Research The Use of Marijuana among Medical Students (Research Paper Sample)

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The Use of Marijuana among Medical Students
Problem Statement
Drugs are used for a number of beneficial purposes when directed by qualified medical personnel. However, some drugs can have detrimental effects when used wantonly, and one such drug is Marijuana. Within the medical profession, specifically in medical schools, the problem experienced is the incorrect use of marijuana by the medical students, and it involves using it incorrectly for medicinal purpose, to improve brain function, and to promote social interaction.
Description of the Problem
Marijuana is derived from the hemp plant known as Cannabis sativa. It is the mainly used illegal drug in the US. In most cases, the plant’s leaves are dried and smoked, as well as its seeds, stems, and flowers. Marijuana can also be mixed and taken with food or brewed as tea. It has many street names, such as herb, weed, and pot. In adults, the rates of smoking marijuana have been stable since the 1990s. However, statistics show that about 30% of young people are today smoking marijuana. Since the majority of youthful people are in colleges, they have abused this drug in a number of ways.
Using Marijuana for Medical Purpose Incorrectly
Numerous states in the United States are passing legislations advocating the use of marijuana as medicine. This raises questions as to what marijuana treats, as well as who should use it. According to Dehaas (par. 7), medical students have grabbed this opportunity and are incorrectly using marijuana for medicinal value. As medicine, Marijuana is used for alleviating pain in the body, regardless of the disease. In states that have legalized marijuana, doctors and medical students prescribe it when they believe it can take away any pain or illness. A patient is given a marijuana card to help him, or her buy marijuana from a seller authorized to run a marijuana dispensary. Following marijuana legalization, medical students have taken advantage of the situation and are using it to treat a myriad of diseases. Some of these include seizure disorders, muscle spasm from multiple sclerosis, nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy, and weightless and poor appetite caused by chronic illnesses, such as nerve pain or HIV AIDs (Dehaas par. 9).
A key ingredient in Marijuana called Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is responsible for improving appetite and treating nausea. Once taken as medicine, Marijuana is absorbed in the body as a chemical affecting inflammation and pain, among others. Also, it can catalyze the working of natural chemicals. Marijuana is used through smoking, vaporization, eating, or taking it as a liquid extract. Although Marijuana has medicinal value, it has a number of side effects, including drowsiness, euphoria, dizziness, and a short-term memory loss. However, there are some serious effects such as severe psychosis and anxiety (Emmett and Nice 19).
Medical marijuana does not lie in the category of FDA-approved medicines. This is because when using it, it is not easy to tell its ability to cause cancer, as well as its side effects, purity, and potency. People with a marijuana card are the only ones allowed to use marijuana medicinally. Doctors should not prescribe medical marijuana to people under 18. Others who are not allowed to use it are those suffering from heart disease, those with a history of psychosis and pregnant women. However, these guidelines are not being followed by the university students (Emmett and Nice 23).
Using Marijuana to Improve Brain Function
The information by Engs and Teijlingen (439) indicates that at least 18% of medical students use Marijuana to improve brain functioning to carry out their day-to-day activities. Engs and Teijlingen (441) attribute the use of marijuana to tiring academic work, which forces a number of students to use the drug as a stimulant for reading. The functioning of a human brain depends on a multifaceted interplay of chemicals referred to as neurotransmitters that function as information carriers between the brain cells known as neurons. THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana, interferes with this interplay and alters the strength of some of the signals. THC also interrupts the normal communication of neurons and brain circuits.
THC interacts with proteins in the brain known as cannabinoid receptors. A high concentration of these proteins is present in the critical areas of the brain, essential for reward processing, learning, pain perception, and memory. Scientists believe that activating cannabinoid receptors in a human’s brain may cause the likelihood of abusing Marijuana. Abuse of marijuana can cause some enduring changes to the working of the brain, particularly to people with a greater risk of psychiatric disorders (Engs and Teijlingen 442). According to Solowij (74), when the use of marijuana is repeated during a youthful stage, it can increase the risk of psychosis and decrease adulthood IQ. It can also alter the brain and increase its vulnerability to harmful illicit drugs. This means if the continued use of marijuana will be left in the hands of medical students the new breed of graduates will have a reduced IQ and will thus not cope with the rigors of their profession (Solowij 78).
The addictive and medicinal properties of marijuana have impelled the search for new drugs to exhibit a reduced ability for abuse while maintaining therapeutic value. A recent discovery shows that the brain produces chemicals naturally and these targets cannabinoid receptors, opening avenues for drug discovery. New studies promise that drugs that target the natural cannabinoid system of the brain may offer relief to patients that suffer from devastating conditions, including mental health disorders, chronic pain, and obesity (Solowij 79).
Using Marijuana to Promote Social Interaction
There are several factors causing university students to use marijuana, and curiosity is one of them. The study by the DrugScope & Alcohol Concern (24) indicates that students use marijuana for the sake of fitting into a social group, and the medical students are not exempted. Although peer pressure is most rampant during the adolescent stage, the university students are equally affected. Interacting with marijuana users influences one to follow suit. Also, those already exposed to smoking cigarettes or taking alcohol are at a great risk of using marijuana. According to Tashkin (635), about 85% students from top universities in the US smoke to fit in a social norm. This means about 85% of university students are likely to use marijuana in the course of their studies.
University students use marijuana to cover up past assaults on their lives. When one is sexually or physically abused, this heightens a risk of using marijuana, as well as other drugs. This is done to forget the abuse, but the victim becomes addicted rather than finding help. Research by the Seatle Hospital Reseach Foundations (5) indicates that the utilization of marijuana in university students occurs as a result of one’s background. When role models of such students are people using drugs, this heightens the risk of the students to use marijuana or other drugs, as well. This depicts that the environment of a university student is a determinant of whether they should use marijuana or not.
There is no magic bullet to prevent drug use among university students. As a result, a one-on-one discussion about the use of marijuana is very important. Research holds that parents are very influential to university students even when it does not seem so. However, the study by the Seatle Hospital Reseach Foundation (4) indicates that parents do not talk openly to their children in the university. This has shielded active engagement between the parent and the university student, and thus students fail to differentiate between myths and facts so as to make the right decision per the current evidence.
Impact Analysis
If marijuana is left in the hands of medical students, a number of adverse effects are likely to take place and this will impact their professional development. First of all use of marijuana for medicinal value is likely to lead to abuse of the same drug, and this will result into poor physical and social health. At the same time, if the drug will be used as brain booster in academic work, it will lead to detrimental effects. Social misfits cannot be solved by the drug, and this implies a further deterioration in health. The impact of uncontrolled use of marijuana among medical students is analyzed in below:
Psycho-social Health
According to investigation by the University of Oregon (par. 5), marijuana addicts about 9% of people who begin using it the age of 18 years. This addiction is accompanied by withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, sleep disturbances, which often causes relapse, and irritability. Given that the brains of university students are still growing, marijuana use will results to high addiction rates amounting to 17% in a period of 2 years. This will disrupt the student’s live to a great deal following the great risk of using it at the schooling age. In this case, it will be impossible for them to focus on their profession.
Negative Effects on Mental Health
Marijuana causes fluctuations in anxiety and mood to the extent of persistent beyond description. Frequent marijuana users experience increased depressive and anxiety disorders to a point that the direction of causality is indescribable. However, inasmuch as the effect of marijuana cannot be defined, it is evident that heavy use of the drug causes depression and anxiety disorders. The endogenous cannabinoid system is known to modulate the hypothalamus-pituitary- adrenal axis. Exogenous cannabinoids, including THC activate the main neuroendocrine system of response to stress through the HPA axis. Dysregulation of responses to stress...