Legalizing marijuana in Texas

A number of people have argued they Medical Marijuana Legalization (MML), is a step with more adverse effects including, public health risks and threat to human safety as well as a leading cause of increasing crime rates. Recently, some states in the USA have passed laws legalizing cannabis for medical purposes, and, Texas is no exception. This has resulted in the reigniting of both political and public interest in the effects the legalization of marijuana has had on a range of outcomes. The main method used in this research was relying on the United States panel data of Texas, where the association between Texas MML and the state’s crime rates were analyzed. Also, information on the relationship between legalization of marijuana and treatment of diseases, particularly epilepsy, available on a number of peer-reviewed journals on Google Scholar and Research Gate, was assessed.

These health issues include acute marijuana intoxication effects on driving abilities, the relationship between marijuana and opioid use, accidental ingestion of products from marijuana by children and its effects and whether there will be an increase in health problems related to marijuana use, for instance, drug dependence or addiction, psychosis as well as pulmonary disorders (Chiu, 2018). As a result of this arguments on the ever-changing world, more research is required urgently to understand in a better way the impact marijuana legalization has on public health. Problem Statement Parents to children suffering from epilepsy that is resistant to treatment have been looking for solutions that promise to help. A number of them have turned to marijuana in a bid to help in the reduction of seizure exposure owing to its ease in availability.

However, there are concerns about the side effects cannabidiol-based drugs has on those administered with them including sedation, interactions with other drugs, and potential disturbances of brain development (Szaflarski & Sirven, 2017, pp. A number of states offer protection to physicians, but these must have the knowledge of both federal and state laws as well as their implications. Moreover, for parents to carry medical marijuana across various states, of having such products transported to them, is an illegal practice (Devinsky, 2014, pp. In 2015, the Texas legislature passed the Texas Compassionate Use Act (Senate Bill 339) requiring that the Department of Public Safety should create a secure registry of physicians who treat epilepsy for the purpose of prescribing low-THC cannabis to patients who have been diagnosed with epilepsy that’s resistant to treatment (DPS Web Team, 2018).

The bill also required that physicians be licensed to dispense these drugs to be administered to patients under very specific circumstances. More than two years later, this law saw results when in February, 2018, the first person, a six year old girl, was legally treated with marijuana by a nurse to cure her epilepsy. The research involved 214 people who received Epidiolex for twelve weeks or more with the results being published in Lancet Neurology (Solis,2017). The results of this study recorded a decrease in epileptic seizures by 54%. Those who were undergoing anti seizure therapy with clobazam (Onfi), seemed to respond better than those not taking the medication. Moreover, Epidiolex recorded some promising results when one was administered to children and adults with Lennox Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and another to children with Dravet Syndrome.

The results showed a decrease in drop seizures by 40% for the LGS studies with the Dravet study also recorded a 40% decrease in convulsive seizures (Solis, 2017). Some medical interactions with the body are expected, hence the need for further study on the subject (H. W. Wilson Company, 2014). The open-labeled study discussed above also involved safety studies from the 214 people. More than 10% of the people reported to have some side effects including sleepiness (21%), diarrhea (17%), fatigue (17%) and decreased appetite (16%). This is the reason why some states, like Texas have passed laws to offer treatment reducing seizures by the use of medical marijuana. Nonetheless, this option should only be considered when prescribed by a physician after a thorough evaluation on the patient is done in a specialized epilepsy center, and that is only after all the other pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments have been tried and failed to work.

In my own opinion, being a person with epilepsy, I believe this move is a good one that will revolutionize the health sector. However, the best results will be received if one works with a licensed physician in order to get the best results and make the best decisions. If a way is made for the federal state to remove the constraints to research on cannabis to improve safety of the drug and support access to medical marijuana to licensed physicians, then intractable epilepsy will easily be treated. com/opinion/editorials/article/Texas-dopey-rules-on-medical-marijuana-need-a-12955577. php Devinsky, O. Commentary: Medical Marijuana Survey & Epilepsy. Epilepsia, 56(1), 7-8. doi:10. Marijuana reform. Hegde, M. , Santos-Sanchez, C. , Hess, C.  P. (2018, April 19). Expansion Of Texas Medical Marijuana Laws Gaining Traction Among Lawmakers.