Facts About weeds

Oftentimes for marijuana it seems that the evidence you find depends on which side of the argument you identify with. For example, Schaffer Library of Drug Policy and the Indiana Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) Drug Task Force are both proponents of legalizing marijuana.

 Both cite the lack overdose deaths as a verification of their cause. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) which is against marijuana published a report in 2002 citing two overdose deaths from marijuana how to stop smoking weed, one in Atlanta and one in Boston. However further research turned up no information about these two deaths. From this data, it seems that my husband's co-worker was right; marijuana hasn't killed anyone from an overdose. As I delved further into this issue though, I discovered that to stop at this point is misleading at best 

Modern Usage

Today in many parts of India and especially in Ayer Vedic medicine marijuana is used to treat a wide range of ailments. It is also used as a sedative, an analgesic, an anti-hemorrhoid and an antispasmodic.

One might infer marijuana is only used in 'backward' Asian countries with no knowledge of modern medical practices, But one would be wrong. Napoleon's army used it to treat burns, as a sedative and as a pain reliever. In the United States in 1961 the National Institute of Mental Health did a study that indicated marijuana could be used for epilepsy, infant convulsions, treatment of tetanus, convulsions of rabies, treatment of depression, as a sedative and hypnotic in relieving anxiety and has antibiotic properties.

Today physicians prescribe medicinal marijuana to stimulate the appetite of AIDS patients, treat glaucoma and multiple sclerosis and reduce nausea for cancer patients. The British House of Lords in a 2001 report stated marijuana could be used to treat migraine headaches, schizophrenia, asthma, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and general pain. Doctors also acknowledge it can help to treat high blood pressure.

Marijuana use in the United States has been increasing dramatically, spurred by recent legislation authorizing medical use of marijuana and decriminalizing possession of small amounts of this plant. In fact, marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the country, with users numbering in the tens of millions. A recent study by the Monitoring the Future Survey even concluded that marijuana use has overtaken tobacco use by teens. Use of this drug has been popularized on television and in movies and in general there seems to be an overall attitude that the drug is fairly harmless. However, few people are willing to admit that marijuana is physically addicting just like any other drug and there are serious health risks associated with its long-term use.

Medical Marijuana Movement

There is a major movement, particularly in California, to make medicinal marijuana readily available to patients through medicinal marijuana stores. California medicinal marijuana dispensaries and medicinal marijuana clinics, many of which are run by medicinal marijuana collectives and marijuana doctors, seek to make medicinal marijuana available to patients with medical weed cards that legally allow them to receive medical marijuana strains to treat a variety of illnesses. Medical marijuana is truly becoming a herb for the healing of the nation.

The problem with saying that marijuana hasn't killed anyone is the frequency with which marijuana is combined with other drugs. For the thirty one cities that were included in DAWN's marijuana report, only twenty-three percent of the reported marijuana deaths involved marijuana alone. The other seventy-seven percent were deaths where the deceased had used marijuana in combination with another drug or alcohol. Even proponents of marijuana suggest that it is not good to mix the drug with anything else because of health risks. It may be true that no one has ever overdosed and died on marijuana alone. However the health risks associated with marijuana use, especially if you have other medical conditions, and the frequency with which marijuana is combined with other drugs makes this a poor argument for legalization.

The real problem with marijuana and addiction is that most people either don't notice it or by the nature of their own addiction can't notice it. And because the effects of even chronic, long-term marijuana use are not easily noticeable, addiction to marijuana can go completely undetected and therefore unresolved for years- even decades. This is a real threat to human health because over time smoking marijuana will cause adverse mental and physical health effects. Additionally, being addicted to any substance makes a person much more susceptible to becoming addicted to another substance.