Paper Example on Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This project write-up discusses the benefits and disadvantages of Marijuana in the United Kingdom. It explores the medical powers that marijuana has on its users as well as the negative impacts it has on people. There has been an increase in the concerns about the idea that medical marijuana should be legalized in the UK. The debates are said to have been escalated as a result of a twelve-year-old Billy who used the marijuana oil to regulate his epilepsy condition (Whiting et al., 2015). The promoters of the legalization of the drug claim that marijuana has a medical advantage. However, there are concerns that the use of cannabis has several adverse effects like mental issues. The study was conducted in the UK, and it helps in identifying the negativity and positivity of Marijuana thus making it clear whether to legalize the drug and if authorized how can the adverse effects be curbed.

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Keywords: Medical marijuana, Cannabis legalization, positive and negative effects

Introduction

Marijuana is the most frequently used prohibited drug in the United Kingdom. The Home office reveals that approximately 6.5% of the adults in the UK between the age of 16-59 smoked cannabis in the year 2016. This is equal to about 2.1million individuals in the country (Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, 2014). In the UK the drug is categorized as a group B drug, which upgraded from group C in the year 2009, this means that any individual found producing or supplying cannabis has a maximum of fourteen years of imprisonment. However, following the increased campaigns in the country towards legalizing the drug due to its medical advantages, like in the case of Billy Caldwell who used the drug in managing severe epilepsy, there are debates that involve the consideration of the idea that marijuana should be legalized in the UK (Monaghan et al., 2016). Presently, both the Labor and Conservatives are against the legalization of marijuana in the UK. However, due to Marijuana's medical use, the head of Labor Jeremy Corbyn asked his associates to support the drug's decriminalization.

The UK's Green Party and the Liberal Republicans favor the cannabis legalization process. The drug program expert, Steve Rolles, explains that the United Kingdom shall legalize cannabis in five years. He suggests that the nation should place the government in control of the drug's making and supply and not the gangsters. The UK government also need to ensure regulation of Cannabis in its market to ensure minimization of its adverse effects. There is a need to educate the people on the new reforms towards cannabis legalization, its production, and supply (Nawaz, 2017).

Literature Review

Medical Advantages of Marijuana

Monaghan et al., (2016) explain that medical marijuana is essential in the treatment of chronic pain. Severe pain is said to be the foremost source of disability that affects most people in the UK especially the adults. Marijuana or substances that contain cannabinoids, which are usually the active marijuana elements, can be useful in relieving prolonged pain. Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, (2014) claim that cannabis can be essential in helping individuals who are addicted to alcohol. This is useful as liquor is said to be more destructive to mental health as compared to cannabis. However, this is not much of a positive impact as marijuana itself is a drug and its use might result in drug addiction. Monaghan et al., (2016) explain that marijuana use can be useful in the treatment of mental illness symptoms. Evidence indicates that marijuana can be used in relieving post-traumatic anxiety disorder and depression symptoms. Conversely, Taylor et al., (2017) explain that marijuana users are exposed to an increased threat of social nervousness. Therefore, cannabis is not efficient in the treatment of some mental conditions like psychosis and bipolar disorder.

Whiting et al., (2015) used their study results to illustrate that the cannabinoids that are administered orally are essential in preventing vomiting and nausea caused as a result of chemotherapy. Smoked marijuana also assists to lessen the chemotherapy symptoms. Brown, & Farquhar-Smith, (2018) explain that the cannabinoids can be essential in slowing down cancerous cell growth or even killing the cells. However, also though the cannabinoids are used for safe cancer treatment, they cannot effectively cure or control cancer. Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, (2014) claim that oral cannabinoids use might enhance the spasticity symptoms among individuals who have multiple sclerosis. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted the application of medicines having cannabidiol (CBD) in the treatment of the severe and rare epilepsy types known as the Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The epilepsy types are said to be challenging to regulate using the other medications and can only be controlled by Epidiolex which is a drug that is CBD-based. Monaghan et al., (2016) explain that Epidiolex significantly reduces the cases of seizures of the Dravet syndrome in children than the use of placebo. However, Whiting et al., (2015) explain that there are numerous side effects associated with CBD like fever, vomiting, sedation, fatigue, suicidal thoughts, and liver damage.

Medical Threats of Marijuana

Gage et al., (2015) explain that daily use of marijuana can worsen the existing bipolar disorder symptoms among individuals who have the mental condition. There is also a small amount of evidence that suggests that consistent use of marijuana results in suicidal thought experiences. Filbey et al., (2014) claim that the use of the drug increases psychosis risks like schizophrenia. However, some findings indicate that the use of marijuana is associated with performance improvement of the affected individuals. Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, (2014) argue that increased marijuana consumption is linked to the increase in the threat of the slow-advancing seminoma which is a form of testicular malignancy. Jackson et al., (2016) discuss that smoking marijuana regularly can lead to chronic coughs. However, it is not clear if the use of cannabis increased asthma risks or exacerbates lung functioning. Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, (2014) conducted a study, and their findings illustrated that marijuana smoking could be associated with lung cancer conditions.

Research Methodology

Purpose

The study's goal is associated with the increased concerns of legalizing marijuana in the UK. The drug has proved to be of significance in the medical field. However, it is also said to be linked to various adverse health risks to its users. Therefore, this research analyses both the positive and negative marijuana impacts and provides a way in which the UK government can deal with the consequences that will come along with marijuana's legalization (Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, 2014).

Time-Based Scope

The study was conducted online on 17th November 2018, during a weekend when most people are relaxing and free away from work. Therefore, more information was collected as they had time to think critically and answer correctly to the queries asked.

Objectives and Problem Statement

Problem Statement

To explore the marijuana advantages and disadvantages in the United Kingdom.

Research questionsThe investigation involved two types of study queries which consisted of three open-ended queries (that were answered through online research of national and medical databases that include information on marijuana) which were:

What powers are pushing for marijuana legalization in the United Kingdom?

What problems present in the UK can be fixed through marijuana legalization?

What negative effects are associated with the legalization of marijuana in the UK?

The study also involved fifteen close-ended queries (answered online by seventy respondents from the UK) as indicated in appendix A.

Objectives

To identify the health effects related to marijuana legalization in the United Kingdom

To determine the social influences associated with legalizing marijuana in the United Kingdom?

To establish the commercial impacts linked to the legalization of Marijuana in the UK

Research Type

This study undertook a descriptive research type in the determination of the negative and positive effects of marijuana in the United Kingdom. The researchers adopted the qualitative nature that involved the analysis of the respondents' opinions, thoughts and attitude towards marijuana in the UK. The study type chosen was useful for this exploration as it allowed the researchers to enumerate the relevance of the research to the studied population. Therefore, the investigators were able to recognize the periodic alterations in the opinions, behaviors, and attitudes of the UK citizens towards the impacts of Marijuana in the country as well as the pros and cons of legalizing the drug in the nation (Whiting et al., 2015).

The study also involved an online research by the exploration team to acquire more detailed information on Marijuana. The research included a qualitative assessment and analysis of information written in national databases concerning the legalization of marijuana (Monaghan et al., 2016). The study also involved the evaluation of medical documents that described the medicinal uses of marijuana as well as the medical threats it imparted to its regular users.

Sampling Method

Due to the aspect of time, the investigators chose to use the non-probability sampling technique to obtain respondents to answer the close-ended queries that were responded to online. The interviewees were selected based on the aspect that they had an idea about marijuana and its impacts. The non-probability technique was further lowered to the judgmental sampling method that involved the selection of the interviewees based on the researchers' study purpose (Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, 2014). Most of the respondents (forty-eight) were medical professionals at the National health center who had encountered the use of marijuana at least once in their lifetime. Other participants included thirteen youths who were volunteering in the national health center of the UK and nine were patients who had to use marijuana for medical purposes (Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, 2014). An online pilot study involving twenty participants was conducted before the central exploration to identify the relevance of the research to the studied population and to rectify mistakes present in the main questionnaire.

Results and Discussion

What powers are pushing...