{"id":1169,"date":"2026-07-23T16:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/?p=1169"},"modified":"2026-07-24T16:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T16:35:17","slug":"what-makes-marijuana-lawful-the-primary-explanations-clarified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/2026\/07\/23\/what-makes-marijuana-lawful-the-primary-explanations-clarified\/","title":{"rendered":"What makes marijuana lawful? The primary explanations clarified"},"content":{"rendered":"

These unregulated mixtures (which occasionally included substances like cocaine), opium, alcohol, arsenic, and mercury, asserted to remedy numerous ailments and were at times the sole affordable pain relief option for the typical American.<\/p>\n

Marijuana, which has long been valued not just for its therapeutic properties but also for hemp\u2014a fiber sourced from the same plant historically used to produce rope, cloth, and paper\u2014was classified as a hazardous substance during the 1930s. Despite similar rates of usage, Black Americans faced cannabis-related arrests at approximately four times the rate of white Americans, a disparity consistently highlighted in various studies. Increasingly, media narratives began to equate cannabis with alcohol instead of more severe narcotics. ScienceDirect published a study in September 2015 titled “Cannabis effects on driving lateral control with and without alcohol,” while The Conversation noted on September 11 \u2014 2025, that drugged driving, which includes the influence of cannabis and prescription medications, is becoming a significant road safety issue.<\/p>\n

The aim of the CDC study was to investigate patterns of community-focused cannabis policy in the UK<\/a> cannabis usage to gain a deeper understanding of associated health effects. The research revealed that 10 percent of veterans aged 65 to 84 had consumed cannabis in the previous 30 days, and among them, 36 percent were identified with “cannabis use disorder” (CUD), indicating an addiction and increasing tolerance which can result in higher consumption. As mentioned earlier, older adults who consume cannabis maintain a high prevalence of tobacco and excessive alcohol usage.<\/p>\n

Does this rescheduling legalize marijuana under federal law?<\/h2>\n

It is understood that cannabis can provoke psychotic symptoms and potentially lead to enduring issues with psychosis and schizophrenia. The diverse array of product combinations and methods of administration complicates the rigorous study of cannabis. Preliminary indications from large-scale studies involving animal models suggest that cannabis may be beneficial for pain management.<\/p>\n

\"alternative<\/p>\n

SAFE Banking Act: An Ever-Present Supporter<\/h2>\n

During his presidential campaign in 2020, then-candidate Biden made a commitment to “decriminalize cannabis use and automatically clear previous convictions. This guidance (referred to as the Cole Memo), was repealed in 2018 by Jeff Sessions, who served as attorney general under President Donald Trump. However (I believe it is essential for providers and professionals to increase their knowledge about this topic), as patients will inevitably inquire about it. Comprehensive national studies are conducted annually or biennially to gather data \u2014 providing a substantial understanding of the prevalence of cannabis use disorder. Although they might not yet have a formal diagnosis, cannabis could assist individuals in managing negative symptoms, potentially leading to the development of psychosis.<\/p>\n

A study published on November 20 \u2014 2023, in Nature Genetics highlighted that a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of cannabis use disorder offers insights into disease biology and public health implications, while Yale News reported the same day that a European study found drivers who tested positive for cannabis were nearly twice as likely to have caused a fatal accident compared to those not under cannabis influence.<\/p>\n

Moreover \u2014 the recent long-term studies that have been completed are alarming. In the United Kingdom (the Misuse of Drugs Act was passed in 1971), declaring marijuana to have \u201cno known or limited medical use.\u201d The law now classifies marijuana as a Class B drug, which are considered less dangerous than Class A drugs including cocaine, ecstasy, and crystal meth. O\u2019Shaughnessy reported in 1839 that cannabis was safe and used marijuana to treat rabies (cholera), delirium from alcohol withdrawal, pain, rheumatism, epilepsy, tetanus, and as a muscle relaxer. The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) (the highly popular and influential treatise by English scholar Robert Burton), recommended marijuana for treating depression. The Anatomy of MelancholyFrontispiece for The Anatomy of Melancholy \u2014 by Robert Burton, published c. Part F of the CSA authorized the Shafer Commission to study rising cannabis use and make policy recommendations.<\/p>\n

State-by-state marijuana legalization<\/h2>\n

\"technology<\/p>\n

A 2018 study in Social Science Research found that the main determinants of these changes in attitudes toward marijuana regulation since the 1990s were a decline in perception of the riskiness of marijuana (changes in media framing of marijuana), a decline in overall punitiveness, and a decrease in religious affiliation. In a study done by the American Civil Liberties Union \u2014 from 2001 to 2010 Black and white people use marijuana at about the same rate. In February 2019, three researchers used MedMen as a case study to illustrate their concerns with marijuana companies’ marketing practices. The bill would also allow grow sites besides the University of Mississippi (which has long been the sole supplier of cannabis for academic research), to supply cannabis for study. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Medical marijuana refers to using the whole unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat a disease or symptom.” While some report symptom relief from buying cannabis online, scientific evidence on its effectiveness remains inconsistent.<\/p>\n

Sadly, there is no turnkey solution to legalization even if the federal government legalized cannabis tomorrow. It can be folded into the alcohol and tobacco regulation (drug prescription management), or as an offshoot of their existing medical marijuana program. Most states who have legalized cannabis for recreational use regulate marijuana similarly to alcohol or cigarettes. Over this time (there has been a steep increase in the amount of marijuana use in the United States), with marijuana being the third highest type of substance abuse after tobacco and alcohol. In late March (the Senate unanimously approved the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act), which would streamline the application process for researchers who want to study the medicinal value of cannabis and related products.<\/p>\n

Some studies suggest recreational cannabis legalization may increase traffic collisions and fatalities and anxiety rates, but their credibility is limited by self-reported data and short study periods. One study found that 76% of young adults who consume cannabis reported using it to self-medicate for mental health distress \u2014 including anxiety and depression.36 Interestingly (this study also found that recreational cannabis legalization correlated with diminished use of cannabis for self-medication), differing from previous studies that noted no consistent relationship between recreational cannabis legalization and self-medication. It is hard to study, because you also don’t know if people are medicating early negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The study found that cannabis with 7.2 percent THC \u201creduced alcohol urge immediately after smoking. The study concluded adolescents who used cannabis prior to using other drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, were no more likely to develop a substance use disorder than subjects in the study who did not use cannabis prior to using other drugs. A study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management by Mark Anderson and Daniel Reese indicated that increased marijuana use in California is a substitute for alcohol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These unregulated mixtures (which occasionally included substances like cocaine), opium, alcohol, arsenic, and mercury, asserted to remedy numerous ailments and were at times the sole affordable pain relief option for the typical American. Marijuana, which has long been valued not just for its therapeutic properties but also for hemp\u2014a fiber sourced from the same plant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sin-categoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1170,"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions\/1170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portafoliosfit.um.edu.mx\/samuelcollie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}