Oklahoma Biker - The Riders Ragazine OKB September - October 2018 | Page 34

Medical Marijuana By Julie Wenger Watson Oklahoma Sate Question 788, the “Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative,” was on the ballot and approved in Oklahoma this June. While the vote legalized the licensed cultivation, use and possession of marijuana for medical purposes, the regulations for its implementation are still in the works. Although its clear legal medical marijuana is coming to the state, the details of exactly how this will look aren’t yet known. In the meantime, questions abound about what medical marijuana is and how it’s delivered. Medical Marijuana According to the National Institutes of Health, Medical marijuana refers to the use of the whole, unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat symptoms of illness and other conditions. Marijuana is derived from the Cannabis sativa plant. It contains more than 100 chemical compounds, called cannabinoids. When ingested or oklahoma biker the riders ragazine inhaled, these compounds act on the brain and nerve cells, slowing pain and easing discomfort. Currently, the two main compounds for medical interest are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – which creates the “high” – and cannabidiol (CBD). Science While anecdotal evidence of the medicinal benefits of marijuana abound, currently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has neither recognized nor approved the use of marijuana plants as medicine. The FDA requires extensive studies in hundreds to thousands of human subjects to assess the risks and benefits of possible medications before approving them for use. These kinds of large-scale clinical trials necessary for FDA approval simply haven’t been done. However, scientific studies of cannabinoids have led to FDA-approval of medications that contain cannabinoid 34