25 States Legalized Marijuana For Medical Purposes Myths & Facts AboutMarijuana

What Is Marijuana ?

Marijuana is a product of the hemp plant (cannabis sativa) and appears as a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers. You may hear marijuana called by street names such as pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, or chronic.

How Is Marijuana Used ?

The most common method of using marijuana is to roll it into cigarettes, called joints, and smoke it. It can also be smoked in a pipe or a bong (which filters the smoke through liquid). Marijuana is also smoked in blunts, cigars that have been hollowed out and the tobacco replaced with marijuana or a mixture of tobacco and marijuana.

Short-Term Effects● Sensory distortion ● Panic ● Anxiety ● Poor coordination of movement ● Lowered reaction time ● After an initial “up,” the user feels sleepy or depressed ● Increased heartbeat (and risk of heart attack)

Long-Term Effects Of Marijuana

● Reduced resistance to common illnesses (colds, bronchitis, etc.) ● Suppression of the immune system ● Growth disorders ● Increase of abnormally structured cells in the body ● Reduction of male sex hormones ● Rapid destruction of lung fibers and lesions (injuries) to the brain could be permanent ● Reduced sexual capacity ● Study difficulties: reduced ability to learn and retain information ● Apathy, drowsiness, lack of motivation

IS MARIJUANA MEDICINE? • Currently 25 states and Washington, D.C. have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, but the FDA, which assesses safety and effectiveness of medications, has not approved marijuana as medicine. • There have not been enough large scale trials that show that smoked marijuana’s benefits outweigh its many potential health risks. • Marijuana does have medical properties, BUT WE DON’T NEED TO SMOKE OR EAT IT. Is Marijuana Medicine?

Medical Marijuana Law in Maryland

• Qualifying patient can possess up to 4 ounces of dried flower at one time or 36 grams of THC as an extract. • MD patient can only get medical cannabis from MD licensed dispensaries. • MD dispensaries can only get their cannabis from MD licensed growers and processors. • MD dispensaries will not, at this time, recognize other state medical cannabis ID cards.

Marijuana is a gateway drug ?

This myth is so basic and well-trodden, I considered not even including it on this list. But alas, no, there is no real evidence that weed is a gateway drug. A report by the Institute of Medicine states "no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs." Realistically, weed is just the most common drug in America, so most people are exposed to it before anything else.

Things to Think About Most banks won’t take marijuana money because they have to comply with federal regulations and marijuana is federally illegal. This means that marijuana is a cash-only business. • Health insurers not required to cover marijuana; private insurers may cover if they choose. • Veterans should make sure that using marijuana will not disqualify them from benefits. • Maryland’s law does not prevent an employer from testing for marijuana use and taking action against an employee for a positive test. • Subsidized housing authorities do not have to allow the use of medical marijuana because of federal regulations.

Weed will cure your anxiety

While some people are prescribed medical marijuana to combat anxiety, it can actually have the reverse effect on a lot of the weed-smoking population (read: extreme paranoia). It's this kind of untested duality that makes proving the legitimacy of medical marijuana to combat mental illness such a complicated issue.