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Bridget Phillips
Uinise T. Langi
ENGL-1010-087-Sp16
28 April 2016
Imagine living in constant physical or mental pain with no real cure and the only
available treatments are ineffective or have terrible side effects. Yet using a safe treatment that
has large amounts of supporting data and has been scientifically proven to help as well as even
cure unbearable diseases is illegal. Would you be a patient or a criminal? This treatment is
known as medical cannabis and while this plant is illegal in some parts of the world, it might be
safer, as well as better, than most legal treatments. The legalization of medical cannabis should
occur because of the plant itself, the legal history, the numerous medical uses, and the impact
that medical cannabis can have on the world if decriminalized.
Otherwise known as marijuana, cannabis refers to a genus of Magnoliophyta or a
flowering plant that has three main species: sativa, indica, and ruderalis. Indigenous to Asia, this
plant has psychological as well as physiological effects and is in the family of Cannabaceae. The
psychoactive compound of cannabis is the chemical Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and is
released when heated. Thus, if you just ate the uncooked plant, there wouldnt be any effects of
intoxication. Another aspect of cannabis is cannabidiol (CBD), which refers to one of the
hundreds of cannabinoids in cannabis that appears to relieve anxiety, nausea, convulsion, and
inflammation. With a lifespan of a year, the plant is also dioecious with digitate leaves with
serrate leaflets. Although the plant has been considered as a Schedule 1 substance by the federal
government, the plant has numerous medical uses. In the United States, cannabis is legal for
medical uses in 25 states and recreationally in 4 states.

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Of the three main species of cannabis, sativa generally has the higher ratio of cannabidiol
to tetrahydrocannabinol. They are tall plants with wiry stocks as well as thin leaves. Native to the
warm climates of Central America, Asia, and Mexico, a healthy sativa crop is capable of
reaching up to 18 feet tall. Sativa is said to be energizing and is used for enhancing energy and
treating depression. Professors Pearce, Mitsouras, and Irizarry discussed how sativa produced a
psychedelic intoxication as well as having effects of possible paranoia with a lack of nausea and
sedation (3). Best used during the day, people who use this species of cannabis are said to be
uplifted, focused, and creative.
As for indica, this species of cannabis generally has a higher ratio of THC to cannabidiol.
They are short plants with dense foliage, full-figured leaves, and higher resin production. Native
to the harsher mountain regions of the Middle East, a healthy indica plant is capable of reaching
up to six feet tall. The effect of indica is lethargy; it is used for pain relief as well as insomnia.
Pearce, Mitsouras, and Irizarry also discussed how indica is capable of helping with headaches,
glaucoma, neuropathy, spasticity, and seizures. Best used during the night, people who use this
species of cannabis are said to be calm, relaxed, and stay sedated for a longer time than with
sativa.
Ruderalis is a subspecies of sativa and while similar, the shrub-like appearance and
undomesticated nature of the plant differs the herb from its counterpart. Originating in Russia,
this species is able to withstand harsher environments than any other cannabis genus and can
flower at any light cycle throughout the year. Ruderalis can also easily breed with other types of
cannabis because of its autoflowering trait or capability to flower on their own without the need
to alter light cycles. This species is capable of having advanced potency and cannabis is bred

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with ruderalis to increase yields and hardiness. With naturally low levels of THC, this species is
closely related to hemp due to the lack of psychoactive components.
One of the earlier forms of cannabis is hemp, which is grown for industrial uses through
using the plants seeds, oil, and fiber. With numerous uses, hemp can be used in the manufacture
of clothing, rope, mulch, paper, insulation, and even be made into biodegradable plastics. By
being high in protein, the fiber can also be ingested and made into hemp milk, cereal, grain,
waffles, flour, protein powder, and basically any other form of nourishment. As one of the
earliest domesticated plants known, hemp has been used for millennia and was grown in
Neolithic Age of China, late medieval Italy, Germany, and New England. In 1619 America, an
act was passed for all farmers in Virginia to grow hemp. Hemp was also well known to be a cash
crop to make fabric and rope. Several American Presidents even farmed hemp including George
Washington. However, as cannabis became outlawed in the 1930s, an act was passed that
destroyed the hemp industry in America.
Although there are the three main types of cannabis, there are hundreds of hybrids that
have different effects, flavors, symptoms, and medicinal uses. While diverse, the breeding of
hybrids allows for specific strains of cannabis to have specific results with different ratios of
THC and cannabidiol as well as capabilities to treat certain diseases. For example, one strain is
Pineapple Krush, which was bred to have the aroma of pineapple, taste like pineapple, and helps
with stress. Another hybrid of cannabis is known as Snowcap, which has the aroma of lemon,
tastes like citrus, has effects of increased energy, and also helps with stress and pain. Similarly,
Dutch Treat has the aroma of pine, tastes sweet, has effects of contentment, and is capable of
helping with depression. Whether the hybrid is sativa dominant, indica dominant, or a balanced

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hybrid, through breeding, cannabis is capable of treating even more diseases with hybrids having
various effects and new medicinal properties.
Cannabis has been used medically and recreationally for centuries. While the earliest
recorded use was from 3000 B.C.E., the plant didnt spread to the northern hemisphere until
around 1500 A.D. Then, beginning in the 20th century, a majority of western countries enacted
laws against cannabis use, cultivation, and the transfer of the plant. In America, Mexican
immigration increased during the 1930s and one of the plants they brought over was a plant
known as marihuana. While Americans were familiar with cannabis, marihuana was actually a
different plant and they used this drug as a way to discriminate against Mexican immigrants. As
more and more false, as well as racist, claims were made, on August 2, 1937, the Marihuana Tax
Act of 1937 occurred. This act grouped the two different plants of marihuana and cannabis
together as one and the same and they were made illegal. Because of racism, a plant that
Americans had used for centuries became a criminal substance.
However, years later, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was ruled as unconstitutional and
another act was used to keep cannabis illegal. This act was known as the Controlled Substances
Act and had scheduled rankings for substances based on abuse capabilities as well as their
dangerousness, with Schedule 5 being the safest and Schedule 1 being the most hazardous. This
occurred during the War on Drugs, which was an anti-drug campaign created by President Nixon
beginning in the late 60s. Racism occurred again because minorities continued to be targeted in
this act and were more likely to be arrested for the possession of drugs. In fact, because of fear,
African Americans would be portrayed as heroine users and hippies as marijuana users.
Although Cannabis is still illegal in many parts of the world, the plant is becoming legal
again in other areas. With the use of breeding, the tetrahydrocannabinol is reduced and makes the

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other medicinal compounds like cannabidiol more potent. While there are numerous ways to get
the medical benefits of cannabis, the most common ways include inhaling and eating the plant.
Through smoking or vaporizing cannabis, THC is metabolized by the nervous system and effects
can occur in as quickly as ten minutes and fade within a couple of hours. Through ingesting
cannabis with cannabis infused edibles, the liver metabolizes THC and effects can occur after an
hour and last several hours.
Cannabis is capable of treating numerous illnesses, yet because its illegal and is grouped
with truly dangerous drugs, has a lack of data, and racism, patients have to choose from more
dangerous treatments. A common legal treatment for pain is opioids, which have common side
effects of dependency, reduced energy, immunosuppression, abnormal pain sensitivity,
respiratory failure, hypoxia, seizures, heart failure, depression, and death. Over 10,000 people a
year die from opioid overdose in the United States. An illegal treatment is cannabis, which has
possible side effects of intoxication, increased heart rate, muscle relaxation, and redness of the
eyes. There has never been a recorded overdose death from cannabis. In countries where medical
cannabis is legal, it helps in treating PTSD, depression, cancer, autoimmune diseases, autism,
chronic pain, epilepsy, AIDS, HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STI), insomnia, nightmares,
and mental illness.
Cannabis is also capable of treating numerous types of cancers. Cancer refers to diseases
involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to spread to other parts of the body. With over
a hundred types of cancer, cannabis has been shown to treat weight loss, nausea and neuropathy
from chemotherapy, pain, depression, and insomnia. This plant also has possible anti-cancer
effects and while not proven, has been shown to kill cancer cells by having THC slightly shift the
cancer cells mitochondria. Doctor Abrams discussed how cannabis strains with high levels of

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CBD have more pain reduction with analgesic effects because the chemical seems to activate
endogenous cannabinoid complexes or CB1 receptors that deal with pain-sensation. Therefore,
while cannabis hasnt been proven to cure cancer, this plant has been shown to treat symptoms
from this disease as well as effects from chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Cannabis is also capable of treating autoimmune diseases such as Crohns Disease, celiac
disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren Syndrome, and Graves Disease.
Autoimmune diseases refer to diseases involving the immune system attacking the bodys
healthy cells. With 80 types of autoimmune diseases, cannabis is resourceful with immune
suppression as well as treating symptoms through minimizing inflammation and immune
response. Suppression occurs because of tetrahydrocannabinol altering histones in DNA to
reduce inflammation as well as affecting epigenetic pathways in DNA to lower the bodys
immune response. Similar to cannabis response to cancer, autoimmune diseases arent cured by
cannabis, yet this plant has been shown to treat numerous symptoms as well as effectively reduce
the immune systems response to healthy cells.
Unlike the other conditions that cannabis can help with, the only treatment for epilepsy
that works it cannabis. This neurological disorder disturbs nerve cell activity and causes seizures
or abnormal muscle spasms. Cannabis is capable of reducing seizure activity through strains that
are rich in cannabidiol and can remedy epileptic symptoms such as headaches, cramps, and
vomiting. In Utah, cannabis is a legal treatment for certain children with epilepsy and while this
plant may have different effects on the occurrence level of seizures, cannabis can still treat other
epileptic symptoms.
Another type of disease treated by cannabis is chronic pain such as visceral, neurogenic,
and somatic pain. Chronic pain refers to persistent pain that can lasts more than six months from

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multiple areas of the body including internal organs known as visceral, nerves or neurogenic, and
somatic from skin as well as deep tissues. While pain can be caused from others diseases such as
cancer, there are numerous other causes. Cannabis has been a therapy for chronic pain since as
early as 2700 B.C.E. Cannabis can treat chronic pain by altering the inflammatory process,
affecting the patients perception of pain, and even affecting the nervous system similar to the
synthetic anesthetic compound known as lidocaine. Professors Martn-Snchez, Furukawa,
Taylor, and Martin referred to using cannabis for chronic pain as capable of causing analgesia, or
the inability to feel pain, as well as antinociception, or the process of blocking injurious stimuli
(10). Thus, cannabinoid receptors relieve pain by residing in the areas responsible for producing
pain sensations and can treat chronic pain as well as reduce the need for opioids.
With diseases in the group of mental illnesses, cannabis is capable of treating depression,
bipolar disorder, anxiety, as well as various other mental disorders. Mental illness refers to
conditions that effects mood, behavior, and thought processing with depression involving severe
despondency, bipolar disorder involving manic and depressive episodes, and anxiety. Cannabis
can treat depression by increasing the growth of nervous tissue or neurogenesis as well as
stimulating multiple systems such as the endocannabinoid system that deals with the
physiological process of emotional states. Bipolar disorder is treated with cannabis by acting as a
mood stabilizer with THC having antidepressant effects and cannabidiol having anti-anxiety
effects. As for anxiety, cannabis can treat this disorder through cannabidiol regulating anxiety
and cannabinoid receptors being responsible for anxiety control. Cannabis is capable of treating
numerous mental disorders with the plants capability to regulate emotion, behavior, and though
processing.

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Another mental disorder treatable with cannabis is post-traumatic stress disorder or
PTSD. This health condition involves being triggered by terrifying events or experiences and is
common among military veterans. Cannabis treats PTSD because the cannabidoid system is
related to memory, specifically useful memory extinction and even reduces the patients
association between the stimuli and traumatic event. Professors Betthauser, Pils, and Vollmer
discussed how the use of cannabis can control PTSD symptoms by reducing anxiety, decreasing
insomnia, and improving the patients coping ability (5). Therefore, cannabis treats multiple
symptoms of PTSD and may even improve the patients quality of life.
A common argument against medical cannabis is the possibility that cannabis could be a
gateway drug. This term refers to the theory that using a drug will make you more likely to use
other drugs. According to the gateway drug theory, by using cannabis, you could be more likely
to use cocaine or heroin. Professors Wayne Hall and Michael Lynskey discussed how there
seems to be a correlation between using cannabis and using illicit drugs (7). However, causation
was not proven and due to cannabis being the most used drug in the world, people who use drugs
may have started with cannabis. Yet, street cannabis is different from medical cannabis and the
people who might benefit from this plant becoming medically legal arent more likely to later do
heroin. The gateway drug theory being correlated with cannabis is an incorrect argument because
alcohol, tobacco, and opioids are gateway drugs and opioid addiction especially can lead to the
use of illicit drugs.
Another argument refers to the possible dangers of being under the influence of cannabis
while operating a vehicle. Similar to other drugs, the concern is based around how marijuana
could impair judgment if THC is released in the brain. However, numerous legal substances can
impair judgment as well and lack several or any medical components. Unlike tobacco or alcohol,

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cannabis is far less dangerous and only has a slight impact on someones psychomotor skills.
Driving under the influence of alcohol makes up over a third of all car crashes in America and
marijuana accounts for less than 8%. In states were cannabis is legal, driving under the influence
of alcohol decreased because people are able to get similar effects from cannabis as they would
from alcohol without dangers of liver failure or death.
A common argument is that cannabis could be highly addictive and, if legalized, children
would have easier access to cannabis. Putting aside the child argument, only 9% of Americans
that use cannabis will become addicted compared to a third of Americans who use alcohol and
the 90% of people who use tobacco that will become addicted. Cannabis is rarely addictive and
the withdrawal symptoms are far less severe than other substances. As for the children, Colorado,
a state that has legal cannabis, reports that the rates of minors using cannabis have steadily
dropped and are now below the United States average of 23%. Medical cannabis should not be
stopped from being legalized if the only arguments against it are either wrong or apply even
more to legal substances.
In conclusion, medical cannabis should be legal because this plant has numerous
medicinal properties, has been shown to treat various diseases, became illegal from racism, and
needs to stop being grouped with illicit drugs. While sativa, indica, ruderalis, and the plentiful
hybrids may work best for different aliments, all of them are capable of being medically useful.
Cannabis became illegal in America during the 1930s because of fear, stereotypes,
discrimination, and racism. This flowering plant is capable of treating numerous illnesses like
cancers, autoimmune diseases, epilepsy, chronic pain, mental illness, and PTSD. In Utah,
medical cannabis was close to becoming legal this year with the bill SB-73 and because it didnt
pass, an estimated 4,000 Utahns will die from opioid overdose by the end of this year. Hundreds

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of thousands of others will have to live another year in pain because of people who are keeping
scientifically proven medical treatments from them without any practical reason. Cannabis needs
to be medically legal because this medicine has never killed anyone on record from an overdose,
can help millions of people, and offer hope to patients who arent helped by legal treatments.

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