We all know that every medication that human takes bears a side effect, may it be good or bad. But whatever that effect is, no matter what it can do to a human body, there are some people who are still willing to put their lives on the line just to continue with their addiction. Dr. Winston De La Haye, a Jamaican’s leading addiction psychiatrist, takes it as many persons do not wholly understand the risk and impact of smoking ganja to the body. To some, it is a form of feeling good in a short span of time. Sure, others are willing to trade for a short while of real feelings to long term pain and body torture.
This concern was also brought up to the Dangerous Drugs Act 2015 also known as the Ganja Reform Law. It was passed in February and took effect on April. Under this protecting law, personal use or use of marijuana up to two ounces without medical prescription will be considered a criminal case. Meanwhile, the members of the Rastafarian faith are still allowed to smoke ganja for their religious belief and purpose. There are also some places wherein using ganja is still permitted for medical purposes and therapeutic purposes.
A specially trained addiction psychiatrist, De La Haye, that while people are aware of the downside of using ganja, there also the benefits people could get from it. There are positive effects from cannabis if it was an extracted compound and not made a smoking product. Cannabis is known to contain approximately 500 compounds, of which 85 are widely used for medicine purposes and science experiments and developments.
It is worthy to note that cannabis has to the major component: cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The cannabidiol are the one needed in the field of medical purposes it has a positive future to medical marijuana. Meanwhile, Tetrahydrocannabinol is the one responsible for negative side effects such as psychoactive developments upon usage of the plant. According to De La Haye “It is important that persons understand how cannabis affects the body, the compounds, and uses of the substance, and separate the benefits from the dangers. And since the ganja law was relaxed, I am coming across some severe cases of psychotic episodes from ganja smoking.”
Adding to his statement “You just can’t use smoked products to get the benefits. You can’t say let me smoke two spliffs a day to treat my glaucoma. You need the specific products with a particular concentration. In other words, the specific extracts with a dosage to capitalize on the positive effect.”
At the end of the argument, it all boils down to controlling the use of ganja and as to how the government could resolve the illegal use of the magical plant. As the saying all goes, too much of something is always bad and too much of a good thing is considered a bad thing. Laws are there to protect people, but it must also acknowledge the benefits of what it is prohibiting.