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Marijuana Medical Benefits

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Marijuana has been used for its medicinal properties dating back to 2737 B.C. when it was used by the Chinese. From the Chinese, it began to spread throughout Asia and continually outward. Many different cultures began to use marijuana as a form of treatment for certain ailments. While there is a lot of debate on what exactly marijuana treats, there seems to be an overall consensus that it does provide some medical benefits. By delving into the history of marijuana use and its effects, one can see how this affects individuals in modern time, specifically focusing on high school/college students. In order to properly understand the history of marijuana, one needs to understand what exactly the drug is. Marijuana is a variety of the plant Cannabis …show more content…

However, the most common medical benefits from this drug is the alleviation of the following: appetite loss, nausea, chronic pain, anxiety, sleeping disorders, muscle spasms, and intraocular pressure. This has been confirmed by a small number of controlled studies (Caulkins et al. 95). Medical marijuana largely works because of its main active ingredient, THC (a cannabinoid) . Endocannabiniods are produced in the body which help regulate the response to stimuli. Endocannabiniods have a large amount of receptors, mainly in the brain. THC binds itself to these receptors which give the various effects such as alleviating pain but this also results in the user becoming …show more content…

Washington and Colorado were the first two states in America that allowed the sale of marijuana to its residents over the age of 21. According to Bushan, "Both states found previous marijuana regulatory laws to be an inefficient use of law enforcement resources that could be better utilized by targeting violent crimes instead" (192). This means that these states have decided that using resources on relatively minor marijuana-related offenses could be put to better use. So far, legalization seems to be working in the states favors. According to drugpolicy.org, the rate of low-level offenses have lowered while tax revenue increased. Since 2012, Oregon, California, Nevada, Alaska, Maine, and Massachusetts have also legalized recreational

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