Research Report: Impact of Legalizing Medical Marijuana in Australia

This research report examines the impact of legalizing medical marijuana in Australia, exploring its benefits, such as potential treatments for glaucoma, cancer, and epilepsy, while also addressing associated harms like cognitive impairment and potential for addiction. The report delves into the differences between medical and recreational marijuana, focusing on the concentrations of THC and CBD. It also investigates the current legal landscape, including the permissibility of medical cannabis, the qualifications for obtaining a medical marijuana license, and the roles of medical practitioners and authorized importers. The study also explores the regulations surrounding the importation of marijuana by Australian companies. The report synthesizes existing research to provide a comprehensive overview of the potential effects of medical marijuana legalization in Australia, considering both its therapeutic potential and the associated risks.

Research PRoject
Outcome 1700 words
Amin El-Youssef
Hypothesis Question: What will the impact of legalizing medical
marijuana be in Australia?

Impact of legalizing medical marijuana in Australia
Introduction
The international agreement under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs presently
merged into the 1988 International Drug Control Conventions prohibits the cultivation and
distribution of marijuana (UNODC 2013). Many other countries including Australia are
parties to these agreements. Currently, marijuana is a schedule nine drug in Australia placing
it in a similar category with drugs like heroin (Smith, 2013). The states in Australia carry out
their drug scheduling but about the federal government and the Standard Uniform Scheduling
of Medicines and Poisons (Smith, 2013).
What Is Marijuana?
Marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried flowers of Cannabis Sativa. Marijuana is
ascribed to different slang terms depending on the region for instance weed, ganja, bud are
some common terms among others. Its consumption also varies based on whether it’s
consumed for leisure or medical purposes. Others use hand-rolled cigarettes to smoke it,
water pipes or in blunts (Soller and Lee, 2010). If the objective of consuming marijuana is
medical, then it is commonly mixed with foods such as cookies or to brew tea otherwise if it
is for recreational purposes, its consumption will vary. The use of Vaporizers to take
marijuana is also on the rise (Gartner, 2015). The concentration of strength of marijuana
varies depending on the part of the plant. For instance, sinsemilla is a stronger form of
marijuana (derived from the tended female plant) that comprises of concentrated resins which
have high concentrations of the active ingredients of marijuana.
Medicinal and Recreational Marijuana

The marijuana plant contains over 100 chemicals termed as cannabinoids with each affecting
the body differently. The differences between Recreational and medicinal marijuana are
based on the content of the chemicals. Medicinal marijuana is differentiated by the
concentration of two main chemicals namely Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol
(CBD). THC is produced for the high feeling and is associated with recreational weed
whereas CBD is therapeutic. Therefore, the content of medical marijuana is in CBD whereas
recreational marijuana has a higher content of the THC. Additionally, higher CBD content
reduces the strength of being "high" as commonly known of marijuana (Schubar et al., 2011)
Benefits Associated With Medical Marijuana
Many research on the probable medical benefits of marijuana have been conducted; however,
the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not asserted its use for medical purposes. A
poll survey conducted by Adler and Colbert (2013) found out that 76% of all the votes cast
supported the use of marijuana for medical purposes. However, its prolonged use has adverse
effects on the mind as well. Marijuana is used to treat glaucoma which is an eye disease
which causes high pressure in the eyeball thus causing harm to the optic nerve and vision loss
in the long run. According to the research by Sun et al. (2015), marijuana lowers the
intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye of people with normal pressure and those suffering from
glaucoma. The effect of marijuana hampers the development of the disease thus preventing
blindness.
Abrams and Guzman (2015) in their study Found out that marijuana can reverse cancer and
stop its further spread. Contrary to the common belief that it damages the lungs like tobacco,
the researchers discovered that it does not only stop cancer cells but increase the lung
capacity. In their lab experiment study found out that Cannabidiol can avert cancer inhibiting
the Id-1 gene. The researchers tested using breast cancer cells with Id-1 gene which they

treated using cannabidiol. The results showed a decrease in the expression of the Id-1 gene.
Marijuana also prevents and controls epileptic seizures according to a survey conducted by
Lubman et al. (2015). The researchers took epileptic rats and a administered extracts of
synthetic marijuana. The mice became seizure free for approximately ten hours. The THC in
marijuana controls seizures by binding the brains cells that regulate excitement and relaxation
(Goffin et al., 2011)
Marijuana also lowers the symptoms of Dravet’s syndrome which is a form of severe seizure.
The survey study conducted by Porter and Jacobson (2013) showed that marijuana decreases
the effects of seizures. The cannabidiol in cannabis can interact with the brain cells and
contain the extreme activity in the brain which initiates the seizures. A study conducted by
Reinarman et al. (2011) on 1746 clinics in California revealed that medical marijuana reduces
anxiety by alleviating pain and reducing nausea, the reason it’s also used in lowering the side
effects of chemotherapy. However, the research found out higher doses can cause much
anxiety. Medical marijuana also slows the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease according to
Aso and Ferrer (2014). Based on the research, the natural marijuana compound THC was
found to decrease the rate of the growth of amyloid plaques by hindering the enzyme
responsible for their formation in the brain. The amyloid plaques are the ones that damage
brain cells thus causing Alzheimer’s
Harms Associated With Medical Marijuana
The debate on the adverse health effects of the use of marijuana is not as to whether it
alleviates some symptoms but rather the extent of its harm that is associated with its use. The
common side effects of the use of medical marijuana are a sense of feeling high expressed by
a lot of talkativeness and laughter with too much wistful dreaminess then weariness and
drowsiness (Sinclair et al. 2012; Karila et al., 2014; Macdonald et al., 2014). The side effect

of feeling high is also characterized by short term memory and learning. The use of medical
marijuana also leads to elevated levels of physical and emotional sensitivity. Some other
behavioral abnormalities that may result from the use of medical marijuana are the inability
to converse intelligently due to rapid forgetfulness (Volkow et al., 2014). A prolonged use of
medical marijuana can damage the cells in the bronchial channels which safeguard the body
from any inhaled microorganisms and thus also weaken the power of the immune cells in the
lungs to counter fungi and cancerous cells. Furthermore, research has also found out that
marijuana causes a lot of mental disorders such as toxic psychosis, paranoia, and
hallucinations (Van Gerpen, Vik, and Soundy, 2015). The use of medical marijuana can also
develop to a cannabis disorder which can lead to addiction. According to the research by Van
Gerpen et al. THC in marijuana raises dopamine levels, a brain chemical that controls
pleasure. This creates the dependency of continuous use. A survey carried out by Cerdá et al.
(2012) shows that approximately one out of every eleven users of marijuana will become
addicted to it. If it’s a daily use than one out of 6 people who started to use it at teenage will
develop an addiction. Furthermore, the risk of addiction is 25% to 50% of daily users of
marijuana. The THC in marijuana causes impairment which limits one from driving safely or
operates equipment increasing the chances of accidents or falls. This is because THC affects
one's coordination, response to time, concentration, decision making and ability to judge
distances accurately.
Qualification for a Medical Marijuana License
Irrespective of the fact that medical cannabis has been legalized in Australia, patients who
qualify for medical marijuana must first be diagnosed from any of the identified ailments in
the state’s list. Then with a recommendation from a licensed physician, the patient can easily
purchase the medical marijuana drugs at variously licensed dispensaries (Nussbaum et al.,
2011). For instance, in Queensland, those that qualify for marijuana medication must first

belong to the state, be diagnosed with ailments such as severe muscle spasms and sclerosis,
seizures, mollify care (Martin, and Bonomo, 2016). The Victorian government has legalized
the use of medical marijuana to particular patients diagnosed with extreme cases of epilepsy,
chronic pain, HIV/AIDS, and cancer. However, in Tasmania, the access to medicinal
marijuana is solely determined by the qualified doctors’ assessment. Then the doctors are the
ones to demonstrate that the patient indeed qualifies or doesn’t for medicinal marijuana.
Permissibility of Medicinal Cannabis in Australia
Medical marijuana is the use of marijuana and its chemical compounds to alleviated pain or
enhances symptoms. To permit medical marijuana, there must first be scientifically proven
research on the benefits of using medicinal cannabis with any possible side effects then the
government must pass legislation to legalize its use with specific terms of its use. The
condition under which the use of medicinal cannabis is allowed is when the patient has been
diagnosed by a qualified physician that indeed the medical condition warrants the use of
marijuana. Secondly, in most cases, the patient must be over 18 years but not over 75 years
and not pregnant at that time. Then the physician will provide a legitimate medical report
with a description of the illness (Queensland government. 2017).
Current Legality of Doctors Prescribing Marijuana to Patients
The prescriber must be a medical practitioner with experience in the management of patients
suffering from the diseases the drug is likely to treat. The prescriber must be authorized by
the Secretary of the health department of the respective Australian State to prescribe a
particular product for specific patient or groups (Haslam and Sinclair, 2017). The medical
practitioner should also be approved by the Secretary of the department of health of the
Commonwealth to supply or import a particular category of drug. The health department of
each state in Australia is responsible for the vetting and registration of physicians and

supervise compliance. The Medical Marijuana Act contains the regulations for the medical
practitioners and any risks involved in case of violation (Mark Anderson et al., 2013).
Importation of Marijuana by Australian Companies
The low supply of cannabis and corresponding high demand for it in Australia made the
federal government authorise specific companies to legally import marijuana from overseas,
store and sell the drug to meet the rising market demand. The authorized companies must
obtain the permit from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (Caulkins et al., 2016). The
move to import the drug was temporal until when the country could plant its own locally. The
federal government went further and loosened importation laws to make it possible for the
selected companies to import. Additionally, the importer must acquire the approval given out
by the Secretary of the Department of Health in Commonwealth. The importer must further
specify the category of drugs as highlighted by the commonwealth; Special Access Scheme
Category B which is designed for a particular patient; Authorised Prescriber scheme meant
for some group of patients, and the Clinical Trial schemes. Furthermore, the pharmacy
prescribed by the doctor where the product is to be supplied to the patient must acquire a
license to import the drug as per the customs and regulation of Commonwealth, receive the
item only from an importer authorized by the state. also must acquire the product from any
licensed manufacturer with the permit from the ministry of health or any other equivalent
authority licensed by the Australian government.

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