In one corner, we have cannabis with nearly eight decades of prohibition under its belt. In the other corner, we have opioids, alcohol, and tobacco. It’s shaping up to be one tough battle in this three-on-one fight, but cannabis is starting to cultivate success in this epic saga.
Alcohol’s record with prohibition is minor compared to that of cannabis. Tobacco only faces lawsuits and price hikes, knowing nothing of prohibition. Speaking of knowing nothing about prohibition, opioids are coming in strong without prohibition of any sort. In fact, opioids quickly grew to become one of America’s favorite illegal recreational substances. Americans consume an estimated 80% or more of the entire global opioid supply.
Research is beginning to show what people already know, and that is that cannabis is medicine. Cannabis is helping people from all different walks of life. People of all ages are finding benefits from cannabis. You can go online and find countless stories of cannabis helping people to manage their symptoms, control their symptoms, and even at times, eliminate their symptoms. There are also stories of cannabis helping fight opioid addiction, alcohol addiction, and stories of cannabis helping people kick addiction to tobacco as well.
Some People Still Think Cannabis is Bad
Some people might say it’s trading one bad habit for another. Is this true, though? How many people have died in the cannabis epidemic compared to the opioid epidemic? That’s right, the only epidemic with cannabis is the one created by the United States federal government’s archaic regulations supporting outdated cannabis policy. Cannabis can be dangerous, but there are circumstances surrounding these potential dangers.
For instance, some people could be allergic to certain terpenes found in cannabis. This could cause issues from headaches, nausea, and breathing difficulties to more severe issues like their heart going into AFib. Cannabis can also be potentially dangerous when it is not cultivated properly. Poor cultivation techniques can lead to multiple issues such as pests, microbial outbreaks, mildew, mold, and more. All of these issues pose potentially serious risks should someone consume cannabis handled in this poor of a manner.
With all that aside, when cannabis is cultivated properly and handled correctly, the side effects from it compared to alcohol, tobacco, or opioids are substantially different. The side effects of cannabis typically are very happy ones. Cannabis consumers tend to experience feelings of joy and euphoria. They also experience relief from pain, inflammation, stress, depression, anxiety, nausea, loss of appetite, headaches, sleep disorders such as insomnia, and more.
Alcohol, as we know, can be very dangerous. It leads to poor judgment, impaired cognitive functions, and health risks such as damage to the liver, kidneys, and relationships. Alcohol coincidentally happens to be one of America’s favorite recreational pastimes. Beer seems to be one of America’s alcoholic beverages of choice. Americans consumed over 20 million gallons of beer in 2018, according to information from Statista. The CDC estimates that over 50 million adults in America use tobacco. The National Institute of Health reported that opioid deaths continuously rose from 2017, when there were an estimated 47,600 deaths, through 2020 when there were over 68,000 deaths reported.
Coming on, Strong Cannabis is Going for the Win
In collaboration with Canadian researchers, researchers from the U.S. helped participate in a study that looked at 2,697 medical cannabis patients in Canada. Of the over 2,600 individuals surveyed, 47% of them reported substituting cannabis in place of controlled substances they would typically turn to. These controlled substances ranged from alcohol and tobacco to street drugs such as heroin, morphine, and pharmaceutical drugs like opioid medications.
It doesn’t take surveys and scientific research to see that cannabis is making a difference in addiction. Opioids, tobacco, alcohol, street drug addiction, and dependency are all big problems in America. America absolutely loves its recreational time. Water activities, sports, backyard BBQs, and vacations are some of the most popular recreational activities. A lot of that recreational time is also spent working on getting intoxicated. Some people reach for a cigarette when they’re stressed out. Some people wait to have a beer after work or a glass of wine to help them relieve the stress of the day. Some people pop prescription medication in order to help them function to achieve day-to-day tasks. All of these people have something in common. These are all people that are finding cannabis to be a great alternative to alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs.
Elected representatives and lawmakers in America often say more research is needed on cannabis. However, the research is out there. Open-minded politicians not stuck in the past are what America needs more of. Countless studies supporting the medical and therapeutic benefits of cannabis can be found on websites like the National Institute of Health, the Journal of American Medicine, and others. Not to mention countless stories can be found throughout multiple media outlets supporting the many different benefits cannabis has to offer.
Cannabis legalization is more than about removing a stigma from a plant. It is about freeing a nation from unjust archaic, outdated government policy that has victimized far too many for far too long. The medical, industrial, and even recreational applications for cannabis far outweigh that of the greed exhibited by politicians who continue to support prohibition. Let your local lawmakers know you support medical cannabis. When it comes time for an election, if politicians choose to support continued prohibition, remember they support racism and sexism and are susceptible to propaganda-based thinking founded on the fundamentals of false information. Cannabis is making a difference; it’s time for our elected representatives to do the same.
Conclusion
The bottom line is cannabis has been made out to be the demon within society when in fact it is things such as tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals that are causing the most damage. Not just to our health, but to society in general. Simply ask anyone you know if they know someone that lost their life to smoking, drinking, or prescription medications and it is likely every one of them will say yes and that is a sad reality. Fortunately, this is where cannabis can have its time to shine by proving that it offers not only medical benefits in abundance but also support for those that are looking to kick their addictions to these other intoxicants and find a higher quality of life through medical cannabis.
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