Marijuana is a drug that is statistically proven to be less harmful than others but is still considered dangerous based upon the bias of those use it. Marijuana is used all over the world whether it is medically, physically, or simply just for pleasure, but the facts of the drug being used in a positive way are ignored and not taken into account. People’s viewpoints of marijuana are based on their own morals and ethics rather than the facts. This consists of the statistics of usage, different viewpoints with health issues, and societal impact.
Marijuana is commonly used in today’s society. There are many young teens and young adults who use cannabis and accept it for what it is and what it does, however, there are people who are intolerable to marijuana and to those who use it. Marijuana is used throughout the world and in the article Adjusting Survey Estimates for Response Bias: An Application to Trends in Alcohol and Marijuana Use, first-hand accounts of marijuana and alcohol use are shown with a collection of data, including surveys and reference periods. This article explains how bias can make a major difference in trends between the use of alcohol and marijuana. The article claims that early use of alcohol leads to the early use of marijuana. Different situations in an adolescent’s life affect how they are introduced to marijuana and how extreme it is used. Other drugs are talked about as well as cocaine, hallucinogens, alcohol, and cigarettes in comparison to marijuana (Johnson, Gerstein, Rasinski 1998). “Age of initiation of alcohol, cigarette, and illicit drug use is a powerful predictor of drug consequences and dependence” (page 27). “Recall decay would downwardly bias the estimated percentages using drugs of earlier cohorts relative to later cohorts relative to later cohorts because earlier cohorts must recall events that are more distant in time” (29). Bias due to social acceptability and fear of disclosure interviewer-administered questionnaires result in greater underreporting of drug use than do self-administered forms” (29). Both marijuana and cocaine use attained peak levels but marijuana use before age 21 increased by 250% (Johnson, Gerstein, Rasinski 1998). Related to these “changes in mass media messages may also have shaped public beliefs and values about drug use during recent US history” (32) came out bias perspectives and perceptions of the drug. The different trends in use of major drug types suggest the need to qualify an important insight of epidemiological theory-that addictive substances are epidemiologically linked in individual life cycles like a series of sequential stages or “gateways” (32). As these “gateways” are linked to illicit drugs, such as marijuana, they are meant to increase doses and the higher the drug level. “NHSDA data show that among individuals who initiated marijuana use before age 21, the percentage who had previously tried either alcohol or cigarettes declined steadily from about 80%” (32). With information claiming that marijuana is an “addictive” drug, bias towards its prohibition are never the less reprimanded by states and people. “Prevention approaches based on sequential theory have had a little apparent effect on the incidence of marijuana use” (33). With trying to prevent the use of marijuana “there is no need to discard the central insight that prior use of alcohol or cigarettes predisposes many individuals to try illicit drugs” (33). Marijuana will always be used as long as cigarettes and alcohol are too.
According to the article Health Effects of Using Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes: A Gender Analysis of Users’ Perspectives, first-hand accounts of the medical benefits of CTP (Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes) are shown throughout studies with people of opposite gender. “Women were found to be more likely to use Cannabis for strictly Therapeutic Purposes, whereas men used it both therapeutically and recreationally” (Bottorff 770). “Men reporting the reduced use of conventional medications and higher satisfaction with CTP [medical marijuana] compared with conventional medications” (770). Men in this study stopped using normal medications and would use cannabis instead. “Participants were asked about their attitudes toward and experiences of [medical marijuana] use including their perceptions of the health effects of [it]” (772). As health benefits from marijuana were perceived as helpful and not harmful, those who were involved in the study felt that those who feel that they need it should have access to it because it helped them enormously:
“It was also clear they believed that this medicine, which they found so valuable in a culture that did not consistently support its use, needed to be more available to people who needed it. The health effects of CTP use emerged from personal experiences of accessing and trying cannabis to treat health problems and finding a therapeutic regime that best met their individual needs. Themes related to perceived health benefits included cannabis as life preserving, an adjuvant disease therapy, a medicine for the mind, a means toward self-management, and a way of managing addiction. The health risks of using CTP were largely discounted, and participants presented themselves as responsible consumers who were able to manage potential risks in relation to purchasing the drug, excessive use, and smoking” (772).
For women, cannabis was a “holistic” therapeutic tool, enabling them to keep on living despite their diagnoses. Women were strongly committed to using CTP, in part, because they attributed their survival to their use of the drug. When asked to complete the sentence, "To me, cannabis is…,” three women responded by stating it was their “lifesaver.” More or less, this attachment to marijuana can make people feel incredible but once it is taken away, they feel that something is missing. A woman in her 30s who had used medical marijuana daily for over 15 years suggested that she had no choice in using cannabis because it enabled her to function each day (772). As of today, there are many young adults that feel the need to function of off marijuana. It is not a necessity, simply just a desire. CTP studies also linked to significant improvements in mental health. The benefits were most often verbalized by women and were among the most significant benefits they attributed to cannabis. For example, a 51-year-old woman with bipolar disorder stated that her improved mood has been “the most important effect” of CTP. Another woman stated that CTP helped her deal with depression related to her terminal diagnosis and reduced her anxiety and stress. Most men, on the other hand, focused on CTP’s physical health benefits. However, some of the cases reported mental health benefits. Typically, their use was most often related to quelling anger and controlling rage both of which are common masculine characteristics of men’s depression. (773). The health risks involved with using marijuana are not based on the cannabis itself, but the by the individual that is using it and that individual’s characteristics.
Marijuana is used for patients that are prescribed the drug, at social gatherings or parties, or simply to relax and get one’s mind off of what is going on in their life. In this sense, the societal impact that marijuana has is altering the thoughts and actions that one partakes in. All sides of the debate about marijuana have taken the scientific evidence to satisfy different perspectives and claims about it. Those who put down others for whatever reason others use marijuana, may not understand all aspects of the drugs and subject to only their viewpoint. Mitch Earleywine’s book Understanding Marijuana examines the biological, psychological, and societal impact of the controversy that marijuana creates. Earleywine separates science from opinion to show how marijuana challenges easy contradictions. Following medical and political debates about marijuana, as a controversial substance, the drug is either helpful or is useless depending on the situation it is put in. “One of the most heated debates about marijuana prohibition often concern the drug’s role in social problems” (197). Socialness is one problem that comes into play when becoming high. The claim that cannabis is intoxication that alters thoughts (Earleywine 68). People who have little to no experience with the drug produce dramatic impairments for certain tasks and some simple tasks like memorizing words (68). “…studies revealed the unexpected superior performance of users over nonusers…[which] have never inspired anyone to recommend cannabis as a way to enhance cognitive abilities, but they do cast doubt on the idea that chronic marijuana use is detrimental” (89).” Anyone’s subjective experience always includes complicated combinations of thoughts, feelings, and sensations…these combinations alter during marijuana intoxication remain difficult to depict” (118). The use of marijuana does not mean affecting every single part of your physical state, however, the bias of the drug depicts it as an intoxication such as alcohol. The body has its own cannabinoids that are ignored and not taken into account. “Many animals develop receptors simply to respond to some green weed…the identification of the cannabinoid receptors inspired the search for the body’s own substances that might activate them” (138). “Marijuana does not appear to have a toxic dose [while] the drug can exacerbate symptoms of some mental illnesses particularly psychotic disorders like schizophrenia…it does not appear to cause these mental health problems [because] cannabis’s impact on brain structure is minimal” (164). In this way, a human’s animalistic incentives detect marijuana and how to activate the substance.
People’s viewpoints of marijuana are based on their own morals rather than the facts. The facts are constantly ignored and not taken into consideration. This consists of the statistics of usage, that show clearly that alcohol and cigarettes are the real killers, different viewpoints with health issues, such as medical marijuana which has been proven to alleviate stress and depression from people, and societal impact, which has a minimal impact on the brain and does not affect a person such as alcohol. The facts of marijuana are overlooked, and bias is the barrier that will continue to keep marijuana illegal and unused as it should not be.