana. This is a half truth since it’s not the marijuana itself that kills; it’s its side effects. Marijuana causes lung and throat cancer much like cigarettes. As a matter of fact, marijuana is worse for the lungs, since it contains three times as much tar as cigarettes and it’s usually smoked without a filter. They also claim there is not nearly as much crime due to marijuana use compared alcohol. This is also true but for one simple reason. Alcohol is legal and more easily accessible than marijuana. It’s the fact that marijuana is illegal that is keeping these numbers so low. Legalizing marijuana would be like adding fuel to a fire. If marijuana were to be legalized these number are sure to increase.

Alex Kreit states in the article “The Drug Decriminalization Option” that drug prohibition expenditures stand at around $30 billion overall, with marijuana law enforcement being $10 billion alone annually, federal expenditures stand at about $15 billion annually (Kreit, 2010). In an argument defending the criminalization of drugs, whatever data you use to backup your statements, it is impossible to deny the fact that drug enforcement spending consumes a significant percentage of the countries corrections and law enforcements resources. According to the article, there are studies which have found that increases in spending for drug enforcement lead to reductions in the budget for enforcement in non drug related crimes such as robberies. The money and taxes spent does not all have to go to law enforcement related expenses, the money could have been invested in education. Despite all the government spending on drug prohibition, there is not much evidence that these efforts have had an effect on the availability or drug use rates. According to the article, nearly half of high school seniors have used an illegal drug by the time they graduate, some say it is easier to obtain than legal substances such as alcohol. There is no reason for the