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English Paper Three11/26/2017Jared SeipAn odd StatisticLights flashing, sirens screeching, nosey people lurk nearby as multiple firemen attempt to revive a heroin overdose at the Blue Ash Kroger. It’s a sad but sobering thought, that this is just an average day in Cincinnati Ohio. With encouraging movement to end prohibition in the state of Ohio, we may see this epidemic begin to dwindle. In states where legal marijuana is readily available opiate abuse is dropping. People may ask the question: Is this the answer to the opiate epidemic sweeping our country? I am going to tell you why I believe legal marijuana is the answer to a nasty problem that is effecting 13.5 Million people nationwide. Common misconceptions, and misleading advertisement campaigns led by anti-marijuana coalitions funded by alcohol, prescription drug, and tobacco companies. These companies spew fear mongering agenda to the public, the coalitions make false claims saying marijuana is a gateway drug: When in fact these companies are selling the gateway drugs that kill, and mess people up for life. Most people don’t anticipate becoming addicted to opioids or opiates usually prescription pills prescribed to a person is seen as the culprit. Usually people that become addicts are desperate and may have some variety of mental health disease. Some people don’t realize the difference between opiate and opioids: The difference is vast, more than 60 percent of drug overdoses come from opioid use. Opioid is a term used to refer to the synthetic form of heroin. Opiates is the term used to refer to drugs with a derivative of the opium poppy. Now that you can distinguish the difference between and heroin and marijuana let me show you why I believe marijuana could be vital to ending the opioid epidemic. The several states that have legalized cannabis have seen tremendous decreases in opioid overdose deaths. In an article, “researchers from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Philadelphia VA Medical center found that opioid overdose deaths decreased by nearly 25 percent in a state following the passage od medical marijuana laws”. Another supporting research found similar results, that states with marijuana dispensaries see a decrease in opioid overdoses. Another research done by University of Michigan officials showed a retrospective survey of 244 patients suffering from chronic pain substituted marijuana for there prescription opiates. And in the state of Michigan medical marijuana use was associated with a 64 percent decrease in opioid use. Marijuana is a proven pain medication, people in medical marijuana states will opt for cannabis in place for opiates in many circumstances. Marijuana can help with many chronic, and viral conditions. Weed can help people with sleeping disorders, and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Many people are unaware of the components in marijuana, the two you need to know about are Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC this component is the psychotropic cannabinoid in other words it gets you “stoned”. The other component is cannabidiol or CBD which serves more of the medicinal end of the two. This component treats inflammation, pain, anxiety, and spasms very effectively. Both of these components assist in pain management and most patients are able to cope with the pain from marijuana alone, although some may do a cocktail of both marijuana and prescription pills. But it is very effective to manage pain naturally. It is a proven fact heroin addiction starts with prescription pills. Many patients will get pills after a surgery or injury and become hooked on these pills. Once they run out of there script the patients will attempt to buy similar drugs from a dealer. Many drugs have been tainted with stronger cheaper drugs for better profit margins. The rate for heroin use in the US has nearly doubled in the past 12 months, but the number of prescriptions given has slowed.We already know opioids are deadly and very addictive but, are our community leaders doing enough to slow the momentum of these powerful drugs. Everyday opioids are creeping further into our own communities, and we have no way to help. The addictiveness of these drugs is something that cannot be disputed, once “street morphine” is injected it will bind to opioid receptors in the brain mostly in the areas involved in feelings of pain and pleasure. This creates a feeling that cannot be matched, and will continually be chased by addicts. Once a person is a frequent user of heroin, they build a tolerance making them do more with each use. This build up of tolerance can lead to a fatal dose of heroin entering your blood stream. Heroin overdoses are usually caused by lack of oxygen in the bloodstream. A person will have dangerous withdrawals of the drug if stopped abruptly. Not to mention this is heroin without it being laced, if laced with another street drug called fentanyl a grain size dose just touching your skin can be fatal.More people now are using heroin than ever before, The United States Department of Health as gone to the extent of labeling this crisis an epidemic. According to Forbes in a small state such as Vermont they have seen a, “770 percent” increase in heroin abuse since 2000. Time Magazine had also said, “Heroin use has been rising since 2007, growing from 373,000 yearly users to 669,000 in 2012”. A big reason heroin has gone so rampant is the increase in supply of it, driving the price down making it more affordable then prescription pills. In states where medical marijuana is available, heroin scarcity has drove prices up. Rising opioid prices means addicts will be less likely to be able to afford the drugs.The United States Federal Government currently labels marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. The drugs included in the schedule 1 category currently are heroin, LSD, marijuana, ecstasy, meth, and peyote. When we measure these drugs up there is one obscene difference. Marijuana is a natural plant, with medicinal benefits that could harm the pharmaceutical companies. To be considered a schedule 1 drug the requirements according to the DEA include, “drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” The science is undisputable, and the facts are concrete that marijuana has many medical applications. According to the LA Times, “Marijuana's classification as a Schedule I drug dates to 1970, when Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act. On two occasions since then, marijuana advocates have petitioned the DEA to reconsider the classification, citing the medical benefits of cannabis.”? The classification of marijuana is absurd considering it has lowered abuse of all the drugs it is currently scheduled with, in medical marijuana states.The safety of medical marijuana cannot be matched by any other drug, the substance has killed less people than just about every prescription, and street pill on the market today. Medical marijuana has zero overdose related deaths. Medical marijuana does have a fatal dose, but it is impossible to reach. When put up to other street drugs of the same schedule, the safeness and upside of the plant is insane. According to the National Center for Health Statistics 52,404 overdoses occurred in 2016 of those 33,000 were from opioids, and legal pain killers. The other overdoses can be attributed to drugs like cocaine, meth, and ecstasy. These wide-used party drugs have seen less use in medical states. The movement to legalize marijuana in more states, and federally should be swift; If we want to curve the upspring of overdoses.Campaigns of misleading information has led to a negative stigma being attached to marijuana. This stigma has slowed the rate of legalization across the country. Many US citizens still believe that Marijuana is a gateway drug, and that it can kill you. Most of us know this not to be true. For example, the other day my grandmother was lecturing me about the dangers of marijuana use. I had to respectfully re-educate her, but she stuck with her agenda on the issue, and continued to explain first comes marijuana use then harder drugs. This trend taught to us by anti-drug campaigns is not true. In fact, most people that try marijuana only stick to using marijuana. Coalitions of angry rich white men have led us to glorify drinking, tobacco, and hating marijuana.The main backers of anti- drug campaigns are big tobacco, alcohol, and drug companies. These companies have the most to lose with the ending of prohibition on the horizon. Although statistics show lower painkiller abuse, and overdoses in medical marijuana states big pharmaceutical companies don’t want to lose the money. The study done by the LA Times reports,” In medical-marijuana states, the average doctor prescribed 265 fewer doses of antidepressants each year, 486?fewer doses of seizure medication, 541 fewer anti-nausea doses and 562 fewer doses of anti-anxiety medication”. The most shocking stat from the same study was the states prescribed 1,826 fewer doses of painkillers in a given year. The money big pharmaceutical companies could lose if prohibition ends amounts to trillions of dollars. Big pharma companies work vigorously to slow the end of prohibition through lobbying with a variety of federal agencies. Human Health Services recommended, “that naturally derived THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana, be moved from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act —?a less restrictive category that would acknowledge the drug's medical use and make it easier to research?and prescribe.” Months later a drug company representative lobbying on their behalf wrote, "the abuse potential in terms of the need to grow and cultivate substantial crops of marijuana in the United States." This led to the DEA ultimately declining. Don’t be fooled Marijuana is illegal because, of crooked politicians not the dangers of the herb.In states where legal marijuana is readily available opiate abuse is dropping. The resolution is clear to a problem slowing are progress as a nation everyday. Medical marijuana has many medical upsides for addicts, and people suffering from pain. Marijuana would give these recovering addicts a crutch to lean on when urges are unbearable. According to a poll taken by Quinnipiac University, slightly more than half say use of marijuana should be legal. This herb has applications that could replace your whole medicine cabinet, and with over a fifty percent approval rating isn’t as controversial as it once was. If we can re-educate the older generations of the benefits of marijuana, and get rid of the negative stigmas associated with marijuana: I believe we will be able to legalize federally, and overtime see a dramatic change in the opioid crisis.Work CitedURL TitleThe Washington PostArticle TitleOne striking chart shows why pharma companies are fighting legal marijuanaDate PublishedJuly 13, 2016Date AccessedDecember 03, 2017URL TitleLos Angeles TimesArticle TitleMedical marijuana advocates seek reclassification of drugDate PublishedOctober 16, 2012Date AccessedDecember 03, 2017URL TitleCNNArticle TitleUS drug overdose deaths reach new record highDate PublishedAugust 08, 2017Date AccessedDecember 03, 2017URL TitleDEA / Drug SchedulingDate AccessedDecember 03, 2017 TitleWikipediaArticle TitleRemoval of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances ActDate PublishedDecember 02, 2017Date AccessedDecember 03, 2017URL TitleLos Angeles TimesArticle TitleMedical marijuana advocates seek reclassification of drugDate PublishedOctober 16, 2012Date AccessedDecember 03, 2017URL TitlePOLITICOArticle TitleNational poll: Majority supports legalizing marijuanaDate PublishedJune 06, 2016Date AccessedDecember 03, 2017URL TitleThe New York TimesArticle TitlePrescription Painkillers Seen as a Gateway to HeroinDate PublishedFebruary 10, 2014Date AccessedDecember 03, 2017 ................
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