It’s time to put our tails between our legs and blaze it, medical marijuana is going to be legal in all states pretty soon. People in 29 states including the U.S. District of Columbia are smoking away their pain without worrying about the cops. Sure, that seems like something that every semi-with it person knows, but when you see the numbers it’s frustrating, for some, blood boiling.
In 2015 Opioid overdoses were up to 33,000…. THIRTY-THREE THOUSAND. The addiction level is unreal. This is why the work our speaker, Folabomi Oladosu, is so important. Her idea to regulate the people that are prescribed opioids and attempting to cure chronic pain is one way to get us out of this mess. Lifelong addictions to Vicodin and other opioids could also be corrected with the use of marijuana. Scientific American states that “multiple studies have shown that pro-medical marijuana states have reported fewer opiate deaths and there are no deaths related to marijuana overdose on record” (Grover, 2017 & Cohen, 2017). People are testing/creating new medicines that contain THC and CBD extracts, one guy in New York is even trying a chewing gum- neat! Natalie Grover mentions Israel-based Intec and their recent announcement concerning their work on early-stages of testing of THC and CBD extracted painkiller as well.
Grover quotes California-based Nemu’s CEO Brian Murphy who told Reuters that,” doctors like to be able to write a prescription and know that whatever they wrote is pure and from a blinded, placebo-controlled trial.” To think, there is more confidence in prescribing a Schedule 1 drug than the legal stuff. It’s baffling, it’s dumbfounding, it’s 2017 so when the heck are they going to jump on board? I mean, have they not seen the emotional recking Facebook video of a child who stops seizing because her parent fed her a daily dose of medical Mary Jane? Or even the babies that are born addicted to opioids?
This whole situation is just some messed up boo-hunky. From a biologist standpoint, it’s frustrating to watch something being done so wrong. Scientific American headlined this article, “medical weed is a popular way to manage chronic pain.” Other than opioid abuse, it has helped cancer patients, those who suffer with seizures, and a less intense but still very serious problem, anxiety disorders. Grover says that there are other non-opioid painkillers under research as we speak, but as a community we are much closer to seeing medical marijuana be a part of our lives sooner than we think (and sooner than some pharmaceutical companies would like).
As depressing as it sounds, this is good news. We are close. Oh, so, close, to more than just hippies and their freedom, but to actual medical breakthroughs on large communities of people.
Grover, N. (2017, June 23). High Hopes Ride on Marijuana Amid Opioid Crisis. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/high-hopes-ride-on-marijuana-amid-opioid-crisis/
Cohen, R. (2017, Mar 27). Would legalizing medical marijuana help curb the opioid epidemic?. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-addiction-medical-marijuana/would-legalizing-medical-marijuana-help-curb-the-opioid-epidemic-idUSKBN16Y2HV
No comments:
Post a Comment