1. Marijuana

2. Cannabis, or marijuana, is a plant that grows in most all climates in on earth. It is a plant that has been around since ancient times and was even on the United States Pharmacopoeia as recently as 1937 Many different cultures of the world have used marijuana for medicinal purposes, as well as recreational use In the United States today, this plant is illegal to possess, use, distribute, and in most states, prescribe

3. What does marijuana do? The active agent in marijuana is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) When consumed, THC causes the user to feel a “high”, or temporary euphoric feeling WHEN SMOKED WHEN EATEN Effects last about 2 to 4 hours Effects last about 5 to 12 hours ================================================== In high or regular amounts, marijuana produces no hallucinations, and sanity remains perfectly intact

4. Acute Physical Side Effects Slight conjunctival hyperemia (red eyes) In some cases, impairs attention and short term memory Small effects on driving performance

5. LEGISATION October 1, 1937: Marihuana Tax Act -Medicinal: $1 per ounce -Recreational: $100 per ounce * Marijuana removed from United States Pharmacopoeia and National Formulary in 1941 *Justice Clarence Thomas, in court decision denying legal medicinal use of marijuana (May 14, 2001) “Congress has made a determination that marijuana has no medicinal value worthy of an exception.”

6. Medicinal Uses

7. Cancer Chemotherapy Chemotherapy kills healthy blood cells as it attacks cancerous cells Side effects of chemotherapy are unpleasant and often serious Effects include deafness, kidney failure, loss of heart muscle, and heavy vomiting ------------------------------------------------------ In a study by V. Vinciguerra, T. Moore, and E. Brenan, 78% of chemotherapy patients became symptom-free when administered doses of THC

8. Glaucoma 2 nd leading cause of blindness in the US Affects about 1,000,000 Americans 80,000 blinded per year ULCA study reveals that smoking marijuana relieves intraocular pressure (cause of glaucoma) A separate study by R. S. Helper and I. M. Frank confirmed these results

9. AIDS Most common drug prescribed to suppress the HIV virus is azidothmidine (AZT) Patients on AZT often become underweight and malnourished due to loss of appetite, frequent vomiting, and high amounts of excrement Marijuana has been proven effective in increasing the appetite of AIDS patients Also reduces average number of stools per day

10. Epilepsy *Marijuana may be used as an anticonvulsant *Drugs typically prescribed for epilepsy may cause bone softening, nausea, decreased libido, impotence, depression, and possibly even phychosis Marijuana has far fewer and less threatening side effects Multiple Sclerosis Marijuana helps patients with MS to gain control of their body and supress tremors ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paraplegia and Quadriplegia Marijuana relieves muscle pain, and increases feeling in dysfunctional limbs

11. Chronic Pain Patients with chronic pain are often prescribed opioid narcotics and synthetic analgesics These drugs may cause patients to develop a tolerance and addiction Marijuana is equally effective in relieving chronic pain, but without these threatening side effects Rheumatic Diseases ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Marijuana is proven to be relieve inflammation and pain for patients with various kinds of rheumatic diseases

12. Other Speculative Uses Asthma Insomnia Nausea due to kidney failure Dystonias Adult ADD Schizophrenia Systemic sclerosis Crohn’s Disease Diabetic gartro-paresis Pseudo-tumor cerebri Alcoholism

13. Popularity New users reached a peak in 1976-77 Approximately 3.2 million over the two years Today, 66 million Americans said to have smoked pot USA Today poll: support for legalization highest its been in 30 years 36% of voters support legalization; 70% of voters for medicinal marijuana 50% of English and Canadian populations support recreational legalization

14. “It’s dangerous in its own right, it’s addictive, and it leads to the use of even more destructive illicit drugs” -Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson

15. Very misleading statement Marijuana may be habit-forming, but physical addiction is highly unlikely “Two recognized symptoms of addiction are tolerance and withdrawal symptoms; these are rarely serious problems for marijuana users.” -Grinspoon and Bakalar Marijuana users might use destructive drugs, but this is a sociological factor that results in the drug being illegal in the first place…

16. Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I narcotic by the US Government This is the same classification given to cocaine and heroine