The Cannabis Genomic Research Initiative

A Biology Case Study on Whether Cannabis Should be reclassified to a Class B Drug

Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Many people are under the assumption that Marijuana is a harmful drug and receive heavy criticism because of stereotypical view people have on “pot smokers” or “pot heads. However it is a well know fact that people

Thesis Statement: Marijuana has been regarded as a harmful plant that can endanger lives and is thought to be nothing more than an extra problem to be dealt with in today’s society. However, based on its economic value and medical benefits, the cannabis has proven to outweigh its negatives with numerous other positives.

Before the crackdown on marijuana growers, the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a molecule that the plant had developed, levels in ordinary marijuana ranged only from 2 to 3 percent, but now that the plant has been move indoors the THC levels have become 20 percent and upward. This is only one reason why marijuana growers are the best gardeners of Pollan’s generation.

In the United States, marijuana for medical purposes has gained more prevalence in current political discourse than in previous years. Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a flowering plant that originally came from South and Central Asia. For centuries, the cannabis plant has been used for many natural products such as seed oils, seed, fiber that is used to make hemp products and contains over four hundred chemicals, some of which have an antibiotic like effect (Nordqvist, 2013). Studies have shown that two of the chemicals, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD), have a positive effect on humans for mild to moderate painkilling effects and sedative effects (Nordqvist, 2013). The purpose of this paper is

Hall, P. W., & Degenhardt, P. L. (2009, October). Adverse Health Effects of Non-Medical Cannabis Use. The Lancet, 374(9698), 1383-1391.

McGrath, J., Welham, J., Scott, J., Varghese, D., Degenhardt, L., & Hayatbakhsh, M. et al. (2010). Association Between Cannabis Use and Psychosis-Related Outcomes Using Sibling Pair Analysis in a Cohort of Young Adults. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 67 (5), 440. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.6

Medical cannabis could revolutionise modern medicine, with its healing powers that could aid in the healing of terminal cancer, depression and anxiety (Everett, 2014). The more that people become aware of medical cannabis and it’s healing powers, there will be an increase of the acceptance of it within society. (Benac, 2014)

Learning information has engaged and interested me throughout the courses I have taken; however, the opportunity to discover new information through research is one of my most intellectually stimulating experiences. With my goal to learn as much as possible under Dr. Nolan Kane, the Professional Investigator of the Cannabis Genomic Research Initiative (CGRI), I have expanded my traditional bench lab experience to bioinformatics, hemp breeding, and leading designing and performing my own project examining differential protein expression in Cannabis. Although I am deeply fascinated by a four letter code that encodes the human body, I am also providing myself the freedom within my research to learn about other organisms and genetic diseases that I hope to treat within my career.

AMS is an indica dominant hybrid (70% indica/30% sativa) strain. AMS buds have an intensely sweet aroma of sour grapefruit and a memorable taste of sweet sugary citrus with a surprisingly sour aftertaste. These buds have small fluffy yet dense bright neon green popcorn-shaped nugs with long twisty fiery orange hairs and a frosty layer of thick chunky white trichomes with sweet sticky resin.

Recently, Anythink Libraries organized a ‘Careers in Cannabis’ panel that is a part of the Anythink Startup in the September month. This brought a triad of exclusive pot-industry executives to discuss the rewards and challenges of being a part of this unique trade. However, this is nothing less than just the tip of an iceberg full of marijuana multimedia.

Based on what Maggie Fox’s article called, “FDA committee recommends cannabis-based drug,” says I can most definitely conclude that this is a cannabis-based drug that has been safely tested so that kids with the two types of epileptic syndromes, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, can live a normal life as well as possibly helping people with other conditions, such as anxiety, AIDs, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis. Based on how this article explains how much this new medicine called, Epidiolex, could help kids with these rare and severe epileptic conditions and other conditions that is may help with as well, which really helps to show how important marijuana can be for people on the medical spectrum. The company that made this

Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (“Marijuana” 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel “high” or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (“Marijuana” 1). Like most drugs, marijuana has a very long history. People have been using the plant around the world for thousands of years. The oldest record of the marijuana plant dates back to 2727 B. C. in China where the plant was used as a medical herb for treating conditions like rheumatism, gout, malaria and even absent-mindedness (“Cannabis, Coca, & Poopy: Nature’s Addictive Plants” 1). Slowly, the plant started spreading around the world. By 1545, cannabis was starting to appear throughout the western worlds. Being introduced to South America by the Spanish to be used as fiber. The crop also had many other common uses around the world. In North America, cannabis was often used to make paper, ropes, clothing and other materials (“The Origins of Cannabis” 1).

“Medicinal marijuana does more harm to our society than it does good.” This is a common misconception from those who oppose medicinal marijuana, and are ill informed of the practical uses. In this day and age there are many advances in medicine, and ways to treat and even cure some diseases or disorders. But due to the bad stigma that surrounds marijuana, there are people who refuse to acknowledge possibilities of medicinal properties. In this paper I will give examples of a few major breakthroughs that medicinal marijuana has achieved in the previous years that prove marijuana can be suitable to use as a medicine.

Research in cannabis is at across road across the globe, mainly from two different perspectives”