By Miera Garcia
Flickr
The general public’s perception of marijuana use could be stigmatized based on the facts we know, and the time and effort it takes to conduct new research.
The effects marijuana has on person, harmful or not, is very complex and widespread.
According to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), marijuana is labeled as a Schedule I controlled substance which defines marijuana as a drug with currently no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Because of this, Zach Sneed – program director for Addiction Counseling in the Department of Clinical Counseling and Mental Health at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – said researchers are given an extremely narrow field to work with, and it can take years to go through the application process alone before being able to conduct research.
With how quickly marijuana perceptions are changing and as more states make the substance legal, the public may not understand the time commitment it takes to determine all of the underlying harmful and non-harmful effects marijuana has on a person.
“We’re at a crossroads where there are a lot of things happening in a lot of places that allow us to get better research,” Sneed said. “So, we’re expanding the area of understanding harms and benefits and it’s a little confusing right now.”
Sneed also said the best use of any psychotropic substance (marijuana, tobacco, alcohol) without a specific diagnosis and circumstances for medical treatment, is no use due to the way they produce changes in the body. He also said some parts of scholarly literature indicates marijuana could be beneficial in a variety of circumstances, but the studies are weak within the scientific community.
Zach Sneed, PhD, LCDC, CRC
Program Director (Photo from TTU Website)
Madison Garcia, a 27-year-old sophomore RTV major (radio, television, film) at Austin Community College and Air Force veteran, has been consistently smoking marijuana on an everyday basis for two years now. She said she finds it helps her with anxiety, insomnia, depression, creativity and also proves to be more effective than anti-depressants for her.
“I think legalizing marijuana everywhere for medicinal purposes would be beneficial for someone like me, who can’t get medicinal marijuana for the mental health purposes I need it for.” Garcia said.
Garcia also said some negative effects she experiences are over-doing dosage, lack of productivity, occasional nausea, and financial costs.
“(M)y perception of marijuana can be different from others because my experience with it is different from what research shows,” Garcia said.
Read more about Texas’ marijuana laws here.
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