Once considered a rebellious pastime of the 1960s, marijuana has evolved to become a hot topic recently — both socially and politically. As attitudes toward cannabis soften, the U.S. has seen a wave of change in a short time.
Marijuana now is attracting tourists from across the U.S. to states like Colorado and Washington, where exotic hemp products fill public dispensaries. It is also becoming a source of pain management for many Americans who experience chronic pain and other symptoms such as nausea and muscle spasms.
In Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia, people can now legally purchase marijuana for recreational use. An additional 20 states allow marijuana use for medical purposes, much like a normal prescription. The two combined equal roughly half of the 50 states, not even taking into count the states that have decriminalized the substance.
For medical purposes it is used to treat symptoms such as:
- Muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis
- Nausea from cancer chemotherapy
- Poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV, or nerve pain
- Seizure disorders
- Chron’s disease
A survey done by Medscape/WebMD concluded the majority of doctors believe marijuana should be legalized nationally for medical use, and that it can deliver real benefits for patients. The results showed 69 percent say it can help with certain treatments and conditions, and 56 percent support making it legal nationwide.
However, little is known about the long-term effects of marijuana.
"Because the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug — meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no legitimate therapeutic uses — it is exceptionally difficult to do high-quality studies on its medicinal effects in the U.S.," said Donald Abrams, an integrative medicine specialist for cancer patients at the University of California, San Francisco, in an article published by livescience.
Is this new abundance of marijuana changing the way Americans think about the once-evil "gateway drug"?
According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in March, 53 percent of Americans were in favor of the legalization of marijuana. Although 53 percent is not an overwhelming majority, compare that to 1969 when Gallup first asked the question and found just 12 percent favored legalizing marijuana. That's a dramatic increase.
In the same poll, Americans were asked if they thought marijuana was more harmful then alcohol to a person's health. About 7 in 10 (69 percent) believe alcohol is more harmful, as detailed in an article published by Medical Daily. It concludes also Americans are not seeing marijuana as a major health risk.
What does this all mean? Is America is moving toward a "pro-pot" culture? Although not all Americans agree, the numbers have grown rapidly in the past 10 years. The usage for recreational purposes and the support for medical uses have grown. In combination with the decreasing stigma that once surrounded marijuana, it might just end up that way.
