Talking About Marijuana

Cannabis Sativa Plant Better known as marijuana or weed, marijuana is often seen by the public as a dangerous drug that can lead to addiction, brain damage and even death. But, what exactly is in this plant? And how does it affect your body? To answer this question, I'm going to write some information about marijuana.

To understand marijuana, we have to start from scratch. What we know as marijuana are actually the leaves and flowers of the Cannabis plant. This part produces a variety of chemicals known as Cannabinoids. The most commonly used cannabinoids from marijuana are THC and CBD. In short, THC gets you "high" whereas CBD doesn't.

Let me explain. Cannabinoids are also produced naturally by our bodies. Natural cannabinoids in our body activate cannabinoid receptors which regulate various body functions.

There are two types of cannabinoid receptors. The first, CB1, regulates brain activity while the second, CB2, resets the immune system. THC affects the CB1 receptor which in turn results in a "higher" feeling. In contrast, CBD only affects CB2 receptors which do not affect brain function (unlike CB1 receptors). As a result, CBD doesn't make you feel "high." In the long run, marijuana use can be addictive. Especially if it starts in adolescence.

Less than 10% of all people who have ever tried marijuana become addicted. Those under the influence of marijuana have a twofold increased risk of traffic accidents. But wait a minute. The risks just mentioned sound familiar, don't they?

That's because the risks are the same for people who consume alcohol and tobacco. In fact, alcohol and tobacco have a much higher rate of addiction than marijuana. A total of 12% and 25% for alcohol and tobacco, respectively. What about traffic accidents? The risk of accidents increases 12-fold if a person uses alcohol. But of course, I'm not saying marijuana is risk-free.

It's true that marijuana can cause addiction and other negative effects on your body. However, it is strange that other, more dangerous substances are not only legal, but also easy to buy and access. On the other hand, marijuana is often banned even for medical purposes such as therapy and medication.

How is marijuana used in therapy and medicine?

More than 42 countries have legalized the use of medicinal cannabis. So the questions that arise are: What are these drugs? And how safe is it to use?

I will only discuss cannabis drugs that are legal and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. To date, the FDA has approved one drug that is extracted from marijuana and two that contain synthetic compounds that resemble marijuana. Namely: Epidiolex which is made from pure CBD, and Dronabinol and Nabilone which contain synthetic THC.

Epidiolex is extracted purely from the cannabis plant and is used to treat seizures due to Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, which are rare types of epilepsy. which appears at a young age.

Research has shown that Epidiolex is effective in reducing the occurrence of seizures by up to 50%. The FDA even recommends using Epidiolex for children as young as two years old. Meanwhile, Dronabinol and Nabilone aim to treat anorexia sufferers. As well as reducing the symptoms of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

The use of Dronabinol has long-term anorexia effectiveness, in contrast to other drugs whose effectiveness decreases after 4 weeks. And Nabilone was shown to reduce the severity of nausea due to chemotherapy by 77%.

The existence of this drug is very important. The reason is, the majority of patients who need it have no alternative or do not have a positive response to other drugs. However, of course this drug is not free from its own risks.

The use of Epidiolex can cause: difficulty sleeping, indigestion, fatigue, and upset stomach. Whereas Dronabinol and Nabilone can cause: loss of coordination, increased anxiety, nausea, dizziness, etc.

So does this mean we should ban all drugs made from marijuana? Of course not, because all drugs have their own side effects and risks.

Even the side effects of Epidiolex are the same as the side effects of paracetamol, which you can easily buy at the pharmacy. Of course, excessive and uncontrolled use of marijuana has its risks.

However, on the other hand, safe and controlled use of marijuana has been shown to help chronic disease sufferers to live life more easily.

And with all the data I have, it's really strange that we still choose to view marijuana as a crime. In fact, marijuana is nothing more than a plant and how we use it determines whether marijuana will do any harm or help.