Hemp Hemp Hooray!

New Jersey legislators passed a law to legalize marijuana this past Monday.

As the 14th state to legalize hemp, New Jersey will also have the strictest laws for patients.

Unlike other states, patients will not be able to grow their own pot. Nor will residents be able to use it in public under the new law.

Never the less, residents like Scott Ward are happy about the passing of the law. Ward suffers from multiple sclerosis and taking his doctor’s advice uses hemp for pain relief. The plant has more tolerable side effects, unlike his other medications. Previous prescriptions left him groggy and sleepy, unable to enjoy life.

Aside from MS, marijuana has been proven to aid in various ailments and autoimmune disorders. Including HIV, AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowl syndrome, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and cancer according to norml.org. This cause has also rallied support from prominent entities in the medical and scientific communities.

Kaiser Permanente, American Cancer Society, New England Journal of Medicine, and the American Academy of Family Physicians are just a few organizations supporting the decriminalization of marijuana for the sick and ailed.

With so many positives to marijuana it is surprising to see so few states passing similar laws. Conservatives and naysayers may be worried about drug addiction. However, doctors Jack E. Henningfield Associate Professor of Behavioral Biology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Along with Neal L. Benowitz, Chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of California at San Francisco. And lastly Daniel M. Perrine Associate Professor of Chemistry at Loyola College in Maryland ranked the addictiveness of six drugs. 1 Being the most addictive, as shown below:

I am no doctor by far but, if I have more to be concerned about when drinking my double espresso, soymilk, light foam, and 6 Equals, than smoking, I will opt for the latter. 

Marcus Scott for the editorial board.