A virtue analysis of recreational marijuana use

Nicotine and Alcohol Use as Predictors of Recreational Cannabis Use in Adolescence: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis

Background: The prevalence of recreational cannabis use among adolescents is a growing public health concern due to its link to short- and long-term adverse effects on adolescents' wellbeing, physical health, mental health, and interpersonal behaviors. Method: Five databases were searched from inception to March 17, 2023, for exposure (nicotine product, alcohol) and outcome (recreational cannabis) in adolescents (persons aged 10-19 years). The studies were screened independently by two reviewers, and the quality of the studies was assessed with Newcastle Ottawa and AXIS tool. PRISMA guidelines were employed in this review. Result: Twenty-one (21) studies involving 2,778,406 adolescents were included in the appraisal and heterogeneity was found among these studies. Ascertainment bias was commonly detected in thirteen (13) of the included studies. Among the substances examined as potential exposures, nicotine-product use emerged as a significant factor associated with future cannabis use among adolescents, particularly in mid-adolescence and in places where recreational cannabis use has been legalized. Conclusion: Current evidence suggests an association between nicotine-product use and subsequent recreational cannabis use among adolescents. However, further research is needed to establish causality between exposure to nicotine substances and the use of recreational cannabis within this age demographic. Additionally, there is a need for the development of prevention programs and targeted policies that continuously inform and update this vulnerable sub-population about the risks associated with cannabis use for leisure.

Pharmacosophrosyne Revisited: Drug Use and Virtue Ethics

In a 1959 article, John C. Ford, SJ (1902-1989), proposed the existence of a new virtue to regulate recreational drug use which he names "pharmacosophrosyne." This article analyzes the soundness of Ford's proposal and extends it by providing a mereological analysis of how pharmacosophrosyne relates to the virtues of temperance and sobriety. It then shows how understanding both pharmacosophrosyne and sobriety can inform a moral evaluation of recreational drug use.

Cannabis: A Toxin-Producing Plant with Potential Therapeutic Uses

For thousands of years, Cannabis sativa has been utilized as a medicine and for recreational and spiritual purposes. Phytocannabinoids are a family of compounds that are found in the cannabis plant, which is known for its psychotogenic and euphoric effects; the main psychotropic constituent of cannabis is Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). The pharmacological effects of cannabinoids are a result of interactions between those compounds and cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, located in many parts of the human body. Cannabis is used as a therapeutic agent for treating pain and emesis. Some cannabinoids are clinically applied for treating chronic pain, particularly cancer and multiple sclerosis-associated pain, for appetite stimulation and anti-emesis in HIV/AIDS and cancer patients, and for spasticity treatment in multiple sclerosis and epilepsy patients. Medical cannabis varies from recreational cannabis in the chemical content of THC and cannabidiol (CBD), modes of administration, and safety. Despite the therapeutic effects of cannabis, exposure to high concentrations of THC, the main compound that is responsible for most of the intoxicating effects experienced by users, could lead to psychological events and adverse effects that affect almost all body systems, such as neurological (dizziness, drowsiness, seizures, coma, and others), ophthalmological (mydriasis and conjunctival hyperemia), cardiovascular (tachycardia and arterial hypertension), and gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting, and thirst), mainly associated with recreational use. Cannabis toxicity in children is more concerning and can cause serious adverse effects such as acute neurological symptoms (stupor), lethargy, seizures, and even coma. More countries are legalizing the commercial production and sale of cannabis for medicinal use, and some for recreational use as well. Liberalization of cannabis laws has led to increased incidence of toxicity, hyperemesis syndrome, lung disease cardiovascular disease, reduced fertility, tolerance, and dependence with chronic prolonged use. This review focuses on the potential therapeutic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids, as well as the acute and chronic toxic effects of cannabis use on various body systems.

Smoke and Mirrors: The Recreational Marijuana Debate

The increasingly widespread legalization of recreational marijuana should raise concerns regarding the societal and medical impact of its use. The relative cultural acceptance for its use should be counterbalanced with an honest and scientific review of the adverse impacts. This article provides a synopsis of recent studies that point to significant concerns from medical and psychiatric viewpoints.

Summary

With the increasing number of states that have legalized the use of recreational marijuana, concerns regarding its negative effects are necessary. There is growing scientific evidence that the use of marijuana for recreational purposes has a wide variety of negative health effects, both physical and psychiatric.

Opioids, (Non)-medical Marijuana, and the Cult of the Body

Ohio's first medical marijuana dispensaries will open in the fall of 2018, so physicians, then, must decide whether they will participate. But is medical marijuana really medical? No, at best, it is an unproven botanical. Medicine today is progressively moving away from traditional understandings of health according to formal and final causation and toward wellness as an expanding, subjective ideal. Whereas patients are healthy if the doctor says so, patients are well if they say so. Pitched as a wellness product, cannabis presents itself as an existential palliative, part of an imminent cult of the body. Consequently, people often use cannabis to escape reality according to a new age mythos. Physicians can play their part by choosing not to certify for "medical" marijuana and seek to rediscover the body as more than mere dead matter in motion rather than insulating ourselves from the difficult questions of suffering, meaning, and purpose.

SUMMARY

Despite state-level legality, medical marijuana is not medical. Rather, it is often touted as part of a cult of the body to escape suffering and death.