When I was in community college, I took a research design sociology class. The professor put the class into groups and we were assigned a research question to answer. The question my group had was, "should marijuana be legalized on a federal level?" Our group found evidence that marijuana has many long term negative effects including "distorted perception, decreased attention span and hallucinations" in some individuals. The chemical in marijuana responsible for this "high" is called THC. My group and I found more evidence that marijuana has harmful effects for some individuals. We interviewed multiple people and found that the subjects who smoked marijuana daily, as opposed to occasionally, reported failing multiple classes and unable to keep their jobs.
Colorado and Washington recently became the first states in the nation to legalize marijuana. Consequently, both states have reported millions of dollars in additional revenue from the marijuana industry.
Many Americans have decided to leave their home states and relocate to Colorado or Washington because of easier access to marijuana. The Wilson family of Scotch Plains, New Jersey is an example of this phenomenon. They moved to Denver, Colorado in February 2014 because their three year old daughter Vivian has Dravet syndrome. Dravet syndrome is a form of severe epilepsy and can be fatal. The Wilson's left New Jersey because of road blocks in the medical marijuana program and resistance from politicians, including Governor Chris Christie. They did not want to rely on change in the government because it could take years, which is time Vivian does not have. Brian Wilson, Vivian's father, heard about other success stories with cannabis oil in children with epilepsy and decided he needed to see if cannabis oil worked for Vivian. He reports that Vivian has improved significantly, but is remaining cautiously optimistic. The cannabis oil the Mr. Wilson makes himself is low in THC, but high in CBD, which is the "good"chemical that reduces the seizures. The Wilson's would like to return to New Jersey because they miss their family and friends, but say there needs to be changes in the law and hope Governor Christie can push legislation through to make it happen.
I have done a lot of research on the consequences of marijuana use and although I feel it is harmful, I believe that marijuana will be legalized on a federal level in my lifetime. Also, I am starting to wonder if marijuana has benefits for a percentage of the population, as demonstrated in the Wilson case. It would be interesting and beneficial for tests to be done at a credible hospital or university to see results in children with debilitating illnesses. I will be looking for updates on the Wilson case and others across the country.
