Take Marijuana Off the Schedule I Narcotics List

Originally written on September 28^th, 2016
Edited and Expanded on October 4th, 5th, 10th, and 19th, 2016

 

 

 

            On June 20^th, 2012, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) asked Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Michele Leonhart whether heroin, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine were greater health problems than marijuana is. Leonhart refused to comment, and declined to admit that hard drugs pose a greater health problem than marijuana does. Years later, Polis commented that she was "terrible at her job".

            Of course, marijuana and its byproducts should not be classified as Schedule I narcotics. This is, first, because the term "narcotic" has several definitions. One definition is simply a vague label for any illicit or prohibited drug. Another definition refers to any substance that affects mood or behavior, and has nonmedical purposes. Yet another definition implies that "narcotic" applies to opiates and sedatives, pain relievers and painkillers, and drugs with analgesic and anesthetic effects.

            While it is true that marijuana is illicit and prohibited, and has non-medical purposes (including its effects on psychology and emotions), it would be misleading to describe it as a narcotic. Marijuana is not a narcotic; rather, it has stimulant and depressant effects, both of them mild. Marijuana is certainly not an opiate; in fact, alcohol is more chemically similar to heroin than either alcohol or heroin is to marijuana.

            Secondly, marijuana does not belong on the Schedule I narcotics list, because drugs are supposed to be put on Schedule I only if they have no scientifically demonstrated medicinal benefits. Of course, marijuana does have medical purposes. The most active psychoactive ingredient in marijuana - Delta-9-THC (Delta-9-tetrahydracannabinol) - facilitates the growth of neuronal stem cells into adult neurons, and untangles the tau protein that agglomerates in neurons. This protein probably causes, or at least contributes to, a host of neurodegenerative disorders, possibly including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Tourette's. Whole-plant marijuana - which can be eaten; it doesn't have to be smoked - has even been shown to reduce seizures, even more so than concentrated synthetic marijuana-based compounds that have had the psychoactive ingredients removed. THC is found in cannabis sativa, and is responsible for the "head-high" effects that some cannabis gives.

            Although marijuana has some mild depressant effects, it is not a narcotic in the sense that that term means sedatives or opiates. It does, however, have pain relief effects. CBD - cannabidiol, which is responsible for the "body-high" effects in some cannabis, and which is found in cannabis indica - is the type prescribed to medical marijuana patients. It has been used to relieve joint pain and glaucoma, to expand the alveoli of the lungs (increasing lung capacity), and to stimulate and regulate the appetite.

          Vaporizing marijuana at 190℉ (instead of smoking it) ameliorates nerve cancers, while avoiding the lung cancer caused by inhaling combusted material. Congress should either repeal unconstitutional federal laws against drugs, or else it should enact drug policy via a proper constitutional amendment. Until that occurs, the states have every right to nullify those laws, and interpose the federal government if it tries to enforce them.
     Either way, marijuana and its byproducts should come off of the Schedule I narcotics list. Additionally, governments should legalize and normalize the production of hemp, which is only toxic if consumed in amounts which are impossible to ingest by creatures of our size. Removing marijuana from Schedule I would legalize the testing of new cannabis strains which is needed to officially show that the drug is not harmful when ingested properly.
     Until we adopt D.E.A. and F.D.A. policies supporting legal testing - and a drug education policy that seeks to enlighten, not frighten - we will continue to be plagued with problems like addicts being in the shadows, addicts being driven to a life of violent crime, and people overdosing because they don't know whether their dose will kill them.
     Additionally, we will still have to face problems associated with young people trying drugs for the first time, not knowing simple things about how to take drugs safely (for example; that they shouldn't hold-in marijuana smoke, because more than 99% of THC is absorbed by the lungs upon inhalation, and holding in the smoke does not increase the drug's effects, but only leaves tar on the user's lungs).
     Lack of knowledge regarding safe drug use can lead to overdose deaths, as well as deaths resulting from ecstasy users dying from water poisoning because they incorrectly believed that they needed to drink as much water as possible while on the drug. Moreover, the risk of (non-fatal) overdose extends to marijuana as well; in my opinion, marijuana prohibition has resulted in a shift from smoking to edibles; because ingesting cannabis in foods allows users to more easily conceal its scent. Few marijuana users seem to be aware that the risk of non-fatal overdose (including disorientation) is higher for edibles as opposed to smoking cannabis; I believe that normalizing the smoking of cannabis will help reduce non-fatal overdoses from edibles. 

Letter to the Editor on Marijuana Use

      In an editorial dissent written for the Badger Herald entitled “An impaired decision” (Nov. 23^rd, 2009), Beth Mueller argued against the legalization of cannabis for purposes other than “well-controlled and justified medicinal use.”

      Mueller characterized marijuana use as “inherently harmful.” This statement neglects the fact that the negative effects of marijuana use may be greatly diminished if safer absorption methods are utilized. Heating marijuana to the appropriate temperature of approximately 185° F causes Δ-THC, the most well-known active ingredient in cannabis, to boil, thus allowing the user to inhale the vapor while avoiding the cancer-causing effects of combusted carbon, as well as the pain and damage to the lungs caused by inhaling hot fumes. Hence, the immediate, non-psychological, detrimental health effects of marijuana use may be easily avoided with proper care and equipment, expensive though it may be.

      Mueller also claimed that marijuana use causes “[t]he impairment of reason” and “block[s] the ability to think rationally”. She used cliché arguments against recreational users of marijuana, such as that they seek “only pleasure over the higher... goals of humanity”, and to “forget [them]selves and the world just to feel good.” She also wrote that marijuana use for purely recreational, non-medicinal purposes is “mere escapism” and causes “artificial warping of the mind”, and claimed that it diminishes awareness.

      It was irresponsible of Mueller to use such arguments without citing supporting medical evidence. For decades, opponents of marijuana have claimed that it kills brain cells, decreases short-term memory, and impedes the user's ability to think rationally, but recent medical evidence suggests just the opposite.

      According to the website of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), researchers at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon found in 2005 that the administration of synthetic cannabinoids in rats stimulated the proliferation of newborn neurons in the hippocampus region of the brain. Not only that, but a 2007 study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science revealed that endocannabinoids shape neuronal connectivity.

      In laymen's terms, the active ingredients in marijuana not only assist the transformation of neuronal (nerve) stem cells into adult neuronal [...] cells, but also facilitate the building of connections between such cell, which may actually serve to increase the brain's capacity to store memory. Arguments that characterize marijuana use as harmful to the brains and minds of adults are, at best, ill-informed and pseudoscientific, and at worst, intentionally deceptive and alarmist.

      Other medical studies have suggested that marijuana use may have effects that are helpful in either preventing, curing, or relieving symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, Tourette's syndrome, heart disease, and cancers such as glioma, a cancer of the nervous system. However, this is not to say that marijuana consumed via the safest available methods is completely without harm. Marijuana use can cause cognitive defects in fetuses, and, according to UW [University of Wisconsin] professor Amy Mosher-Garvey, M.S.S.W., it is physiologically addictive.

      I agree with Beth Mueller's main thrust that the consumption of cannabis for purposes other than “well-controlled and justified medicinal use” should be warned against, but I believe that the list of reasons that constitute justified medicinal use is longer and more broad than the list of reasons Mueller would be likely to accept.

      Neither I nor any doctor would ever suggest that anyone smoke pot while operating heavy machinery or in the presence of minors, nor that an expecting mother do the same. When it comes to the willful ingestion of controlled substances for recreational purposes, safety, moderation, and keeping oneself well-informed should always be encouraged.

Written in Late November 2009

Edited on October 30^th, 2015
Originally Published on October 30th, 2015

Note: This piece was not published by the Badger Herald.

Addiction and Neurodegenerative Diseases

     Autism is a neurodegenerative disease, a class of afflictions which includes Asperger's, Tourette's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. A common cause of neurodegenerative disorders is the phosphorylization of the tau protein, which agglomerates in neuronal cells, causing links between cells to tangle and clump-up.

     A recent article said that autism may be triggered by low levels of anti-depressant medications in our drinking water. Drinking water often contains sodium fluoride.

     Fluoride causes calcium deposits to build up in the pineal gland, which is the gland in the brain that secretes melatonin and can be stimulated by psychedelic drugs, which cause hallucinations.

     Hallucinations are also experienced by people with psychotic symptoms, treatment for which often includes anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medications, both of which often contain fluoride or fluorine.

     Symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases include communication disorders; immobility and impaired mobility; and repetitive patterns of behavior such as tics, highly structured play in children, and ritualistic behavior.

     Delta-9-THC - the psychoactive chemical in marijuana - has been shown to help prevent the agglomeration of the tau protein which causes neurodegenerative disorders. It has also been shown to facilitate the growth of adult stem cells into working neurons, and to promote the growth of connections between neurons.

     Marijuana has a reputation among its users as aiding in communication, promoting social cohesion, and increasing capacity for sympathy, which would seem to sugest that it could be prescribed to treat the social aspects of autism and Asperger's. It has been shown to ameliorate the kinds of tics associated with Parkinson's and Tourette's.

     In "The Doors of Perception", Aldous Huxley made reference to D.C. Broad's description of "the mind as a reducing valve". This refers to the idea that the mind must filter-out all unnecessary and superfluous information, so that our consciousnesses are not overwhelmed with vivid sensory information associated with the memory of everything we have ever experienced.

     Ideas like this have been construed to suggest that forgetting has its advantages. Perhaps the short-term memory-loss problems associated with marijuana use are not as disadvantageous to our minds as the long-term memory effects associated with Alzheimer's, some symptoms of which THC has been shown to treat.

     Alcohol and psychoactive drugs such as marijuana and LSD have reputations for improving communication skills, and removing inhibitions, leading to novel and varied behavior. Not that alcohol promotes neuronal development, but these types of behavior seem to be the opposite of symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, such as delayed onset of communication skills in childhood, and ritualistic behavior.

     There seem to be two paradoxes here.

     The first paradox is that hallucinations, behaviors which societal norms cast as too experimental and disordered, and lack of ritual and regularity in everyday living are all things which can be cited in order to support diagnoses of “psychosis” or “neurosis”, which are both vague, overused, practically meaningless medical terms. Psychosis and similar “afflictions” are often treated with anti-psychotic or anti-depression medications, which often contain fluoride or fluorine.

     The second paradox is that people who use marijuana - a drug which often causes experimental behaviors, decreases ritualistic behaviors, and ameliorates nervous tics - can get addicted to it, addiction itself being a ritualistic behavior.

For more entries on food and drugs, please visit:
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-opposition-to-hypothetical-excise.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/bwiti-religion-nganga-and-tabernanthe.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/10/speech-at-great-midwest-marijuana.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/lonny-shavelsons-hooked-from.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-war-on-drugs.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/conversation-with-liberal-on-taxing.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-legalizing-heroin.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/15-reasons-to-legalize-marijuana.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/social-policies-for-2012-us-house.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-food-and-drug-administration.html