Medical marijuana is known for relieving glaucoma, a disease that causes pressure on the eyes which can lead to blindness. Yet, because of the potent properties of the drug and the fact that the drug is still illegal in the majority of American states, marijuana should never be legalized in New Jersey nor in those states which have yet to pass laws for the medicinal use of the drug.
Here’s why:
Marijuana is derived from the hemp plant (cannabis sativa) with over 400 different chemicals all combined to induced various states of euphoria in the user. Yet, there is a primary mind-altering chemical that deserves special emphasis in discussing the various euphoric states that marijuana induces.
Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC is a powerful mood inducer that increases the person’s sensation of pleasure and propels him onto a false sense of feeling good about himself. This false sense can be quite serious in which the person can experienced various degrees of mood changes that often result from memory loss and anxiety as well as confusion and delusions.
Furthermore, a person can easily overdose on THC by being a frequent user/abuser of marijuana. These overdoses can often result in a variety of symptoms such as feelings of paranoia and fear or nausea and vomiting; also, the person will manifest an increased heart rate as well as become more hallucinatory and disoriented. And this is when medical marijuana has been prescribed to patients whose various illnesses are treated by such prescriptions.
Even patients who have been diagnosed with glaucoma and HIV related illnesses have also been known to manifest the aforementioned symptoms because of prolonged use of medical marijuana. As a result of frequently using and/or abusing the drug, the person and/or patient would soon immersed himself into even more dangers.
Loss of coordination is apparent in a person’s inability to perform basic physical movements. Also, excessive marijuana use will result in an impaired perception of reality. With this impaired perception of reality, the person will do things that needlessly put others at risk. For example, driving an automobile while stoned on pot is far more riskier than driving under the influence of alcohol. Drunkenness slows or delays a person’s reaction time, while being stoned on pot the driver loses his coordination and/or control of the vehicle.
Thus, could medical marijuana soon be legal in New Jersey? Given the response to the Compassionate Use Marijuana Act, the legalization of marijuana could become a reality. But who’s to say that those malefactors who are now enjoying the illicit bounty of their trade will have more incentive to do what they do.
Furthermore, The Compassionate Use Marijuana Act bodes crudely on what Americans should do in order to alleviate the pain and inordinate suffering of the poor and marginalized in our society.
Finally, The Compassionate Use Marijuana Act is everything but compassion. It excludes those who are so poor and marginalized that they wouldn’t be able to afford the cost of a medically prescribed prescription to the drug of marijuana. Perhaps the Act should be amended to accommodate those on the bottom rung of the socio-economic ladder?