I believe drugs have destroyed many lives but wrong government policies have destroyed more lives. Kofi Annan
Marijuana is a dry, shredded green and brown mixture of flowers, stems and seeds obtained from the female hemp plant known as Cannabis Sativa. Marijuana belongs to the hallucinogens class of drugs which can be taken either orally or smoked. Jerrold Meyer and Linda Quenzer (2019) in Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behaviour, claimed marijuana consist of more than 70 unique compounds while others have even suggested more than 400 chemical components which can be explored for multitudes of purposes.
The major psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical in marijuana is the delta-9, scientifically known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Marijuana generally comes in three forms: herbal cannabis, hashish and hashish oil. It has several names depending on it location and notable among these are: ‘cannabis’, ‘Indian hemp’, ‘weed’, ‘wee’, ‘ganja’, ‘pot’, ‘stone’, ‘igbo’, ‘hashish’, ‘abonsa tawa’, inter alia.
Globally, marijuana in all its forms is a controlled drug and so is its cultivation, production, manufacturing, distribution, trafficking or consumption per the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol (Schedules I and IV). In Ghana, its unauthorized use, possession, cultivation, export or import, among others is a criminal offence under the Narcotics Drugs (Control, Enforcement and Sanctions) Law, 1990 (PNDCL 236).
The marijuana plant can be employed for a myriad of purposes ranging from recreational to medicinal as well as for commercial and industrial uses. Nonetheless, the high rate of marijuana abuse and its associated negative consequences especially among the youth has also called for concern and action by key stakeholders on the way forward.
Recreational Use
The most widely used narcotics drug worldwide continues to be marijuana, with an estimated 188 million people have used the drug in the previous year. The active users are ages of 15-64 of which about 45 million, 54 million and 57 million are in Africa, Asia and North America respectively. In Europe, five out of six countries that provided data on marijuana prevalence in 2017 also reported an increase in its usage. The overall global annual users of marijuana have increased by 30% over the period 1998 to 2017 (UNODC, 2019). And in Ghana, it is no secret that marijuana use for recreation has been on the ascendancy for some time now coupled with the use of other addictive drugs like tramadol, inter alia.
The recreational use of marijuana is prohibited in most countries of the world although a few have legalized with quite a number of them decriminalizing it usage, amidst an increasing call for its outright legalization. In December 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize marijuana in all spheres (cultivation, production, distribution, possession and use). Subsequently, Bolivia and Peru also legalized not only marijuana but coca as well (the raw plant for producing cocaine). Other countries which have also legalized recreational marijuana include the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Canada, some states in the US and South Africa in recent time.
Proponents of marijuana use such as Hogan et al (1970) conducted surveys comparing marijuana users with non-users in a college. They found out that users are more sociable, have a broader range of interests, more adventurous and more concerned with the feelings of others. Non-users, on the other hand, were found to be too deferential to external authority, narrow in their interests and over-controlled. Mary Lynn Marthe (2002) also claimed that those adolescents who experimented with drugs (primarily marijuana) were the “best-adjusted” compared to abstainers.
Medical Marijuana
Marijuana as a herbal plant has been used as medicine since time immemorial. Samuel C. D. Hanu, a psychiatrist nurse at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and a student of International Programme in Addiction Studies (IPAS) in an article titled “Legalization of Marijuana in Ghana: The Issues”, posits that the use of marijuana as medicine dates back to 2700 BC when the Chinese used it to cure maladies ranging from rheumatism to constipation.
He adds that there were similar reports of Indians, Africans, ancient Greeks and medieval Europeans using the substance to treat fevers, dysentery and malaria. In the history of US, for example, physicians documented the therapeutic properties of the marijuana as early as 1840 to the extent that it was included in the US Pharmacopoeia, the official list of recognized medical drugs from 1850 to 1942.
Moreso, the Medical Service Workers Compensation Board in 2012 opines that smoking marijuana is reported to reduce intraocular pressure in glaucoma and to ameliorate pain, nausea, multiple sclerosis, spasticity and asthma. The Liberal Party of Canada Standing Policy Committee, a pro-legalization political party, in January 2013 claimed that Canadian doctors prescribe marijuana to more than 20,000 people to treat conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s, premenstrual syndrome, seizures and migraines to glaucoma, MS, OCD, ADD and HIV/AIDS.
Currently, there are about 30 countries that have legalised medical marijuana. In the US, for instance, the National Conference of State legislatures reported that as at March 2019, 33 states including the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical purposes.
Commercial-Industrial Benefits
The marijuana plant species is one of the fastest-growing plant in the world. It can be processed into a variety of commercial and industrial purposes such as paper, textiles, shoes, clothing, cosmetics products, biodegradable plastics, paints, building materials, biofuel, animal feed and food. In 2009, a report by the RAND Corporation for the European Commission concluded that the global retail expenditures on marijuana ranged from €40-120 billion based on a global market of about 200 million consumers. The said report also estimated a €2.769 billion for the marijuana retail market in Canada and the World Drug Report, 2019 also claims that in the states of California, Colorado and Oregon alone the total sales of different marijuana products were estimated at $4.2 billion from January to November 2018.
In spite of the several positive uses of marijuana and its derivatives, there has been a significant increase in marijuana-related emergency room visits, hospital admissions and traffic deaths as well as instances of people driving under the influence of marijuana in the State of Colorado and other jurisdictions per the 2018 World Drug Report.
Marijuana on the Brain
When the drug ingest in the body, the THC acts upon specific molecular targets on the brain cells called cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are ordinarily activated by chemicals similar to THC called endocannabinoids such as anandamide. These naturally occurring in the body are part of a neural communication network called the endocannabinoid system. This system according to US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) plays an important role in normal brain development and function that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception as well as coordinated movement.
Marijuana over activates the endocannabinoid system, causing the “high” and other effects that users experience. These include distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving as well as disrupted learning and memory. It also mentions that those who use marijuana heavily in their teens lose 8 points in their Intelligence Quotient (IQ) when they are between age 13 and age 38 and that those lost cognitive abilities were not restored in those who even quit smoking marijuana as adults (NIDA, 2012).
Again, Health Canada (2014) also posits that marijuana use leads to loss of memory and creates learning problems. Dr Romina Mizrahi, also claims a well-replicated epidemiological study indicates a 2-4 fold of incidences of schizophrenia in early marijuana users as well as an increase in psychosis associated with marijuana use before age 15. Furthermore, it is estimated in the US that persons with mental illness are responsible for about 80% of all marijuana consumed.
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Legalization