Marijuana: medical uses, regulations and legal issues

147 Pages·2016·1.521 MB·English

by  Vasquez, Margie

PLANT SCIENCE RESEARCH AND PRACTICES

M
ARIJUANA

M U , R
EDICAL SES EGULATIONS
L I
AND EGAL SSUES

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P S R
LANT CIENCE ESEARCH
P
AND RACTICES

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PLANT SCIENCE RESEARCH AND PRACTICES

M
ARIJUANA

M U , R
EDICAL SES EGULATIONS
L I
AND EGAL SSUES

MARGIE VASQUEZ
EDITOR

New York
Copyright © 2016 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Vasquez, Margie, editor.
Title: Marijuana : medical uses, regulations and legal issues / editor:
Margie Vasquez.
Other titles: Plant science research and practices.
Description: Hauppauge, New York : Nova Science Publishers, [2016] | Series:
Plant science research and practices | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015048134 (print) | LCCN 2016000017 (ebook) | ISBN
9781634844093 (hardcover) ISBN: (cid:28)(cid:26)(cid:27)(cid:16)(cid:20)(cid:16)(cid:25)(cid:22)(cid:23)(cid:27)(cid:23)(cid:16)(cid:23)(cid:21)(cid:23)(cid:16)(cid:25) (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: Marijuana--Therapeutic use. | Marijuana--Law and legislation.
Classification: LCC RM666.C266 M38 2016 (print) | LCC RM666.C266 (ebook) |
DDC 362.29/55610973--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015048134

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. † New York
CONTENTS

Preface vii
Chapter 1 Marijuana and Motivation 1
Larissa Reck and F. Richard Ferraro
Chapter 2 Medical Marijuana: Medical Necessity vs.
Political Agenda 15
Peter A. Clark, Kevin M. Capuzzi
and Cameron Fick
Chapter 3 The Effects of Marijuana Legalization on Public
Health and Usage among College-Age Young Adults 49
Teminijesu Ige, Bradley Fevrier
and Laura Nabors
Chapter 4 Legalization and the Effect on Youth: Articulating
a Clear and Effective Marijuana Policy 85
Stephen M. Miller
Chapter 5 Health and Safety Warnings for Legally Sold
Marijuana 95
John M. Malouff
Chapter 6 Marijuana Regulation, Policy and Arrest Disparities:
Their Impact on Recidivism and Negative Public
and Mental Health Outcomes among
African Americans 109
Torrance T. Stephens and Unity Harris
vi Contents
Chapter 7 Marijuana and Video Games: “Real” Addictions? 127
Geoffrey L. Ream
Index 133
PREFACE

Cannabis sativa is the scientific name for the widely used drug commonly
known as marijuana. Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the
United States as well as in many other countries. Considered a “soft” drug, it is
a naturally growing plant that is harvested as its crude product for use. Other
familiar names for marijuana are weed, dope, pot, hemp, cannabis, and reefer.
Marijuana contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is a mind altering
substance that is generally smoked, but also can be taken orally or as oil on the
skin in order to receive a “high.” New laws regarding the marijuana’s
legalization have led to more questions and increased interest in the effect
marijuana has on its users. Chapter One of this book discusses differences
across motivation variables and marijuana use. Chapter Two compares the
medical necessity of marijuana to the political agenda. Chapter Three
examines the evidence for and against the medical use of marijuana, and the
effects and implications of its recent legalization in several states especially
with regard to its use by college-age young adults. Chapter Four examines the
issues surrounding legalization and teen use and the policy steps that might be
taken to effectively communicate the risks to adolescents amidst an ever more
socially acceptable climate. Chapter Five discusses the recent rise of legally
sold marijuana, the risks of use, arguments in support of mandating warnings
on packages of legally sold marijuana, the likely benefits and costs of
mandating warnings, ways of evaluating proposed and actual warnings, and
specific recommended warnings. Chapter Six exhibit how and the extent to
which federal government marijuana regulation and policy contributes to
disparities in arrest, in particular for African Americans of lower
socioeconomic standing. This book ends with a commentary on aims to
answer the question of whether marijuana and video games can engender
viii Margie Vasquez
“real” addictions in a way that bridges the gap between scientific and
colloquial understandings of problem use.
Chapter 1 – Cannabis sativa is the scientific name for the widely used
drug commonly known as marijuana. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the
chemical that is responsible for the mind altering effects of Cannabis sativa;
THC does this by binding to the Cannabinoid I Receptor (CB1) in the orbital
frontal cortex – the area of the brain that controls motivation and emotion.
New laws regarding the drug’s legalization have led to more questions and
increased interest in the effect marijuana has on its users. In the present study,
participants (n = 195) ages 18 and older from around the United States
completed online questionnaires regarding their demographics and marijuana
use (Heavy, Occasional, Non) as well as two surveys – the Achievement
Motivation Inventory (AMI) and Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) – to measure
motivation. There was no significant differences across the demographic
variables and marijuana use. Also, in the AES and overall AMI there was no
significant relationship between marijuana use and motivation. However, as
there was a significant relationship between marijuana use and three of the
individual categories of the AMI (Confidence in Success, Internality, Pride in
Productivity).
Chapter 2 – Marijuana is classified by the Drug Enforcement Agency
(DEA) as an illegal Schedule I drug which has no accepted medical use.
However, recent studies have shown that medical marijuana is effective in
controlling chronic non-cancer pain, alleviating nausea and vomiting
associated with chemotherapy, treating wasting syndrome associated with
AIDS, and controlling muscle spasms due to multiple sclerosis. These studies
state that the alleviating benefits of marijuana outweigh the negative effects of
the drug, and recommend that marijuana be administered to patients who have
failed to respond to other therapies. Despite supporting evidence, the DEA
refuses to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug, which would allow
physicians to prescribe marijuana to suffering patients. The use of medical
marijuana has continued to gain support among states, and is currently legal in
23 states and the District of Columbia and Guam. This is in stark contrast to
the federal government’s stance of zero-tolerance, which has led to a heated
legal debate in the United States. After reviewing relevant scientific data and
grounding the issue ethically, there is a strong argument for allowing
physicians to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes. Patients have a right
to all beneficial treatments and to deny them this right violates their basic
human rights.