A Review of the Literature on Marijuana

3126 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Positive impacts of marijuana legalization

A considerable amount of literature has been published on cannabis specifically marijuana. These studies classify marijuana into three species: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and cannabis ruderalis. In fact, Cannabis sativa is the most widely used and recognized among the other species due to its ability to produce more fiber and oil. For many years, the plant has been used for making clothes as well as lighting and soap. Nevertheless, cannabis is widely used at the present time for intoxication and medical treatments. Marijuana is usually extracted from the flowers of the female plant (Grinspoon & Bakalar, 1993). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana is well-defined as the “dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds. This plant material can also be concentrated in a resin called hashish” (NIDA, 2014).

Numerous studies have attempted to explain the use of cannabis throughout history. For example, Doweiko (2009) mentioned that the Chinese physicians have used the cannabis to treat some diseases such as malaria, constipation, child birth, and as an anesthetic for surgery. During the nineteenth century, cannabis (marijuana) is also used for medical purposes to treat headaches and migraine. However, during the early years of the twentieth century, people began to view cannabis as an abusing drug as the researchers determined its ineffectiveness as a medicinal drug. Some historians have argued that marijuana was first introduced into the American society by the Mexican immigrants during the same period. This recreation drug was soon embraced by ...

... middle of paper ...

...s, W. G., Branchini, J., & Maldonado-Molina, M. M. (2012). The relationship between marijuana use and intimate partner violence in a nationally representative, longitudinal sample. Journal of interpersonal violence, 27(8), 1562-1578.

Shohov, T. (2003). Medical use of marijuana: Policy, regulatory, and legal issues. New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Shrivastava, A., Johnston, M., & Tsuang, M. (2011). Cannabis use and cognitive dysfunction. Indian journal of psychiatry, 53(3), 187.

Shukla, R. (2013). Inside the Gate: Insiders’ Perspectives on Marijuana as a Gateway Drug.

Sidney, S., Beck, J. E., Tekawa, I. S., Quesenberry Jr., C. P., & Friedman, G. D. (1997). Marijuana Use and Mortality. American Journal Of Public Health, 87(4), 585-590.

Tardiff, J. C. (2008). Marijuana. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

Tuyl, T. C. (2007). Marijuana. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

Show More
Related

  • Against Legalization of Marijuana in Canada

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana is a drug that is harmful to a person¡¯s health. It has been found to have adverse impacts on one¡¯s mental processes such as memory, attention, judgement, and problem- solving (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2004, p.415). Also, marijuana can interfere with a person¡¯s ability to think rationally and logically. Thus, the lapse in judgement caused by the drug use can lead to risky sexual behaviours and this may result in increasing sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS. Moreover, the long-term use of marijuana may cause chronic breathing problems and cancer ...

    Read More

  • History of Medical Marijuana

    1938 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Grinspoon (2005) marijuana, may have been a crop farmed as many as 10,000 years ago. The first evidence discovered that attests to the use of medicinal cannabis dates back to the Chinese Emperor, Chen Nung, who lived five-thousand years ago when this plant was recommended for malaria, constipation, and rheumatic pains, as well as, the inability to concentrate and pains in relation to the female body (Grinspoon, 2005; Guterman 2000). Even Queen Victoria had a physician recommend that she use marijuana as medicine for ailments such as “insomnia, migraines, menstrual cramps, and muscle spasms” (Guterman, 2000, p. A21). Evidence of the power of marijuana as a medicine can be found in almost any culture on Earth. For example, some tribes in Africa use marijuana to treat snake bites and to reduced the intense pain of child-birth and in India, cannabis is used to “quicken the mind, lower fevers, induce sleep, cure dysentery, stimulate appetite, improve digestion, relieve headaches, and cure venereal disease” (Grinspoon, 2005, p. 1). Marijuana has been proven as a powerful medicine by people of many ethnic backgrounds and countries over the entire world, time and time again.

    Read More

  • Medicinal Marijuana in Texas

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wingerchuk, Dean. "Cannabis for Medical Purposes: Cultivating Science, Weeding Out the Fiction." The Lancet 364.9431 (2004): 315-16. Print.

    Read More

  • Informative Speech: The Pro’s And Con’s Of Medical Marijuana

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana is one of the oldest cultivated plants (Nahas 8). Since it became illegal in 1967, there have been questions of whether or not it is good for purposes, such as medicine, other than being a leisure drug. Debates between pro and con groups for the use of marijuana in the medical profession, have been heated and in recent months, referendums have been pasted in a least three states to make it accessible for medical treatment. Personally, I feel that marijuana has the potential to be a significant help with certain aliments, however, more research needs to be done to maximize its potential.

    Read More

  • History of Marijuana

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    History of Marijuana Marijuana has been used both recreationally and medicinally for centuries. There are numerous accounts of its medicinal qualities in multiple historical artifacts. Its use dates back to 2737 B.C. when the Chinese emperor, Shen Nung, used it for medicinal purposes including malaria, gout, poor memory, rheumatism, and analgesia (Carter et. al., 2003). Eastern Indian documents, in the Atharvaveda, dating back to 2000 B.C. also refer to its medicinal use.

    Read More

  • Legalization of Marijuana

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Schwartz, Richard H. "Marijuana: A Decade And A Half Later, Still A Crude Drug With Underappreciated Toxicity." Pediatrics 109.2 (2002): 284. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Physical and Psychological Effects of Marijuana

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse marijuana causes the user to feel euphoric by acting on the brain’s reward system. The euphoria is caused by the release of dopamine it to the user system. Other effects can include heightened sensory perception (e.g., brighter colors), laughter, altered perception of time, and increased appetite. Marijuana also inhibits the formation of new memories and causes coordination and balance to be degraded. These reactions are caused by binding the receptors in the cerebellum and base ganglia. The effect is similar to the impairments that are normally associated with consuming alcohol. Habitual users can also develop acute psychosis, a fundamental derangement of the mind (as in schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality especially as evidenced by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech and behavior (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The IQ level of a marijuana users also decreases over time according to a Duke University study conducted by clinical psychologist Madeline Meier “people who bega...

    Read More

  • Why Marijuana Should be Legalized

    2031 Words  | 5 Pages

    National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The Nagative consequences of Marijuana Use." Marijuana (Contemporary Issues Companion). Tardiff, Joseph, ed. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 34-44. Print

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Marijuana

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before we can debate the topic of marijuana we must first know the material. Marijuana also known as weed, cannabis, or reefer is a green plant that will virtually grow anywhere. Commonly developing up to 8ft in length cannabis can be consumed through digestion or inhaling. The only part of the plant that is consumed is the flower or bud. The stem and leaves of the plant can be broken down to make other materials. From this plant we could create consumer textiles, industrial textiles, paper, building materials, food, industrial products, and hygiene product...

    Read More

  • Marijuana Legalization

    1979 Words  | 4 Pages

    The history of marijuana in the United States dates to early colonial times. ``In 1619, America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Va., `ordering' all farmers to `make tryal of' (grow) Indian hemp seed.” (Tribune) A by-product of the cannabis plant is hemp. Today, hemp can be used to make fabrics, construction, paper, medicines, oils, body care products, and molded plastics. In colonial times hemp was used to make various textile products and in the 1800s hemp was found to have medicinal benefits. Herer says in his book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, “various marijuana and hashish extracts were the first, second or third most-prescribed medicines in the United States from 1842 until the 1890s. (Herer) For centuries people have recognized the medicinal properties of cannabis; “depending on the c...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana is a fast-growing bushy plant with dense sticky flowers. It has been a part of our American culture for hundreds of years. It has been referred to as a poison, drug and narcotic. It is believed that marijuana was introduced by the Spanish in 1545 to Chile. In America the plant was first grown in Virginia and Massachusetts in the sixteen hundreds. It became a major commercial crop that was grown along with tobacco and was a source of fiber for fabric, rope and cloth. Later it was used to treat many health problems. During the 19th century many medical articles were written discussing marijuana’s value in treating conditions. The plant was considered legal from the 1600’s until the 19th century. Marijuana became popular in the mid-19th century and was in most drugstores through the beginning of the 20th century. It was around this time that recreational use of marijuana was becoming acknowledged. Marijuana has been illegal in the United States since the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This is a federal law that made the possession or transfer of marijuana illegal throughout the United States. This law was the precursor to the crimina...

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized

    2079 Words  | 5 Pages

    Marijuana has many bad side effects that harm the body. According to Szara Braude, marijuana slows down reactions causing problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking, and loss of coordination (Marijuana as a medicine 53). Many people use this drug not knowing wh...

    Read More

  • Medical Marijuana

    1685 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marijuana is a drug that is derived from the dried and cut leaves of the hemp plant known as "cannabis sativa". Marijuana has a variety of street names such as "grass", "Mary Jane", "pot", "smoke", "reefer", "herb", and "weed". The active ingredient in marijuana is delta tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (3). . Marijuana has been used throughout history and in many different cultures to change mood, perception, and consciousness (to get "high"). Its effects range from increasing creativity to provoking mystical experiences, to heightening the capacity to feel, sense and share. After alcohol, it is the most popular of what are called "recreational drugs." It has been used around the world for other purposes. In some primitive tribes of South America, Africa, and India, "cannabis" is used in religious ceremonies and for medical purposes. African mine workers have used it to ease the drudgery of their work and many Jamaicans use it at the end of the day to relieve fatigue. It has been used as an intoxicant in various parts of the world for centuries and in the United States, for the most part the 20th century. Marijuana was first described in print in a Chinese book of

    Read More

  • Medical Marijuana Case Study

    227 Words  | 1 Pages

    Marijuana medical users have more mental health issues than Individuals using marijuana for recreational purposes. Particularly this element is important since limited evidence seems to disclose the difference in behavioral health disorders and unmet treatment for desires revealing the contrast amongst medical and recreational marijuana users. Based on the previous year behavioral health disorders and unmet for treatment needs were surveyed in 3 subgroups for recreational, medical, and a combination of both groups using together. To discover that recreational user was at 90.2 percent and over 6.2 percent were medical and both medical groups together was at 3.6 percent used both out of the 3 groups. There’s a lesser probability of merely medical

    Read More

  • Recreational Marijuana Should NOT Be Legal

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Marijuana Abuse.” National Institute on Drug Abuse: The Science of Drug abuse and Addiction. NIH, n.d. Web. 4 Feb 2014.

    Read More

More about A Review of the Literature on Marijuana

Open Document