FACT VS FICTION
Marijuana has become a controversial and divisive topic. We are exposed to all sorts of "facts" and "claims" about both sides of the issue, and our media and popular culture have given us a skewed and uninformed version of this drug. What is myth, and what is fact? What does the science say? What do the researchers who have been studying this substance for the last 50 years say? What do our legitimate medical professionals say?
This segment page is designed to provide scientific answers to many of the common questions that we get asked about this drug. It is meant to be educational. We include citations to peer-reviewed, scientific journals for all of the information provided here so that you can look up the resources and study them for yourself. The questions included here are the most common questions we get asked. We hope this is helpful to you.
This segment page is designed to provide scientific answers to many of the common questions that we get asked about this drug. It is meant to be educational. We include citations to peer-reviewed, scientific journals for all of the information provided here so that you can look up the resources and study them for yourself. The questions included here are the most common questions we get asked. We hope this is helpful to you.
Questions
What is Marijuana?
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It's a plant. The technical term is Cannabis Sativa. It's a tall, spindly plant that contains more than 500 chemicals, and includes over 100 compounds that are called cannabinoids, (i.e. CBG, CBC, CBD, THC, CBN, CBDL, CBL, CBE, CBT).
The two most commonly known compounds in the plant are CBD and THC. THC (Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol) - is a psychoactive compound of cannabis. (Psychoactive = a chemical substance that has a profound or significant effect on mental processes; one that changes brain function and alters perception, mood and/or consciousness.) CBD (Cannabidiol) - a non psychoactive compound of cannabis. It is the most abundant cannabinoid in the plant, and actually lessens the psychotropic effects of THC. |
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Why is marijuana a schedule-1 drug?
In 1971, in Vienna, Austria, the United States joined with other countries in executing an international treaty, entitled the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It was designed to establish suitable controls over the manufacture, distribution, transfer, and use of certain psychotropic substances. That treaty resulted in the Controlled Substances Act, which gives the authority to control substances to the Attorney General, who must do a medical and scientific evaluation of the substance to decide which schedule a drug should receive. There are 5 distinct categories or schedules that depend upon the drug’s acceptable medical use and the drug’s abuse or dependency potential.
Marijuana is a Schedule-1 drug because: (1) Marijuana currently has no accepted medical use in the United States, (2) Marijuana currently has a lack of accepted safety for use even under medical supervision, and (3) Marijuana has a high potential for abuse, (high likelihood of causing dependence and addiction).
Marijuana is a Schedule-1 drug because: (1) Marijuana currently has no accepted medical use in the United States, (2) Marijuana currently has a lack of accepted safety for use even under medical supervision, and (3) Marijuana has a high potential for abuse, (high likelihood of causing dependence and addiction).
HOW DOES MARIJUANA EFFECT THE BRAIN
IS MARIJUANA MEDICINE
IS RESEARCH BEING DONE ON THE MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF MARIJUANA
DOES LEGALIZING MARIJUANA INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE (AND KIDS) WHO USE IT
HAS LEGALIZING INCREASED CERTAIN PROBLEMS IN STATES
WILL LEGALIZING MARIJUANA REDUCE OPIOID DEATHS?
HAS
HAS
