Legalisation of marijuana – why won’t the rest of the world follow suit?

“Oh no! she said the ‘M’ word.” The crowd gasps as she sits back and researches the plant as a whole – not just reaping it’s benefits.

Something quite amazing to us North Queenslanders is how over in California – over in ‘the states’ they have restaurants where the key ingredient is marijuana. There are people walking down the street smoking a joint, and it’s completely normal! What about how there are less people addicted to prescription painkillers because they smoke weed. Let’s use a different word to ‘people’, say ‘patients’ would the government see it differently then?

It is estimated that 20% of adult Australians suffer from some form of chronic pain. Why is it that the Australian Government, or any Government for that matter, can dictate what you do to your ‘own’ body after you turn 18 years of age? And i’m not talking about those other heavy drugs that have absolutely no medicinal properties what so ever. I’m talking about marijuana, the plant that holds 8+ medicinal properties and so many health benefits!

It shouldn’t be up to any other person regardless of their rank or training what you ingest or inhale. As kids were taught “your body, your rules.” but, is that really the case?

Last year, a large review from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine assessed more than 10,000 scientific studies on the medical benefits and adverse effects of marijuana. One area that the report looked closely at was the use of medical marijuana to treat chronic pain.

Marijuana, or products containing cannabinoids — which are the active ingredients in marijuana, or other compounds that act on the same receptors in the brain as marijuana — are effective at relieving chronic pain.

In 2016, 85% of Australians favoured the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, rising from 69% in 2013. Which brings me to the question – why are pharmaceutical companies being able to bribe Australian Politicians? Prescription pain killers are becoming an increased cause of death by overdose. Whether people take prescription pain killers for recreation or because the pills have been prescribed to them – PEOPLE ARE DYING HERE!!!

People say the Government is making too much money off marijuana so they won’t legalise it, yesterday I was reading a blog piece from the Cannabis Executive on how California has the biggest legal marijuana market in the world, despite the black market. It got me thinking about our laws here in Queensland, but also in Australia as a whole. This is what I found:-

My views as a whole are pretty simple… don’t just legalise ‘medical marijuana’ because recreationally, there will still be abuse because as a whole, it’s still illegal. Legalise marijuana and build super dispensaries like they have in different states in ‘the states’. I found out they also have dispensaries with drive thru’s now! A major issue with marijuana is there isn’t enough education on the plant. The views in Australia also need to change, marijuana needs to stop being seen as a harmful illegal drug and it needs to start being seen as a plant with different medicinal properties.

That is not to say there shouldn’t be any criminalization surrounding the plant what so ever. Teenage/childhood marijuana use can affect learning ability, attention, memory, coordination, balance, judgment, and decision-making. While it may not be as problematic for adult use as once believed, there are still plenty of good reasons to discourage weed smoking in teenagers (other than the fact that in most states, it’s still illegal).

Speaking with a person currently in that industry recently, we got to talking about how there needs to be a scale similar to that of measuring alcohol consumption (breathalyzer) for measuring THC consumption. I know they have the swabbing technique in affect but that only tells you weather the person tested has THC in their system, not the level of THC in their system. Simple – Make it 0.05 as well. I’m sure somebody can invent something that measures THC if there isn’t something already out there…

I believe the world would benefit so much from microdosing with cannabis!

Practitioners of microdosing are taking small amounts of cannabis in order to reap the medical benefits of THC while avoiding its psychoactive effects that can interfere with the demands of daily life.“Microdosing is something that is very personal. There is no magic bullet for all patients; it is different for each one.”Michelle Ross, Founder of IMPACT Network

“Most people don’t know about microdosing,” says Michelle Ross, founder of IMPACT network, a nonprofit organization that uses empirical medical research to find new cannabis-related treatments for patients. “They just blast their system with cannabis or high amounts of THC, and that is not always the best approach for whatever condition they have.”

While microdosing has typically been associated with hallucinogens like LSD, many experts now believe that the threshold for the medical benefits of THC is far lower than many people think.

www.leafly.com – microdosing guide

I also believe EDUCATION is key! And this is what Australia is missing – studies of the science behind marijuana similar to that of the states, but Australia is much smaller than the states and reality is we are so far behind with our knowledge and views – that all needs to change.

Aquo Xx