For my research proposal assignment, I selected the topic of medical cannabis. This topic is something that I am passionate about, so I assumed this would make it easier for me to complete it. However, after completing just the intro paragraph, I realized that it would be much harder than I thought at first. In earlier assignments, I learned that I enjoyed writing with personality. But when it came to this assignment, I knew that it should be more professional sounding than what my previous papers were. I had learned that my style of writing was more fun and engaging, but in this case, I had to do something different. This forced me to leave the comfort zone I had built up in class. For me, writing in a professional manner is difficult and annoying, so of course, I procrastinated this paper. I had saved for the last minute, so I had to rush to complete it on time. Just getting myself to sit down and type it out was difficult. I felt that I could not just let my thoughts flow out on paper like I usually would do. This time around, I had to source things I wanted to say from other websites, and strategically plan out when I wanted to say these things. However, in the end, I had learned a lot about my writing. I learned that despite taking myself out of the paper, I could expose a different side of me. This is the side of me that thinks logically. And once I learned of this, the rest of the paper became much easier to write. It was like I could still insert my personality into it but just a different side of me. So, it felt like it was still me speaking in the paper.

 

The Problem

Up until recently, the cannabis plant has been criminalized by the US government and reported to have little to no medicinal uses. This started back in the 1960’s, during a period called the War on Drugs. This was a failed attempt to stop the usage of controlled substances. Instead, the greatest result of this was sentencing those of color and lower income. We are still seeing these effects today. Jumping ahead to the present day, many states have legalized cannabis for medicinal use, and some have even legalized it for recreational use. In states like California and Colorado, cannabis can be found in stores sold as it naturally is, in food products like candies and cookies, in wax and oil, and in many other ways of consumption. At this point, most people are aware that cannabis has medical uses, but we are still left with questions about what it’s uses are, it’s side effects, and other things. Many people suffer from illnesses that can be difficult to relieve. And many people in the US look to cannabis for treating anxiety, PTSD and many other chronic illnesses.

 

Background

What is cannabis and how does it work? Well, the THC molecule, which is the primary ingredient and main reason to use cannabis is similar to a chemical found in the brain called Anandamide. THC bonds to the cannabinoid receptors and activates them which causes the desired effects. (drugabuse.gov) How does cannabis affect the body? It has a wide array of positive and negative effects. Starting with the positive, if you are a cancer patient, cannabis use may be for you. It can reduce nausea and vomiting associated with cancer, give patients an appetite they need, and most amazingly, slow the development of cells, which means that tumor growth can be halted and dealt with. Some of its negative effects include slowed brain development, risk of lung cancer (if smoked excessively), and bronchitis. There are other immediate side effects that are neutral, like redness of the eyes, slowed reaction time, accelerated heartbeat, and an enhanced dopamine release. All these side effects subside when the drug is processed by your body, usually in 3 or 4 hours after initial usage. This can vary based on your tolerance to the drug. (Cherney) Where does cannabis come from? Although we aren’t totally sure where it originated, the earliest record of cannabis came from China in 2727 BC. What illness can it treat? According to the Harvard Medical Schools website, cannabis can be used to relieve symptoms of sclerosis and other nerve pains, Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, and Crohn’s disease. One of the major reason why many patients look to medical cannabis is that it can be used as a pain reliever that isn’t addictive like opiates. A study was conducted by Yale University in conjunction with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) that tested the effectiveness of accurately and varying doses of cannabis on 162 individuals of both sexes and varying ages (18-55). Healthy volunteers could join. The study was aimed to see if delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol could serve as a treatment for the illness COMT Gene Polymorphism. The doses that were administered ranged form very low (.35mg THC in a 70kg individual) to a medium dose (3.5mg in a 70kg individual). This is equivalent to 1/10^th of a joint and a whole joint respectively. The estimated completion date of the project was September 2020 but no results have been posted to the source website, clinicaltrials.gov.

 

Literature Review

The first source used was from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and explained how cannabis works by bonding to certain brain receptors. This provide the scientific background that has acted as my supporting evidence for this paper. The next source from Healthline Media highlights the effects of cannabis during use. This talked about things you frequently hear like paranoia confusion and red eyes. It also talked about how it positively affects you like ease anxiety and stress as well as intensify creative thinking. If this experiment proves true, it will show visual evidence of the medicinal effects of cannabis to treat mental struggles. This “visual evidence” will be described later but serve as a means for people who aren’t doctors or chemists to understand the study. It will also show that miniscule side effects like red eyes are the equivalent of sore skin after a vaccine or lack of appetite after using prescribed Adderall. The last source I looked at was an experiment done by Yale to understand how it can treat a certain illness. After looking at this experiment there was still a question that remained. What happens after use? What this questions is how withdrawal works and if addictive tendencies will form. What everyone who has a lack of knowledge on the subject thinks is that cannabis acts a “gateway drug”. This term is misused a lot and is extremely counter beneficial to movement. The study that this paper will highlight will help disprove this term that isn’t fact, but theory. This will also show that the withdrawal period for extended cannabis use is miniscule or even plain exaggerated.

The Objective

The goal of this research proposal is to provide somewhat of an answer to the question of how cannabis can be used medicinally and if it has negative side effects after extended use. This essay hopes to give the readers some useful knowledge to further their understanding of the plentiful applications of medicinal cannabis. Many people suffer from mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. These can be exceedingly difficult to treat using conventional methods like therapy and over the counter medications. But cannabis on the other hand is great for easing these troubles in a safe and non-addictive way. This topic is especially important as cannabis has been so poorly represented, that we lack a lot of research done on it. By further pushing the fact that it is a safe drug to use, we can hope that the federal government legalizes it. This will allow researchers to have far less restrictions on how they can learn about the positive and negative effects of cannabis. We still do not know many things about the smoking of cannabis such as the long-term effects. And our studies on it can only be furthered if it is legalized on a national level. Some other objectives of this experiment are providing solid evidence that cannabis is not a “gateway drug”. This hopes to fully end the effect the War on Drugs has on the US. By proving to people using science that the idea that cannabis serves as a gateway to other “hard drugs” is totally false, it can only be hoped that the US government is called out for planting this idea in the ill informed minds of it’s citizens. This hopes to provide the older generations that cannabis is a medicine and gain their support for its full legalization.

Another different objective would be starting to spread the idea that hallucinogenic and psychedelic substances are an even safer and more effective way of dealing with mental illness and trauma. Once cannabis is legalized, the US people may question the illegality of other drugs that are mis-scheduled by the Controlled Substances Act. The goal is not to legalize them, it would be to have them approved for research that can’t be done on them currently. Early studies suggest these substances can teach us a lot about consciousness and the functionality of the human brain.

 

Method

To understand if cannabis works to treat illness, it is necessary to find people who have never tried using it. This is so we can divide them into two groups, one that will be consistently using cannabis to treat an illness they have reported, and the other will be taking a placebo that they believe is cannabis. Both groups will be taking a pill that they are told is cannabis. Both pills will look the same and are meant to be swallowed with water as to not provide the subjects with a means of tasting it. To accurately highlight the methods for studying medical cannabis, the following list will show the experimental procedure.

1. 50 subjects will be randomly selected to talk about topics that could stress them out and cause them to feel discomfort. Using a special camera to look at facial expressions that are unnoticeable to the human eye, signs of stress and anxiety will be analyzed. An advanced recording system will be used to look for stress in how someone is speaking. Using an AI capable of machine learning, this first group of 50 will be used to train the AI to read subjects faces better.
2. Select 50 new subjects who express interest in the study. These subjects will never have tried any form of cannabis or substance derived from it. This is to ensure accurate results. This will take place in a one-to-on interview session. The same recording system will be used.
3. Divide them into two groups of 25. One group will take the full spectrum (CBD, THC, etc.) pill; and the other will take a placebo. This group serves as the control group. Both groups are told they are taking the same pill and don’t know that one group is not trying cannabis.
4. For six months subjects will be taking the pill consistently. Not every day, but when they determine they need to take it. They are encouraged to take it at least 3 of the 7 weekdays. Subjects record when they take the pill and how they feel.
5. After each month, subjects will return to laboratory to “check-in” During each check in, subjects will talk with interviewer about “small talk” then be asked the same personal questions about their mental health. The specialized camera will run and look for the same expressions, or new ones. It will also look for signs of lowered stress.
6. After the six-month period, the 50 patients will be cut off from the supply of cannabis pills for a month. This time will be used to see if symptoms return or to see if a cannabis dependency develops. Results are recorded every week.
7. Subjects are now told the entire experiment and share how they feel knowing what it looked for. The 25 who didn’t take the cannabis pill will learn of this and will meet with the 25 who did take it. This will give them an opportunity to hear from others in similar circumstances and learn if medical cannabis is good for them. They are asked how they feel after a month off, and to finally prove that cannabis is not a “gateway drug” they will be asked if they would try other illicit substances that are harmful. This excludes the type of drug classified as hallucinogens or psychedelics, as there is new research showing these also have strong medicinal properties.

When all of this is done there should be more accurate evidence that suggests cannabis is a safe alternative to commonly prescribed medications.

 

 

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “How Does Marijuana Produce Its Effects?” NIDA, Dec. 2019, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/how-does-marijuana-produce-its-effects.

Cherney, Ann Pietrangelo and Kristeen. “The Effects of Marijuana on Your Body.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 17 Sept. 2018, www.healthline.com/health/addiction/marijuana/effects-on-body#1.

“Pharmacogenetics of Cannabinoid Response – No Study Results Posted.” No Study Results Posted – ClinicalTrials.gov, 27 Nov. 2019, clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT00678730.