Legalization of Marijuana - can it save or destroy lives?

        The exposure to drugs has been growing exponentially and seen as a common practice in the XXI century. As countries around the globe struggle in its legalization, I believe that cannabis should be legalized for medical usage and prohibited for recreational ones. According to the documentary Culture High, marijuana has two main components: THC, a chemical that triggers receptors responsible for memory, pleasure, movements, thinking, concentration, coordination, sensory and time perception – which is ultimately what people refer to as “getting high or stoned.” On the other hand, CBD is a non-psychoactive chemical component that blocks the “high” associated with THC, and exerts a plethora of pharmacological effects such as: anti-convulsive, sedative, hypnotic, anti-psychotic, anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory actions, recently proposed to have a neuro-protective role. For instance, CNN portrays a case study of the Figi family whose four-month old Charlotte suffered from Dravet syndrome – severe intractable epilepsy; the seizures start from the first year of life, unstoppable, and difficult to control, experiencing severe behavioral problems, attention deficit, and hyperactivity. After trying strange diets, acupuncture, and dozens of powerful drugs – bringing her close to death – nothing seemed to halt nor slow this devastating syndrome. Nevertheless, a rare strain of cannabis low in THC and high is CBD caused the infant, who had experienced three-hundred seizures per week, to only have one every 7 days. Surprisingly, cannabis is considered to be more effective than a normal prescription drug for certain diseases. Described in Culture High, a case study of a four-year old boy named Jayden, experienced around five-hundred seizures a day, took twenty-two pills per day, and faced extreme pain and hallucinations from such medication. Because of medical marijuana, Jayden went “seizure free” from the first time in his life. Evidently, the understanding and positive feedback of marijuana’s medical properties has become universally widespread news, potentially leading to greater medical benefits never imagined before.