The Truth About Marijuana

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Marijuana is big in the news right now, yet it remains one of the most controversial and divisive political hot buttons in American politics. Advocates seem to think it can save the world, whereas detractors place it on the same level as crack cocaine. As with most things, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Not only is the great pot debate not black and white to begin with, but the issue itself is fundamentally extremely complex.

The bad news...

...is that much of what your parents and teachers told you about marijuana, despite being irresponsibly oversimplified, blown out of proportion, and taken out of context; is absolutely true, practically speaking.

Despite recent good press for marijuana, the fact is that chronic abuse has some pretty serious negative health consequences, and even occasional use can be dangerous, especially for young people. This includes a significant reduction in gray matter in the cerebral cortex, along with increased neural connections in that region. While increased neural connections may sound like a positive thing, the researchers believe it's a defense mechanism. They also found less volume in the orbitofrontal cortex, which is involved in decision making and emotional response.

More alarming, the earlier the onset of use, the more this increased connectivity affected the user. They also noted that it began to take place early on, meaning that even light use will still lead to structural changes in the brain in young people. This goes along with a thirty year study on IQ, which concluded that marijuana smoking permanently lowered IQ, and more so in those who abused marijuana as teenagers. Moreover, this was a longitudinal study, meaning that it eliminates the possibility of lower IQ individuals simply being more likely to pick up pot smoking. On the contrary, plenty of high IQ people smoke pot, it seems.

The study concluded that teenagers who abused marijuana would see an average eight point reduction in IQ. Consider for a moment that an IQ of ninety points is considered average, whereas an IQ just ten points lower is barely above borderline mentally disabled. Thus, while eight points doesn't sound like that much, it's actually highly significant. Alternately, it could mean the difference between simply being above average and being a bonafide genius.

Other studies on the relationship between marijuana and mental health found that the age of onset also had a lot to do with a person's risk of developing psychosis as a result of marijuana abuse. With all of this, the conclusion should be clear to any honest, rational person; that marijuana negatively affects the brain, especially in young people.

But wait!

The good news...

...is that marijuana isn't "real" cannabis. That is, the strains of marijuana used recreationally do not occur naturally, and naturally occurring marijuana isn't capable of getting a person high. This is because of the ratio of CBD to THC found in different types of cannabis. THC, the component responsible for the psychoactive effects, is naturally very low in wild marijuana, as well as related domestic strains like hemp.

Additionally, CBD is quite high in these strains, which actually counteracts what little THC is present, completely neutralizing any chance of getting high. Alternately, cultivated marijuana has been genetically modified to have extremely high THC levels, along with extremely low CBD content, with seemingly disastrous results for human health. Even more surprising, the naturally occurring high CBD strains seem to be more medicinally useful. These high CBD strains have been shown to even treat anxiety, whereas high THC strains are actually a cause of anxiety. Additionally, the "medical miracles" you hear about all involve high CBD strains, including treating seizures in children.

This isn't to say that THC is bad, mind you. In fact, the positive results of CBD are fully realized only with the addition of some THC, which seems to work synergistically with CBD. There are also benefits of THC itself, such as the shrinkage of tumors, and these benefits are apparently not lessened by the presence of CBD. In other words, you don't have to get high to realize the full health benefits of marijuana.

Early studies on high CBD strains also indicate that there's no brain damage associated with them, with no reduction in gray matter or increased neural connections. The CBD appears to protect the brain from the THC, neutralizing any potentially negative effects of the THC itself.

A Caveat

This is not intended in any way as an attack on marijuana, or a criticism of the choices made by mature adults regarding their own health. Considering we live in a society that accepts recreational alcohol use as normal, we should really take a step back and put marijuana in context. If a mature adult chooses to use it recreationally, then it's hard to argue that it's anymore harmful than alcohol in that scenario.

Additionally, high THC marijuana-that is, marijuana capable of getting a person high-is very useful for treating symptoms associated with disease. And even a superficial analysis obviates that high THC cannabis, as harmful as it is, is far less harmful than the pharmaceutical alternatives that treat those same symptoms. For example, marijuana has been shown to be extremely effective for relieving pain, enabling patients to forgo opioids. Even in patients who can't go without the opioids completely, adding marijuana enables them to reduce their opioid intake, increasing their quality of life and decreasing their chances of developing a serious addiction.

This is all moot, however, as it's not our job as a society to dictate to seriously ill people what they can and can't have to make them feel better. Likewise, it's not our job to define serious illness. A person's health and course of treatment for disease is their own affair, and their's alone. Only they know how they feel, and if they're willing to accept the side effects then far be it from us to stop them.

Only a cruel and tyrannical society would withhold marijuana from the sick, especially when it comes to the terminally ill, who won't be around long enough to be affected. For them, long term side effects are about as meaningful as high cholesterol. And only a corrupt society would offer them ineffective pharmaceuticals in its place, most of which have nasty and immediate side effects that outweigh any benefits, only adding to their suffering in the name of profit.

In conclusion, while I wholeheartedly support universal legalization, it's extremely important that we are also honest with ourselves when it comes to recreational pot. The media at the moment would almost have us believe that getting high is a good thing! But, as they say, there's no free lunch. So while the occasional toke might not be that bad for adults, it's certainly not a sustainable lifestyle.