Marijuana as a Schedule I Drug
Over the past decades, much attention has been drawn to the question of the categorization of marijuana in terms of the national systematization of drugs controlled by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Currently, marijuana, in one group with LSD and heroin, is included in the Schedule I category of drugs. This category implies that drugs included have no justification for medical use and have a high potential for abuse. Meanwhile, cocaine, being more dangerous in terms of addiction and potential health hazards, is classified as a Schedule II drug (Goode, 2015). Such a classification exists due to the fact that despite the detrimental effects of the latter, some practitioners still tend to use cocaine for pain control during nose surgeries. In other words, drug scheduling does not imply that some drugs are less dangerous, the classification solely concerns the drug’s ability to serve as a medical tool, hence classifying these drugs as Schedule I drugs is justified.
Marijuana, in its turn, is nowadays believed to be not only a recreational drug but a pain alleviator in severe forms of arthritis. However, modern medical associations, along with the FDA, cannot use the present empirical data to justify marijuana’s medical use and reschedule the drug (Goode, 2015). Another possible aspect in favor of such scheduling is the prevalence of marijuana use among the population. The already unprecedently high abuse rates may be affected by the rescheduling, with people falsely justifying marijuana intake as less harmful. Hence, it could be concluded that the current position of marijuana within the drug scheduling paradigm is justified. However, the ongoing debate over recategorization should be addressed by the government by allocating resources to the explicit sample studies on the matter of drug’s pain alleviation qualities.
Myths and Fallacies
The first and arguably the most common myth in terms of marijuana abuse is the belief that the drug is the least harmful substance in the paradigm. Undeniably, the hazards of marijuana use are incomparable to the ones caused by heroin abuse. Still, the drug itself contains more carcinogens than tobacco and increases the risk of various health disparities such as mental disorders, stroke, and cancer (Goode, 2015). Hence, instead of claiming this drug to be the least dangerous, it is necessary to dwell on the real and explicit hazards of using marijuana.
Another common myth in favor of marijuana use is its pain alleviation quality. Indeed, various local studies defined marijuana’s abilities to ease muscle pain and tension among people with severe arthritis. However, the studies could not be considered reliable for two reasons. First, the study samples were insufficient to prove the outlined hypothesis. Second, it has not been proved that the previously mentioned drawbacks of marijuana intake are worth the alleviation effect.
However, some people who highly criticize moth medical and recreational use of marijuana are also mistaken in terms of their judgments. For example, those who tout its benefits claim marijuana to be extremely addictive. In fact, the vast majority of marijuana users claim to abuse the drug for recreational purposes no less than two weeks after the last intake (Goode. 2015). Undeniably, marijuana has an abuse potential, but recreational abusers are less likely to develop high dependence rates than people who abuse drugs such as heroin or cocaine. It may be concluded that such a variety of myths and misconceptions revolving around the issue of marijuana intake stem from the lack of quality research.
Reference
Goode, E. (2015). Drugs in American society (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.