Cannabis is illegal to possess, use, cultivate, transfer or trade in most first-

world countries. Although no country in the world has legalized its use;
more than 10 countries in the world tolerate it. Netherlands being the
foremost.
India now is being urged to do the same and at least allow its use in the
medical field. If legalized its use can be taxed.
Evaluate the ethical violations if any of legalizing cannabis.
What do you think are the Netherlands reasons for legalizing it?
In India with an already established drug market will this prove to be
beneficial?
Is it better to provide entry level drugs in the market freely so as to have a
better control over people?
Analyze the case based on this
2 Cannabisǯ is a family of plants grown all
over the world and is the source of one of
the most popular mind altering drug.

2 Marijuana is called by street names such as

pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane,
gangster, or chronic. There are more than
200 slang terms for marijuana
2 All forms of cannabis are mind-altering

2 The effects of cannabis on the user depend

on the strength or potency of the THC it
contains.

2 Cannabis is a plant native to Central Asia

that has spread all over the world and is
probably the most widely used recreational
and usually illegal drug in the world.
2 In the ancient text Artharvaveda, cannabis is described
as one of a number of herbs that 'release us from
anxiety

2 ne of Shiva's epithets was 'Lord of Bhang

2 almost all the common terms for the plant have their
etymological root in the Sanskrit word ganja (in Laos
hemp is kan xa, in Vietnam can xa, in Thailand kancha
or kanhcha, and in Cambodia kanhcha)
2 in south-east Asia has been in for form of 'grass', i.e.
the leaves; flowering tops and stalks were smoked,
usually with tobacco

2 In Cambodia the plant is sometimes boiled and some

of the resulting liquid is sprinkled on tobacco and then
it is smoked.
2 Hemp moved westward out of its Central Asian home
at a very early date. Evidence for its use in Eastern
Europe as a psychoactive substance can be traced to
the later part of the third millennium BC
1. Immunity

Cannabis has a possible suppressant effect of on

cell-
mediated immunity. If suppression occurs, it
may only be transient, in the sense that recovery
may occur. Further, the degree may not be
clinically significant as the reserve capacity of the
body to respond to immune challenge may not
be exceeded.
2. Chromosomal Damage
Adverse effects on chromosomes of somatic cells have been
especially controversial. But research on this issue shoes mixed
findings. Studies have flaws, and one simply cannot conclude
that the issue is settled

3. Pregnancy and Foetal Development

The belated recognition of the harmful effects on the fetus of
smoking tobacco and drinking alcoholic beverages indicates
that some caution with cannabis is wise

4. Psychopathology
Cannabis may produce directly an acute panic reaction, a
toxic delirium, an acute paranoid state, or acute mania.
Very high doses of cannabis may evoke a toxic delirium,
manifested by marked memory impairment, confusion,
and disorientation.
±. Amotivation
ne cannot help being impressed by the fact that many promising
youngsters change their goals in life drastically after entering the illicit
drug culture, usually by way of cannabis. While it is clearly impossible
to be certain that these changes were caused by the drug

6. Brain damage
The startling report of cerebral atrophy in ten young men who were
chronic users of cannabis aroused a great deal of controversy. It is
possible that with longer exposure, heavy users of cannabis might show
a similar pattern.

7. Tolerance and Dependence

Tolerance to cannabis has long been suspected to occur during its
continued use. Narrative accounts indicate that chronic users of the
drug either show very little effect from moderate doses or require very
large doses to produce characteristic intoxication
Ö. Lung Damage
Virtually all users of cannabis in North America take the drug by
smoking. As inhaling any foreign material into the lung amy have
adverse consequences, as is well proven in the case of tobacco, this
mode of administration of cannabis might also be suspect.

9. Contamination of Cannabis
The most definite health hazard was contamination of cannabis,
largely of Mexican origin, by the herbicide paraquat. Inhalation of
toxic amounts of this material could lead to severe lung damage, and
some instances of acute toxicity have occurred.

10. Accumulation in the Body

The major if not sole active component of cannabis, THC, is highly
lipid soluble. As the human body has a high lipid content, which
includes not only body fat, but also brain and most cell membranes,
lipid-soluble drugs tend to leave the blood rapidly to be distributed
to fatty tissues.
1. Liberty: People Deserve Freedom to use Marijuana

2. Cost: Keeping marijuana illegal is expensive

3. Failure: Prohibition doesn't help.

4. Hemp

±. Religious Use

6. Medicinal use
2 Two key factors shaped the evolution of the Dutch policy on drugs
during this period:

1. the development of the modern medical profession

2. the immense profitability of Dutch colonial drug operations

2 Conflict between Dzprimitive-traditionaldz healing and Dzrational-

scientificdz medicine

2 pium conference, Shanghai (1909) Ȃ role of USA, UK and

Denmark
2 Hague pium Convention of 1912- Article 9
2 pium act 1919
2 19±3 amendment in pium Act, post WWII
2 Baan Commission Ȃ verhaul of pium Act 1976

2 =




 




















Ê

:

1. the central aim is the prevention or alleviation of social and individual risks
caused by drug use;
2. there must be a rational relation between those risks and policy measures;
3. a differentiation of policy measures must also take into account the risks of
legal recreational and medical drugs;
4. repressive measures against drug trafficking (other than trafficking of
cannabis) is a priority; and
±. the inadequacy of criminal law with respect to other aspects (i.e., apart from
trafficking) of the drug problem is recognized

2 Normalization and market separation

2 International repressive norm for supply yet unique approach to the demand
side
2 Narcotics act- criminalizes possession, cultivation, trafficking and
importing or exporting

2 Schedule 1 and 2 drugs

2 Penalties

2 The 




 officially has four major
objectives:

1. To prevent recreational drug use and to treat and rehabilitate

recreational drug users.
2. To reduce harm to users.
3. To diminish public nuisance by drug users (the disturbance of public
order and safety in the neighborhood).
4. To combat the production and trafficking of recreational drugs.
2 Non enforcement- soft drugsǯ

2 In the Netherlands 9.7% of young adults (aged 1±Ȃ24) consume soft

drugs once a month, comparable to the level in Italy (10.9%) and
Germany (9.9%) and less than in the UK (1±.Ö%) and Spain (16.4%),but
higher than in, for example, Sweden (3%), Finland or Greece

2 Few transcend to becoming p
  


(0.44%), well below the
average (0.±2%) of the same compared countries although prevalance
of drug otherthan cannabis among young people was higher

2 Criminal investigations into more serious forms of organized crime

mainly involve drugs (72%)

2 Treatment
 CANADA S UTH AFRICA

2 Laws forbid non-medical 2 Cannabis classified as an

use illegal substance
2 Justin Ballot
2 Varying local laws 2 41 unopposed counts of
treason against the
2 Coffee shops
president and
government in the
constitutional court
 GERMANY ISRAEL

2 Consumption legal 2 Medical usage Ȃ special

permission
2 Possession laws vary- ±g
2 2004- use of THC
granted to army
2 Dronabinol
Portugal-
2 2001 possession decriminalized (2±g)
2 Sale and trafficking- criminal offences

Spain-
2 ct 200±- therapeutical use of Sativex for 600 patients of a
wide set of illnesses, from multiple sclerosis to cancer, in
order to avoid nauseas or to relax tense muscles
2 6 hospitals, 60 drug stores
2 Atomizer form

Uruguay-
2 Consumption legal
2 Possession more than ±g, planting, dealing- illegal
2 Political influences
2 Efforts to decriminalize since 1970s

2 The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act

of 200Ö

2 Law enforcement resources argument

2 Street v/s organized business argument

2 ü
 
 , 200± Ȃ cannabis banned even for
medical use
1. Economics

2. Reduction of income earned by organized crime

3. Reduction of abuse of other illicit drugs

4. Health

±. Reduction in prison overcrowding and Criminal

Justice system
2 Easy Accessibility

2 rganized Business

2 Morality

2 Government stance on Alcohol

2 DzNausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety... all can be
mitigated by marijuana....For patients, such as those
with AIDS or undergoing chemotherapy, who suffer
simultaneously from severe pain, nausea, and appetite
loss, cannabinoid drugs might offer broad spectrum
relief  

 


dz

Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base,

1999
1. Nausea and Vomiting

2. Anorexia and Cachexia

3. Spasticity

4. Movement Disorders

±. Pain
6. Glaucoma

7. Epilepsy

Ö. Asthma

9. Psychiatric Symptoms

10. Autoimmune Diseases and

Inflammation


    =

2 Tobacco contains Ionizing Radiation whereas
marijuana plants do not absorb radioactive
elements.

2 Anti-Cancer Compounds in Cannabis

2 Cannabis smoke is not as carcinogenic as tobacco

smoke.

2 Cannabis Receptors
2 According to the University ofxford, Department of
Pharmacology: Long-term marijuana use is far less
damaging than long-term alcohol use

2 Marijuana is far less toxic and less addictive than

alcohol
2 Health problems including gastritis, pancreatitis, ulcers,
liver cancer, cirrhosis, and other liver diseases

2 Aggressive behavior and acts of violence

2 Clearly the drug with the most evidence to support a direct

intoxication-violence relationship.

2 Highly associated with violent crime, whereas marijuana

use is not.

2 3 million violent crimes occur each year

 =
   


less toxic and less
highly toxic and addictive Toxic and addictive
addictive
contributes to the Does not contribute to the
____ likelihood of domestic likelihood of domestic
violence violence
Contributes to sexual Does not contribute to
_____
assault sexual assault
Causes far less health
causes a wide variety of causes a wide variety of
problems as compared to
health problems health problems
tobacco and alcohol
Long term use is
Long term use is highly Long term use is highly
comparatively far less
damaging damaging
damaging
Contains Ionizing Does not Contain
_____
Radiation Ionizing Radiation
 plants absorb plants do not absorb
_____
radioactive elements radioactive elements

Does not contain Does not contain

Contains Anti-Cancer
Anti-Cancer Anti-Cancer
Compounds
Compounds Compounds
smoke is more smoke is less
_____
carcinogenic carcinogenic

Causes cancer Causes cancer kill cancer cells

minimizes some
_____ _____ carcinogenic
pathways

second major cause of

_____ ______
death in the world
2 Availability f
Substitutes.

2 Long term effects of

Cannabis.

2 Strict regulation and legal

binding.

2 Not in favour of Cannabis

as a TC drug.
2 Raids and catch-up of various drug peddlers by
cops.

2 Illegal selling and plantation of cannabis (ganja) in

various parts of India specially north & north
western parts..

2 Mental disorders and growing usage of

Cannabis by teenagers in metropolitan cities.
2 Total legalization of cannabis is not
necessary nor is it desirable in this country.

2 It cannot be denied that cannabis has

medical uses. It is rather unjust that this
potential be allowed to go to waste merely
because it is an intoxicant.
2 The Central Government can conduct research in
this field to ascertain how it can best be used in
treatments

2 Any medicine so produced will not be distributed

throughout the country and especially never be
made available to pharmacists. The drugs can be
kept with a few well reputed hospitals whose
number cannot be more than 6 (Zonal Division)
2 Dosage amount and accessibility
(to these few hospitals) to be
determined by Government

2 Storage and use should follow the

current double-lock system in
hospitals for drugs and every gram
used should be accounted for.
2 Every patient that needs marijuana
dosage must directed to one of the
above mentioned core hospitals

The government is capable of

maintaining such a system; we have
already implemented it for TamiFlu
tablets during the H1N1 crisis
THANK Y U
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