Md. ponders use of marijuana
Casey Prather/ The Towerlight
Supporters of medical marijuana continue to push for the legalization of the drug for licensed patients in Maryland through a proposed bill, The Medical Marijuana Act, or HB 15.
The bill would allow the medicinal use of marijuana in Maryland as early as September.
If passed, state-licensed growers would control the growth of medical marijuana.
According to Donna Cox, a professor in the department of health science, the bill is a step toward increasing the quality of life of those who would benefit from medical marijuana.
Patients with a documented medical reason for a medical marijuana prescription wouldn’t have to go through the process of hiring lawyers and going to court for treatment.
“For people who need it, and it’s something that physicians are endorsing for their patients, then the state would like to be able to accommodate that,” she said.
Even though medical marijuana remains prohibited at the federal level, 16 states and Washington, D.C., permit some form of its use. Currently, Maryland law does not protect the possession of medical marijuana.
William Rynn, a sophomore secondary education major at Towson, said marijuana is a more natural alternative to prescription pain killers often given to patients after surgery or to those suffering from certain diseases.
“I absolutely support it,” Rynn said. “It has been shown to help treat glaucoma.”
Other students remain indifferent.
Kasey Acito, a junior athletic training major, said her lack of experience with marijuana prevents her from understanding its benefits.
“I have always been told that smoking and drugs are bad for you,” Acito said. “I don’t understand how [marijuana] is going to make anyone feel better or why it should be legalized. But if it does make people feel better, go for it.”
Issues such as monitoring and controlling the production and distribution of the drug to protect the public must be taken into account as the state moves toward the legalization of marijuana, according to Cox.
“[The state] has to consider its responsibilities that are associated with recognizing that marijuana is still a drug,” Cox said. “They have to enforce the law in regards to trafficking.”
Cox also said that medical marijuana should have to go through the same scrutiny as any other FDA-approved drug.
“There is variability in the product,” she said. “Any time you’re going to label something as a drug that is going to ease pain and provide medical benefit, then there should be some kind of quality control over the dose.”
Rynn said Food and Drug Administration regulations shouldn’t matter because of the organic state of marijuana.
“Marijuana is completely natural and not harmful,” he said. “The Food and Drug Administration approves a lot of drugs that can seriously damage your body, so there’s no reason why the regulations should be an issue anyway.”
Amrith Wadhera, a cultural studies major and a member of the Towson University chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said that supporters can come to group meetings to discuss their efforts.
They talk about the issue at every meeting and screen films on medical marijuana to increase awareness and understanding of the drug, according to Wadhera.
- Sarah Becker contributed to this article
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Jesus said to do unto others as we would have them to do unto us. None of us would want our child or grandchild thrown in jail with the sexual predators over marijuana. None of us would want to see an older family member’s home confiscated and sold by the police for growing a couple of marijuana plants for their aches and pains.
If the people who want to use marijuana could grow a few plants in their own back yards, it would be about as valuable as home-grown tomatoes; it would put the drug gangs out of business and get them out of our neighborhoods.
It is so irresponsible of our national and state governments to keep the laws criminalizing cannabis on the books. It is no longer a matter of wasted taxpayer dollars and good people getting arrested and mixed in with criminals. Now, we have a raging drug war just south of our border where thousands of people are being killed. This is not an exageration. More people have been murdered than the Americans we lost in Iraq AND Afghanistan. And this drug war is showing signs of crossing our borders as these Mexican gangsters become more and more powerful and thus, more and more bold.
Perhaps most important and certainly most practical for all Americans- did anyone hear about our budget deficit? Our economy is not doing so well. Can we really afford the millions of dollars of taxpayer money thrown away over this ridiculousness? And consider the alternative. Make cannabis legal, regulate it (redirect law enforcement to a useful purpose), and TAX IT. Think about what our ever money-hungry governments would do without its nicotine and alcohol taxes- two legal drugs that actually are harmful to people. Imagine the windfall for governments at local, state, and national levels by being able to tax cannabis sales.
We elect politicians to represent us. These cannabis laws, supposedly in existence to protect us from ourselves, are morally wrong. People are dying in large numbers over this. Good people are going to jail in this country over this. And folks, we’re broke, already taxed enough for things we shouldn’t be, and could really use the money. Our politicians should be able to do this sort of critical thinking. Aren’t they supposed to be our leaders? Leadership is about taking accountability. A person bent on dramatizing all this could argue that the politicians who are not doing anything about these terrible laws have blood on their hands. It is at least the case that they are acting irresponsibly and unethically. Not thinking things through is acceptable for some people, but should not be for leaders who are responsible for others. Our politicians are morally and intellectually asleep. Let us wake them.
Here is an opportunity for Towson University to educate its student body (and apparently some of its professors) about the now well-established link between marijuana use and subsequent psychotic disorders. For starters, you can google “paranoia” and “marijuana” and see how very many posts there are on message boards from users desperate to understand why marijuana is making them paranoid (and some of the answers would be funny if not so sad). But for a more in-depth understanding, the TowerLight should purchase a copy of the excellent documentary put out on the subject by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (produced by David Suzuki – yes, that David Suzuki, the environmentalist extraordinaire) entitled “The Downside of High”. A preview can be seen on youtube: “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PP8tsmW9Z0″, but if you purchase a copy ($75 for a site license), you could help educate your fellow students by providing viewing opportunities on campus.
For the more academically inclined, I can recommend a brief search on google scholar for epidemiological studies of cannabis conducted by eminent schizophrenia researchers: Robin Murray, Cecile Henquet, John McGrath, Mikkel Arendt, Stanley Zammit, or Jim Van Os. Dr. Arendt has shown (2008 study) that close to half those who experience cannabis-induced symptoms of psychosis (such as paranoia) will go on to develop full blown schizophrenia, which is generally a life long disease.
I have no problem with this, as long as it is regulated like any prescription drug, and that doctors who prescribe it for headaches are dealt with as legally harshly as they would be for any other misappropriated prescription. The dispensaries cannot be the case here in MD.
If the ill need this, let’s do it. If it’s an excuse to make it easier for potheads, not worth it.
And thanks for a dose of reality, Mom with a PhD. Tired of hearing the nonsense you normally get from folks like MD Business Owner. Fix the deficit, hah. Yes, we will tax a trillion dollars out of marijuana sales. Buddy, if the taxed weed is that high, people will just buy from dealers.
I would like to address “Mom w a PhD”. I am very familiar with the articles that she cites that link marijuana use to schizophrenia and psychosis. They are of questionable accuracy and are without merit.
Having worked in Neurology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and having a research degree (Master of Science – Applied Psychology) I also have a medical condition that has improved with marijuana use.
Have you critically read the articles and have you reviewed who has funded the articles that you cite?
Have you looked at the funding sources?
Have you actually read the associated articles in the same critical light?
Are you a researcher in a field that is relevant or related?
If you indeed have your PhD, is it in a field where you have been educated in reading between the lines in published research (critical reading for contradictions, misstatements, generalizations, fact checks)?
From your comments I can only assume that your PhD is in a field that is not medical. Your comments on Schizophrenia demonstrate your ignorance.
Just because you “have a PhD” does not automatically make you an expert or authority on anything – except maybe your dissertation – whatever that was on.
Stop disseminating disinformation and fostering ignorance. Please, do your research and stop the propaganda. All you are doing is perpetuating lies.
To Alan,
Your condition has not improved from Marihuana, perhaps it lessened spasticity or reduced tremors but it did not improve your condition.
Here are just a few quotes from the MS Society website which tend to contradict how much of a wonder drug supporters think marihuana is…
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/what-we-know-about-ms/treatments/complementary–alternative-medicine/marijuana/index.aspx
“Another recent study highlighted the impact of cannabis on cognition. Since MS can impair thinking, and previous studies suggest that smoking cannabis also impairs thinking, investigators at the University of Toronto investigated how cannabis use influenced cognition specifically in people with MS. Their study, published in Neurology (2011;76:1153-1160), measured cognitive function in 25 people with MS who regularly smoked or ingested street cannabis, compared to 25 people with MS who did not use cannabis. The users were tested at least 12 hours after last using cannabis so that intoxication was minimized. By matching the groups and also controlling for differences in terms of disease course and duration, age, gender, education and other factors, the cannabis users were found to perform significantly worse on measures of information processing speed, working memory, executive functions and other cognitive functions, and were twice as likely as nonusers to be considered “cognitively impaired.” The study confirmed for the first time that cannabis can worsen cognitive problems in MS.
“More Research Required
There is a very real need for additional therapies to treat stubborn and often painful symptoms of MS. However, based on the studies to date — and the fact that long-term use of marijuana may be associated with significant, serious side effects — it is the opinion of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Medical Advisory Board that there are currently insufficient data to recommend marijuana or its derivatives as a treatment for MS symptoms. Research is continuing to determine if there is a possible role for marijuana or its derivatives in the treatment of MS. In the meantime, other well tested, FDA-approved drugs are available (including baclofen and tizanidine) to reduce spasticity in MS.
FEED THEM THE FACTS, NOT OPINIONS…
John -
The fact that it has lessened the spacicity and tremors is indeed an improvement in my condition John.
As for cognitive impairment – it is no different than if you asked me to do some algebra after a glass of wine – I’d be slower at it and more likely to make an error. What’s the difference?
As for fact vs opinion – you are right – it is a fact that my condition is improved when I smoke marijuana. It is not your position to define what is a positive result or not.
Get off the drug war propaganda campaign, let adults choose their treatment that is most effective for them. You are not the one who has to live with a debilitating, degenerative, and painful illness.
“FEED THEM THE FACTS, NOT OPINIONS…” (John)
Alan,
I’m not the one contradicting what you claim. It’s none other then the National MS society who dispute your claims. Is it not their position to make such assumptions?? Bb
I am not a doctor. And I know that marijuana helps with the symptoms of my condition. But the prescription drugs they want to put me on (and have put me on) do approximately the same thing. You know what the difference is? Nasty side effects. Something I would have to live with the entire time I would be on the medication, which would be the rest of my life. I’ve experienced them and I’m not willing to settle for nausea, headaches, dizziness, passing out, abdominal weight gain, cold sweats, drowsiness, feeling out of it, itchy skin and throwing up just for some relief when there is a natural medication that I have self medicated with for the past 7 years that has NONE of those side effects I have experienced. I have used cannabis regularly the entire time and I have no mental health conditions, even to a degree, such as schizophrenia or paranoia. I am a normal, 29 year old female and I function everyday to full mental capacity. As for Maryland passing an affirmative defense to claim medical necessity if they’re caught with marijuana, good luck finding a doctor to back you up. I’ve tried many times. I’m met with hang ups, attitude and downright scoffing from the staff like I’m some kind of dope head, scum of the earth loser just looking for their next fix. All I want is relief on my terms from a PLANT. A plant that has shown itself to be a godsend to me where prescription drugs have failed miserably. I also want to be treated with respect for my choice of medication, not looked down upon like I have no control of my life and the drug rules me. It doesn’t and I have full control. Now if I just didn’t have to go to questionable places to obtain my medication, life would be a lot easier.
Just my two cents from a patient’s perspective…
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