Cannabis and the Transformation of Traditional Media

Cannabis has long been revered for its medicinal qualities. It was even included in Emperor Shen Nung's Pharmacopoeia as far back as 2800 BC!

Even with advertising restrictions in place, cannabis marketing remains present on social media platforms used by adolescents. We found that exposure to this marketing was linked with past-year marijuana usage.

History

Cannabis Westcoast Bud (commonly referred to as marijuana) has long been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Emperor Shen Nung listed it in his pharmacopoeia while other cultures like Indian Hindus, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans used cannabis to treat pain relief, loss of appetite depression anxiety insomnia among others.

Hearst's newspaper empire led an aggressive propaganda campaign in the 1930s against cannabis, featuring articles about "marijuana-crazed Negroes rapping white women while playing voodoo-satanic jazz music". This led directly to passage of the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937 - marking 60 years of prohibition.

In the 1960s, advances in chemistry enabled medical cannabis to be isolated and synthesized for pain relief purposes. With the invention of hypodermic syringes accelerating this shift away from tinctures to more water-soluble medications that could be directly injected into bloodstream for faster pain relief, cannabis came to symbolize rock 'n' roll music as part of counterculture movements with bands like The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Keith Richards including cannabis as an integral component of their performances.

Medicinal Properties

Cannabis is one of the world's most widely grown, trafficked, and abused illegal drugs; accounting for half of all drug seizures worldwide. Yet its medicinal potential is immense: research suggests it could treat chronic pain, inflammation diseases, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), HIV/AIDS, Crohn's disease cancer nausea due chemotherapy as well as cancer itself.

Cannabis plants contain chemical compounds with various effects on both brain and body, such as THC and CBD, that may be consumed via smoking, vaping, eating food with it or applying directly onto skin. Cannabis may also be brewed into teas and baked goods - some Rastafari movements as well as modern Gnostic Christian sects consider cannabis sacred plant material.

Studies suggest that regular cannabis use can impair cognitive functions, increase car accidents, limit complex task performance and possibly prevent an unborn baby from growing normally. Smoking cannabis while driving or taking it during pregnancy could pose risks to an unborn baby's development - both are illegal.

Consumption

Cannabis (commonly referred to as weed, herb, grass, bud or Mary Jane) is an evergreenish-gray mixture of dried flowers from the Cannabis sativa plant that can be consumed via hand-rolled cigarettes called joints, pipes (known as bongs or water pipes), cigar wrappers (blunts) or in edible form (cookies and brownies for instance), tea, vaping devices or edible devices.

Our findings suggest that exposure to cannabis marketing on social media among adolescents is widespread, which is concerning due to high rates of social media usage among adolescents [7-10], associations between cannabis marketing and consumption intentions and frequency among them, and the potential of social media to promote illicit drug use and other risky behaviors [7-9]. Therefore, states should impose significant restrictions similar to those placed on tobacco advertising for cannabis ads.

Legality

As more states legalize cannabis for recreational and medicinal use, its popularity continues to increase. Unfortunately, however, because cannabis remains classified as a Schedule I controlled substance at the federal level, growing, selling or possessing it remains illegal.

Advocate groups claim that marijuana (commonly referred to as hemp, pot, weed, Mary Jane and reefers) has effective medicinal uses for certain symptoms, diseases and disorders; though there is limited clinical evidence on its efficacy for specific indications such as nausea and loss of appetite for cancer patients.

NCSL recently sent a letter in support of legislation prohibiting the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using Justice funding to enforce federal law against states with medical marijuana laws. Furthermore, their SAFE Banking Act would create safeguards for banks offering banking services to cannabis businesses, particularly minority and small business owners. Furthermore, this bill establishes a public health fund, community reinvestment repair program, as well as equity programs designed to assist communities affected disproportionately by prohibition enforcement and its war on marijuana.