Research Paper on Advantages and Disadvantages of Marijuana in UK

Introduction

Marijuana is one of the most prevalent form of illicit substance abused by many people in the United Kingdom (UK) and many other nations in the world today (Taylor et al., 2017). There has been a central public debate on the perception of the people towards the use of this drug, with some supporting its legalisation while other people are condemning the production, distribution, and use. This is because marijuana has both potential harms in the body as well as the medicinal uses that have cured some ailments. This paper is going to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of marijuana use in the UK with a focus on the attitude of the people towards marijuana.

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Advantages of Marijuana

Marijuana is a useful drug in the UK despite it being an illegal. Hamilton, Lloyd, Monaghan, and Paton (2014) studied marijuana use in the UK and found out that it is used in treating different conditions. The commercial manufacture of different analogues of marijuana is allowed used for medical purposes only. Wolff and Johnston (2014) argue that nabilone, a synthetic analogue of marijuana, is approved in the UK for treating chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting, and improves the mental flexibility, psychomotor speed, and working memory. Additionally, Nabiximols, a prescription medicine extracted from marijuana, is available in the UK and is useful in treating severe and moderate spasticity in multiple sclerosis.

Licensed medicinal cannabinoids, when taken orally and as per the instructions of the prescriber, lowers the blood concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol in habitual and recreational users of marijuana. Whiting et al. (2015) corroborate this by arguing that cannabinoid and cannabis drugs are essential in alleviating symptoms or treating diseases. They documented moderate-quality evidence that backs the use of marijuana in treating chronic spasticity and pain that have been accepted by most of the people in the UK.

Disadvantages of Marijuana

Domestic cultivation of marijuana in the UK has created significant problems to the Criminal Justice System (CJS). The CJS operates on a reduced budget thus the police rely on the community which gives little assistance to the police. Kirby and Peal (2015) in their study argue that 48 per cent of marijuana discoveries are based on police intelligence and the respondents argue that marijuana farms are not easy to prevent. Additionally, marijuana farms in the UK are never identified by the people, with discoveries occurring through the police detecting smell during routine inquiries, break-ins into marijuana houses, and fires. Marijuana farmers have little concern for the people living nearby their farms, but these people withhold information to the authorities because they fear retaliation. Kirby and Peal (2015) note that the public does not pass the information to the police and argue that farming has become a norm and they feel that marijuana should be legalized. The consumers are indiscriminate and desperate for the commodity which has led to polluted and inferior products invading the UK market.

In their study, Kirby and Peal (2015) found out that a paltry 9 per cent of the respondents have a feeling that the farming of marijuana in the UK could be prevented and its legalisation could lead to the affordability thus unprofitable for organised crime groups. Also, they feel that the law should administer a harsh punishment for those who continue to farm marijuana. They argued that the current environment offers an opportunity for marijuana cultivation promulgation because of the high yield, demand, and the significant profit realised in a short period. Also, there is little deterrence by the police as a result of diminishing police resources and invisibility in indoor growing. This means that the people in the UK have a soft spot for marijuana thus posing a risk for the spread of new farms.

There is a documented evidence of marijuana use among adolescents in the UK and its potential harm. Taylor et al. (2017) note that UK teenagers use marijuana at a tender age of 13 years and the effects associated with this is enormous since some of these young people have developed problematic substance use. They found out that marijuana act as a gateway drug to the early use of alcohol and tobacco. Furthermore, maternal substance abuse poses a risk to the adolescents using marijuana thus leads to child conduct problems and risk behaviours associated with adverse outcomes in adulthood. Because of this, the adults in the study supported the interventions and public health strategies put in place in the UK to reduce marijuana exposure to young people, despite the availability of marijuana.

Also, the use of marijuana is associated with a range of harms that disadvantageous to the users. For instance, Gage (2015) argues that the increased use of marijuana and tobacco has led to depression, psychotic experiences, and anxiety among children below the age of 18. This study found out that the outcomes of marijuana use led the subjects to experience severe, mild, and moderate anxiety as well as generalised anxiety disorder, social, and specific phobia. This was common among those children whose mothers did not undertake higher education. Gage (2015) notes that the respondents reported marijuana use themselves hence were more unwilling to admit the impact of marijuana use thus the study underestimated the association between the depression and the use of marijuana. Because of the lack of attitude among the respondents, the study did not accurately capture anxiety and depression.

Despite the documented medicinal potent of marijuana, Whiting et al. (2015) argue in their study that the use of marijuana for treatment increases the risk of adverse events in the body such as hallucinations, loss of balance, confusion, vomiting, dizziness, and drowsiness. This means that marijuana causes harm to the body rather than providing a cure for some illnesses as previously thought. Monaghan, Hamilton, Lloyd and Paton (2016) agree that many people are addicted to the drug in the UK and are presenting themselves for medication, but there appears a gap between demand for treatment and the evidence that problems related to marijuana addiction are curable. This is because, despite the rise in the need for treatment, strategies for effective treatment is yet to keep pace with the demand.

Lastly, marijuana is hazardous for drivers in the UK. Wolff and Johnston (2014) in their study found out that marijuana is a common drug abused by the people who reported driving under the influence of prohibited drugs. They argue that death and traffic crashes occur because doses of marijuana used by drivers led to a decrease in performance and tetrahydrocannabinol levels increases in the blood. The driver becomes intoxicated hence the risk for accidents rises as the driver becomes impaired and is unable to drive safely (Wolff and Johnston, 2014).

Conclusion

Marijuana is a commonly abused drug in the UK, but people have different perceptions. It is used for medicinal purposes, but the studies have shown doubts based on the failure to cure certain adverse events in the body. Also, it has potential harms on children and adolescents as well as drivers, and the people do not report marijuana farmers to the police for fear of retaliation.

References

Gage, S. H., Hickman, M., Heron, J., Munafo, M. R., Lewis, G., Macleod, J., & Zammit, S. (2015). Associations of cannabis and cigarette use with depression and anxiety at age 18: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. PloS one, 10(4), e0122896.

Hamilton, I., Lloyd, C., Monaghan, M., & Paton, K. (2014). The emerging cannabis treatment population. Drugs and Alcohol Today, 14(3), 150-153.

Kirby, S., & Peal, K. (2015). The changing pattern of domestic cannabis cultivation in the United Kingdom and its impact on the cannabis market. Journal of Drug Issues, 45(3), 279-292.

Monaghan, M., Hamilton, I., Lloyd, C., & Paton, K. (2016). Cannabis matters? Treatment responses to increasing cannabis presentations in addiction services in England. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 23(1), 54-61.

Taylor, M., Collin, S. M., Munafo, M. R., MacLeod, J., Hickman, M., & Heron, J. (2017). Patterns of cannabis use during adolescence and their association with harmful substance use behaviour: findings from a UK birth cohort. J Epidemiol Community Health, Jech-2016.

Whiting, P. F., Wolff, R. F., Deshpande, S., Di Nisio, M., Duffy, S., Hernandez, A. V., ... & Schmidlkofer, S. (2015). Cannabinoids for medical use: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Jama, 313(24), 2456-2473.

Wolff, K., & Johnston, A. (2014). Cannabis use: a perspective in relation to the proposed UK drugdriving legislation. Drug testing and analysis, 6(1-2), 143-154.