On July 30, 2001, the'Narcotic Control Legislation' was screened as well as the'Marijuana Medical Access Legislation' came in to force. This sparked the start of a heated national debate, the topic of question being the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes in Canada. While marijuana remains regarded as an illegal substance in Canada, it's qualified for use under certain conditions.It's available for applicants who possess a terminal illness with a prognosis of a life span of less than 12 months, people who suffer from specific symptoms associated with certain serious health conditions, or people who have symptoms related to a severe medical circumstance, where traditional therapies have failed to alleviate symptoms (Health Canada,"Medical Marijuana").
Because of previous stigmatizations related to marijuana use, in addition to its past legal consequences, public favor wasn't in support for its current Bill C-17; a Bill for cannabis law reform in Canada, that had been passed on November 1, 2004. It's becoming more and more evident through Bill C-17, there'll be potentially favorable monetary consequences for the national government, fictitious societal perceptions will decrease, and health care advantages of cannabis usage will end up farther valued. Later on, marijuana usage won't be perceived as the societal'wicked' it was, or is. In the light of the subsequent information, it is going to become clear it isn't required to prohibit marijuana use, but instead to govern it.
To drug policy reformers, prohibition of marijuana isn't only a reason to be encouraged, but a compulsory lifestyle, necessary to maintain society's moral fiber. These activists don't believe marijuana to be secure. When scientific advice supports the absence of harmful effects of cannabis on the human anatomy; lots of still categorize it using harmful substances such as heroin or cocaine. It's these'bud myths' that continue to affect the opinions of numerous Canadian taxpayers, though there's a deficiency of fact-driven info to encourage social stigma that is common.
A widespread belief among the general public is that marijuana is a'gateway drug', resulting in the use of harmful compounds. Never has there been a constant connection between the usage patterns of various medications. While marijuana use has fluctuated through time, tougher, more addictive medication usage, such as LSD, stays the same. In reality, in 1999 less than 16 percent of high school students who smoked bud report attempting cocaine (qtd. In Zimmer, two ). Another common misconception is that elevated levels of marijuana use could be hugely addictive. While laboratory rats who are injected with THC then provided a cannabinoid receptor-blocker do experience some withdrawal symptoms, such as disrupted sleep and lack of desire, people are not awarded'blockers'. THC gradually leaves the body, causing no severe withdrawal (Zimmer et al. 47). A study like it isn't pertinent to physical dependence in people.
Last, a lot of individuals still feel that the harmful effects of smoking marijuana are higher then that of smoking tobacco products. Though, except for their psychoactive components, marijuana and tobacco smoke are almost identical, tobacco usage is a lot more harmful than the latter. Marijuana smoke also impacts the lungs in another manner compared to cigarette smoking does. "The essence of this marijuana-induced changes were different, occurring mostly in the lungs' big airways - not the tiny peripheral airways influenced by cigarette smoke. Because it's small-airway inflammation which leads to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, bud smokers might not develop such ailments" (Zimmer et al. 64).
These are only a couple of standard examples of this societal stigmatization surrounding marijuana use, since there are lots of others. When nearer analyzed, not one of them'myths' supply a good base for its prohibition of marijuana usage; hence its ban stays unfounded.