A Social Worker's Argument Against the Medical Marijuana Research Act

A Social Worker's Argument Against the Medical Marijuana Research Act: Testimony and Presentation
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A Social Worker's Argument Against the Medical Marijuana Research Act: Written Testimony and Presentation
PART A: Written Testimony
In recent years, emerging discussions in the public domain are increasingly calling for the legalization of marijuana. Several countries and states (within the US) have made the unfortunate step of reducing the barriers to applying marijuana. On the 9th of December 2020, the US House of Representatives approved the Medical Marijuana Research Act (MMRA henceforth), bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Andy Harris. The new legislation reduces the current restrictions on research involving the medical benefits of marijuana. In this argument, however, from a social worker's point of view, the new legislation will be detrimental to the current efforts and progress against drugs and substance abuse in the United States.
Core Areas of MMRA
In the United States, over 99% of Americans live in a state with some form of legislation for or against the use of marijuana. These restrictions have been in place to limit the abuse of marijuana because of its addictive nature and adverse mental health outcomes documented in research so far. Additionally, the federal government has outlined several restrictions, including an elaborate and transparent registration process, efficient protocol reviews, necessary security requirements, and relatively sufficient provision of research material. These restrictions have helped restrict access to marijuana by American citizens. The MMRA seeks to reverse these efforts through its four core tenets as outlined below:
1 A pathway for research to study the marijuana products currently consumed by the American population through state-legal programs.
2 Streamline the licensing process for researchers.
3 Address the inadequate (in quality and quantity) supply of medical-grade marijuana.
4 Report by the US DHHS on the status & outcomes of studies on the benefits of marijuana.
On the surface, these core tenets of the MMRA appear promising, considering the critical argument for the legislation is the underlying medical benefits of marijuana. In a recent study by the PEW CITATION PEW15 \n \t \l 2057 (2015) research team, some of the critical reasons for supporting the bill, aside from the perceived medical benefits, including potential benefits of regulation like taxation and the expensive nature of the current reinforcement strategies. The health benefits of the marijuana argument are the binding force behind the legalization of marijuana, with different research outcomes showing this. For instance, Webb and Webb CITATION Web141 \n \t \l 2057 (2014) established that marijuana helps manage pain, reduce stress and anxiety, and as a solution against insomnia. The MMR has been pushed based on such research publications and by taking advantage of the increased push by the public. While the current argument recognizes these medical benefits, it rejects them on the notion that the health effect of marijuana on individuals has been ignored. ...