Marijuana 241Type:Hallucinogen.Seepage 25
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule I (DEA no. 7360)
USA Availability:Illegal to possess
Pregnancy Category:None
Uses.As the twenty-first century began, the recreational use of marijuana
was mainly for relaxation. The drug is often used in a social setting of mellow
geniality. The drug can produce euphoria; in that context recreational usage
can leak over into self-medication easing depression. One authority has said
that psychological effects are facilitated by the substance, not caused by it. In
other words, marijuana may help people achieve states of consciousness that
they can learn to achieve in other ways.
When the federal government’s drug scheduling system was adopted in the
1970s, marijuana was classified as Schedule I, certifying it as having no med-
ical value. Like many other substances, over the years marijuana had been
used for medical purposes that became obsolete as better treatments were
discovered. Then, by accident, a glaucoma sufferer discovered that his con-
dition improved when he smoked marijuana, and subsequent scientific tests
confirmed that the natural product had a hitherto unknown ability to relieve
that devastating eye disease that can cause blindness. Marijuana’s long-known
antinausea and appetite enhancement qualities also became publicized as a
help to patients undergoing the rigors of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome) and cancer treatments. As researchers began discovering other po-
tential therapeutic actions of marijuana (including treatment of pain, multiple
sclerosis, muscle spasticity, ulcerative colitis, and hiccups), medical use be-
came a controversial issue in the 1990s. Among the debated points was
whether the natural product had advantages over pharmaceuticaldronabinol
(containing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, also called THC, which is mari-
juana’s main active ingredient). Instead of swallowing dronabinol capsules,
some patients prefer to smoke marijuana because they can fine-tune the THC
dosage more easily, puffing just enough instead of taking a capsule that might
have more THC than they need. Marijuana smoke may also reduce some of
the unwanted actions of THC. Althoughbelladonnaandjimson weedciga-
rettes were used for many years to treat asthma, given what is known about
the hazards of both tobacco and polluted air, few medical caregivers today
are likely to favor inhaling any kind of smoke. Ancient Greeks reportedly put
marijuana seeds on hot stones to release vapor, and modern efforts are de-
vising other ways to produce vapor without igniting the substance, providing
aerosol delivery without smoke.
Scientific debate aside, controversy about medical marijuana also had po-
litical components. Many powerful individuals and institutions had a vested
interest in maintaining marijuana’s Schedule I status. Also, many persons saw
legalization for medical purposes as the first step toward lifting the ban on
recreational use. Passionate claims and counterclaims about marijuana’s med-
ical value swirled as this book was written, and doctors could not prescribe
marijuana.