To Toke Or Not To Toke

To Toke or Not to Toke?

Throughout the world, millions of drugs are used everyday. Most drugs are used for medical purposes; however, some are used for pleasure and are often abused. Marijuana is an illegal drug often used by young people; but if approved by medical authorities, it is considered a legal drug for patients with specific diseases. The effects of marijuana use are still being tested by researchers today. So we might ask, “Is the overall use of marijuana beneficial or detrimental beneficial or detrimental to human beings?” There are many on-going discussions concerning this issue. The first one, “First large study of cannabis for multiple sclerosis symptoms finds benefit,” by Helen Branswell, examines the medical benefits from the use of marijuana. The second one, “Altered brain tissue composition in heavy marijuana users,” by John Matochik et al, is an experiment conducted to see the physical effects marijuana use has on brain tissue. The last one, “A Classification of High-Risk Youths,” by Richard Dembo and James Schmeidler, is a correlation research between arrested juveniles and the amount of alcohol and drug use obtained while showing the negative impact of marijuana.

In “First large study of cannabis for multiple sclerosis symptoms finds benefit,” (2003) Branswell reports the study of medical use of marijuana and its effects on patients with multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a serious disease of the nervous system, which gradually makes a person weaker and eventually paralyzed. In this news article, Branswell informs the public that the use of marijuana has clinical benefits. In this experiment, 611 patients were treated and randomly assigned to receive an oral cannabis extract (chemical compound extracted from marijuana) or a placebo. The results from a 10-meter walk significantly showed that the group of patients whom took the extract were more mobile than the placebo group. The results showed that oral canabis extract reduces splasticity, an involuntary sudden muscle contraction, in people who have mutiple sclerosis; but showed no effects on patients that took the placebo. In addition to an increase in mobility, patients slept better and felt less pain, which are signs of benefits of marijuana extract to multiple sclerosis.

Branswell successfully uses citations from professional researchers to strengthen her article. This shows an on-going discussion of this research. She works in middle country to report to the wide audience of the public by using scientific terms, but also, defining them. In addition, Branswell informs the audience of the experiment conducted by stating the difficulties and symptoms multiple sclerosis patients suffer (low mobility, muscle aches...etc.), then, reporting the how marijuana aids these symptoms. This directly shows how marijuana extract benefits patients with multiple sclerosis.

In “Altered brain tissue composition in heavy marijuana users,” (2005) Matochik and associate researchers conducted an experiment to investigate possible differences in brain tissue composition between 11 heavy marijuana users and a 8 non-users. The experiment shows the physical and chemical effects of marijuana use on the brain. Matochik and associate researchers concluded that there is a significant structural difference in the brain of heavy marijuana users. In the human brain, white and grey tissues are the main compositions in which THC (a chemical compound in marijuana) affects the most. The results showed the non-marijuana users had a lower density of gray matter; but, the marijuana users had a lower density of white matter. Although the significance of the amount of white or grey tissue is unknown, but the results suggests a great difference between marijuana users and non-users. However, the long term effects of this structural difference have not been identified.

Matochik and associate researchers report their experiment in a form of a scientific research paper. This report is high country, because it is a scientific report specifically aimed for audience with an interest and background in the effects of marijuana use on brain tissues. The scientific terms used require the audience to have a deep background in the field of science in able to understand the research. For example, words like “parahippocampal”(1) and “fusiform gyri”(1) are scientific terms. In addition, Matochik and associate researchers included past experiments done by other researchers to show the on-going research of marijuana use.

In “A Classification of High-Risk Youth,” (2003) Dembo and Schmeidler conducted a correlation research between 315 arrested juveniles and their amount of alcohol and other drugs used. These juveniles were identified into four groups: low-level delinquents and drug users, high-level delinquents, hair-test-identified marijuana and cocaine users and self-reported drug users. In this study,