The New Buzz on Marijuana
For the past 30 years or so, the Unites States government has been looking for any reason what so ever to argue against the legalization of marijuana. This is despite a growing body of evidence that marijuana use provides documented, palliative and therapeutic benefits to people who suffer from serious illness like glaucoma, chronic pain and the side effects of cancer chemotherapy. Although marijuana use for medicinal purposes is illegal at the federal level, some Western States, most notably California, have legalized its use —it can now be purchased by people who have valid prescriptions from specially-designed .
From time to time, papers have appeared in the literatures which suggest that marijuana use has deleterious effects on mental acuity, emotional stability, breathing and sperm production. A recent report from New Zealand (which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association) suggests that chronic marijuana use can increase the likelihood of periodontal disease in young adults.
C’mon, gum disease….are you kidding me? Don’t get me wrong, untreated periodontal disease is a serous medical issue. That said, I suspect that more people are likely to develop periodontal disease from poor dental hygiene and a lack of dental insurance than from smoking a joint from time to time. The fact that the American Medical Association is subliminally try to turn marijuana-induced periodontal disease into an American public health crisis signals to me that government officials are running out of credible arguments to prevent the legalization of marijuana in this country.
Growing up in the 60s, I am very familiar with the consequences and negative outcomes of drug misuse and abuse. While I don’t advocate the use of marijuana and other psychotropic drugs for recreational use, I do believe that patients with serious medical illnesses ought to have legal access to drugs that are safe and offer therapeutic benefits. Further, I think that many drugs that are currently illegal in America ought to be legalized. In my opinion, the legalization of drugs in America will help to reduce crime, allow monies currently allocated to combat illegal drug trafficking to be used for struggling social programs and to demystify the use of illegal drugs American children and young adults. Ironically, illegal drug use by American children and young adults has been declining over the last few years whereas abuse of legal, prescription drugs has been skyrocketing out of control. Maybe it is time for America to re-think its drug polices and craft new ones that do a better job of safeguarding America’s youth.
Until next time….happy trails to you! And as always…..
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!
