Today I was instructed to watch a TED talk of my choice and do a blog on it. As I was scrolling through the different TED talks I saw one about using Marijuana as medicine. This seemed interesting so I watched the 20 minute video. The video was primarily about one man's quest to get Cannabis legalized for medicinal use nationwide. He explained the different parts of the plant such as THC and CBD. THC is the stimulant that causes psychoactive effects in the brain. CBD however is an anti inflammatory that has many medicinal characteristics. One is an example of a child with severe epilepsy. Before her treatment she would have upwards of 20 seizers a day. After CBD was introduced to her system she had less than one seizer a month. After 6 weeks she was free of all the prescription drugs she was instructed to take. This means no more negative side-effects and the only medicine she would take was a couple drops of CBD that was extracted from the bud of a marijuana plant.
This opened many doors for similar families in need. There is one flaw however. Being from one of the only states that allows medicinal marijuana (Colorado), patients cannot travel outside of state lines with the medicine or they are considered 'drug traffickers'. This also makes it extremely difficult for other families to receive similar treatments that do not live in Colorado.
I thought this was very interesting and I fully support the use of medicinal marijuana. I think it is important that people hear these messages and encourage nationwide legalization. It is unacceptable that people are in extreme conditions or even dying just because they do not live in Colorado. Once people become less scared of this plant and they hear these positive stories I feel that one day anyone with these conditions can receive the treatments they need.
