| Marijuana is one the most vexing plants in humankind's history. Ernest Abel wrote, "... marihuana has been extolled as one of man's greatest benefactors- and cursed as one of his greatest scourges (Abel, p. ix)." Marijuana is at once extolled as a life giving plant, and decried as a drug dangerous to all who use it. In this capstone humankind's co-existence with this plant, and an understanding of the positive effects of marijuana, are presented. Additionally, in order to determine if America's health care system is ready for marijuana there are four questions that need to be answered: (1) is marijuana a drug or medicine (2) is marijuana safe when used medically (3) is marijuana safe and effective when used medically, and (4) how does marijuana compare with other available medicines? The method used for this capstone involved researching available information: books, peer reviewed articles, news articles, and scientific studies. Information was collated to present a cogent argument. In the interest of fairness, both sides of the debate are represented in the capstone. Humankinds' relationship with marijuana is indeed complex. There are thousands of years of information on humankind's use of marijuana for medical purposes. It seems, however, that this information is for naught, since the same old fears, prejudices, and politics continue to define marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. In this capstone, the author adds to the amount of growing scientific and evidence-based information for the use of marijuana in the U.S health care system. Key words: Health Care Administration, Dr. Dana Hart, Professor Maria DeGiglio, medical marijuana, cannabinoids, THC, Charlotte's Web. |
