My perspective on marijuana: Old drug in a new world.
By Elie. R. Jean-Louis
You might have to quote me on this one. Due to the failed affordable care act (repeal and replace) set forth by the Trump administration, maybe just maybe the government could focus it's attention on upgrading our healthcare system. With an upgrade to the current healthcare system, the possibilities become endless. One of the possibilities would be the allowance of medical and or recreational marijuana to be regulated in a similar fashion such as alcohol. Through proper regulations; the nutritional facts, health warnings, percentages of Tetrahydrocannabinol/ Cannabidiol (THC/CBD) in products, age requirements and research would allow for it's legal use across the states. Regulations may sound to many like another way for big brother also referred to as the government to further their reach on our decision making abilities of whether we choose to consume or remain abstinent of marijuana. Rather it would serve to ensure illegal activities to not take place. Therefore such regulations such as age would provide users with information and prevent the selling to underage potential users. According to The National Institutes of Health (NIH), marijuana consumption before the age of 25 has been known to be adversely correlated with symptoms such as paranoia, delayed cognition, increase in dependency of the drug and psychosis. Essentially early heavy use of marijuana before the age of 25 does hinder the normal development of the prefrontal cortex of the brain which is associated to decision making. On the positive side of things, marijuana could be a major player in a lot of American lives. The purpose it could serve would and could be to help reduce medical symptoms, reduce pain, increase appetite, and potentially cure some type of disease while providing Americans with more jobs. Its essentially a win win opportunity. Locking up people for petty drug offences does more harm than good, given our already overcrowded prisons. Israel's new strike system is a perfect example of how we could modernize and update our old policies with fines rather than having individuals serving prison time. In closing, Canada, United kingdom, Israel and the United States are actively adjusting and modernizing their policies based off of the social climactic changes but its legality still remains to be fighting a steep uphill battle.
Disclaimer: I do not smoke or consume marijuana. I am simply an enthusiast about it's potential use. Avoid marijuana use when operating machinery. Smoking while pregnant can harm the developing child. Smoking to reduce mental health symptoms does not address the underlying problem.
