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A little while ago, some kids from a school in Illinois wanted to know if I would post their school project on the Hot Box. It’s about medical marijuana, and it’s benefits. So I said sure. A little while later, this is their show. I hope you enjoy it. It’s nice to see kids with enough drive and motivation to create a school project that sounds better than podcasts I’ve been producing for years. Nice job WCRX! Here’s the paper they sent with the episode. I fixed a couple of spelling errors, but other than that, it’s how they sent it.
Keep an eye out here and on the feed for more Hot Box episodes.
People Power and Social Media
Medical Marijuana – The Benefits
Medical marijuana has brought drastic changes to economic markets that have legalized medical and recreational use as well as brought out-weighting advantages to Americans who suffer from serious illnesses. States are fighting to legalize medical use because the benefits are just too great to pass up, but in the state of Illinois it’s close to impossible to get the prescription. Humans have been using the benefits of marijuana for over 10,000 years, so why is it using marijuana in the modern age so taboo?
Since Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi in 2900 BC, marijuana has been used as a healing agent for humans all around the world, past, present and future. From the ages of Jesus, to the Greeks to the Romans, to the Middle Ages, to the English Settlers in Jamestown, all types and forms of marijuana have been used as the base of human history. The United States officially illegalized marijuana in the Marijuana Act of 1937. Since then, the battle of right and wrong of the drug has caused the nation to pick sides.
The 2014 Oxford Dictionary word of the year was “vape”, the inhale and exhale of smoke from an electronic cigarette or similar device, the evolution of acceptance is progressing. Over 20 states have legalized the use of medical marijuana and four states have legalized the recreational use. There are many different ways to ingest the drug, from papers to glass pieces, edibles to craft weed beers. Over time, we have made hundreds of uses of marijuana (from hemp to medicine) and I believe there to be more in the future. Medical marijuana is finally legal in Illinois.
How can you qualify for Medical Marijuana in Illinois you ask? Well here are some of the conditions you need to have to qualify for medical marijuana. If you’re interested in getting your hands on medical marijuana, first thing first you must be at least 18 years of age. You also must prove to be a legal resident of Illinois with proof of residency in order to qualify.
Another thing you need is certification signed by a doctor, with medical records showing proof of diagnosis with one of the qualifications. Here’s a list of diagnosis that allow you to qualify for medical marijuana: Cancer, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Crohn’s disease, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Glaucoma, Hepatitis C, Parkinson’s disease, Seizure; you can see the rest of the list on medicalmarijuana.com.
If you have one of these diagnoses go find a local marijuana shop and go get your smoke on! Illinois makes it difficult to qualify for medical marijuana, states like California and Colorado it’s easier to get your hands on medical marijuana. Illinois should really consider making it easier to get your hands on medical marijuana, other states like Colorado are seeing their overall economy improve thanks to the selling from marijuana. If Illinois realizes that selling medical marijuana is more of a benefit for the state than a negative, then Illinois should see an overall improvement with their overall economy.
Medical Marijuana can shrink brain tumors associated with highly aggressive form of cancer. It is critical to the survival of a cancer patient to shrink their tumors. However, in many cases it is not life threating to leave a tumor. Thetrahydrocannabiol and cannabidiol are the two main ingredients used in marijuana. The two mixed together make the cancerous brain tumor shrink. The cancer patient feels relaxed, feels less pain and also enjoys eating and hobbies. Most patients with cancerous brain tumors are not active or hungry because of pain caused from the brain tumor.
What’s great about Tetrahydrocannabinol cannabidiol and cannabinoid receptors, it alleviates pain, restores appetite, and now, shrinks tumors. Medical Marijuana helps sooth and treats the pain for Rheumatoid Arthritis. It helps the shooting pain in the joints, back pain and shoulder pain. Indica (Cannabis) has higher CBD and THC levels. Cannabis treats Glaucoma, it’s the leading cause of blindness.
Optic nerve damage due to glaucoma is intraocular pressure can be reduced by smoking medical marijuana. 0% of patients who smoked marijuana using an ice cooled water pipe experienced a reduction in IOP of 16-45 percent. A third clinical trial found a significant drop in IOP in patients who took cannabinoid oil and THC. Medical Marijuana is used to treat over 20 other diseases including: Fibromyalgia, Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Nail-patella syndrome, Dystonia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
Illinois has four medical centers that are taking applications for people who have medical problems. The name of some of the Medical Marijuana clinics are: Jefferson Park Medical Clinic, Belmont Medical Center, Good Intentions medical marijuana Clinic. You fill out applications after you make an appointment and bring $150 for the fee. The doctor observes you twice meaning two visits before you can be treated.
Medical cannabis has benefits that could stimulate the economy by lowering the taxes on cannabis that would increase the use of medical cannabis. This would trigger a response to have less drug cartels within prisons, according to Debt.org back in 2010 about 850,000 people were arrested marijuana accusations and on drug possession. By using the benefits, the government could make profit for their revenues. By adding the taxation laws on marijuana the money could generate up to $13.7 to $60 billion dollars from people that are tourists and medical patients. By having the tax revenue on medical marijuana, it would give the opportunity for many states to gain revenue.
For example, Colorado, the first state to legalize recreational use of marijuana, is making a lot of revenue based on the sales, $326,716,273.59 in total from last year in 2014. But Colorado would have to pay about $60 million in taxes, licensing, and marijuana fees to gain more revenue. With the money being generated by the marijuana industry the governor of Colorado has major plans to use the sales tax by 2.9 percent to gain more revenue.
According to AZ Business Magazine, a small market in Arizona called weGrow, a small business that provides solutions for the main two industries of hydroponic and medical cannabis, the websites describes the two major industries are growing fast.
The difference between the two industries are hydroponics invest of crop production that won’t require any soil, then the medical industry will invest cultivation plans. weGrow is planning to offer safety and responsibility on their products at weGrow, they have a plan to open within the next three to four years. Dhar Mann the CEO of weGrow made the comment, “weGrow business model specializes in areas where there’s high demand, but low information. Our cornerstones are built on education, training, and learning”.
By providing these kinds of services to the public, patients get to see how the company supplies their merchandise throughout the U.S. weGrow is planning to provide jobs that can be part time or full time. With the marijuana industry booming it could make an impact that could generate as much as hundreds or even thousands of dollars for Arizona to receive revenue from the booming marijuana industry.
Side effects and dangers of marijuana use are often overlooked or seen as nonexistent. However, the FDA, following studies in hundreds to thousands of patients, have concluded that there are several known safety concerns with the substance use. Among these are: altered decision making, short-term memory impairment, paranoia and anxiety following high dose usage, and mood effects. In addition, studies have shown that regular users of young ages can develop long term or permanent cognitive impairment.
Other evidence have suggested that mothers who use marijuana during a pregnancy can cause neurological issues in their children. Long term users have also experienced issues such as anxiety and depression after quitting. In addition to these health effects, there have also been social aspects to the argument, dating back to 1968.
Peter Bensinger, a former DEA administrator, expressed concern during a press conference regarding SB1381, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act. According to Bensinger, the passage of this bill would “compromise meaningful workplace drug testing by requiring impairment to be shown…This means that someone who tests positive for marijuana in their system could be allowed to drive a car, interact with customers or operate machinery….Employers would have to wait for accidents or other problems to happen before they could take action.”. Despite widespread advocacy for medical marijuana, evidence such as aforementioned has created contrasting viewpoints on the topic.
In conclusion, the states that have legalized medical use have received a substantial amount of benefits, from healthier citizens to gaining tax revenue to increasing and creating more jobs. It’s a no-brainer, medical marijuana is clearly the millennium’s wonder drug. Researching the pros and cons of medical marijuana makes it an obvious choice as a tool for better health.
From shrinking brain tumors to winning the battle of anorexia, America needs to start embracing the benefits of marijuana because the pros are evidently out weighing the cons. For the state of Illinois, it seems that getting access to the treatments is a complete obstacle. Illinois is making it difficult to make money for the state. In hopes that Illinois will finally get on the band-wagon, the state would need to lift the heavy dark cloud over medical marijuana and see the green.
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Work Cited/Bibliography
Baca, Ricardo. “$573 Million in Pot Sales: 12 Stats That Defined Cannabis’ Year.” The Cannabist. N.p., 26 Dec. 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2015. < http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/12/26/pot-sales-taxes-statistics/26031/ >.
Baca, Ricardo. “Why Did Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Sales Tank in November?” The Cannabist. N.p., 09 Jan. 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. < http://www.thecannabist.co/2015/01/09/colorado-pot-taxes-nov-medical-sales-tanked-retail-numbers-held-strong/26994/ >.
“DrugFacts: Is Marijuana Medicine?” DrugFacts: Is Marijuana Medicine? National Institute on Drug Abuse, 4 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. < http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine >.
“DrugFacts: Marijuana.” DrugFacts: Marijuana. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. < http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana >.
Glass, Kevin. “Marijuana: Government’s New Tax Cash Cow.” Townhall.com. N.p., 09 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. < http://townhall.com/tipsheet/kevinglass/2014/02/20/marijuana-governments-new-tax-cash-cow-n1798042 >.
Mann, Dhar. “Cannabis Business Development | Medical Marijuana Dispensary Consultantants | Expert Grow Room Advice | Marijuana Education | Marijuana Online School | Hydroponics Sales Affiliates | Medical Marijuana Evaluation Center | WeGrow Hydroponics.” Cannabis Business Development | Medical Marijuana Dispensary Consultantants | Expert Grow Room Advice | Marijuana Education | Marijuana Online School | Hydroponics Sales Affiliates | Marshall, Tari, comp. “PRESS RELEASE.” (n.d.): n. pag. Prevention.org. Prevention First Incorporated. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. Medical Marijuana Evaluation Center | WeGrow Hydroponics. WeGrow. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. < http://www.wegrowstore.com/ >.
“Medical Marijuana.” Dispensaries, Cannabis Club Directory. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. < http://medicalmarijuana.com/ >.