User:Ocris1/sandbox

Finalizing
Bolded is what I am adding Long-term effects of cannabis

1. The long-term effects of cannabis have been the subject of ongoing debate. Because cannabis is illegal in most countries, research presents a challenge; as such, there remains much to be concluded. '''Although the federal government has not scheduled marijuana to be legal country wide, certain states are taking it in their own hands to regulate the drug and make it legal. According to Governing Magazine, in 2018 medical marijuana is legalized in sixteen states, marijuana is legalized for recreational use in seven states, and twenty-seven states have still no broad laws about legalizing marijuana. These statistics show the up and coming legalization of the drug. It also shows how it is working and proving beneficial medically and recreationally.'''

2. Brain[edit source] Imaging studies suggest that long-term exposure does not lead to decreases in white matter or grey matter volume, but may lead to reductions in hippocampal volume. Variations in the methodologies used lend some uncertainty to this conclusion.[33] '''Science, however, has found a clear indicator that marijuana can change developing brains, possibly affecting mental abilities and dispositions for people whose brain is still developing. However, a study also shows that there are positive effects with chronic pain. Cannabinoids interacts with receptors on the cells in the brain and immune system which allow them to reduce pain and inflammation'''.

Cancer[edit source] A 2012 review examining the relation of cancer and cannabis found little direct evidence that cannabinoids found in cannabis, including THC, are carcinogenic. Cannabinoids are not mutagenic according to the Ames test. However, cannabis smoke has been found to be carcinogenic in rodents and mutagenic in the Ames test. Correlating cannabis use with the development of human cancers has been problematic due to difficulties in quantifying cannabis use, unmeasured confounders, and that cannabinoids may have anti-cancer effects.[36] According to a 2013 literature review, marijuana could be carcinogenic, but there are methodological limitations in studies making it difficult to establish a link between marijuana use and cancer risk.[6] The authors say that bladder cancer does seem to be linked to habitual marijuana use, and that there may be a risk for cancers of the head and neck among long-term (more than 20 years) users.[6] Gordon and colleagues said, "there does appear to be an increased risk of cancer (particularly head and neck, lung, and bladder cancer) for those who use marijuana over a period of time, although what length of time that this risk increases is uncertain." '''However, other articles state that the effects of marijuana are less severe than tobacco, nicotine and alcohol due to the fact marijuana is not a neurotoxin and it does not have connections to lung cancer. It also does not bring the risk of sudden death without a secondary factor like other drugs. '''

3. Add a section PTSD under mental health Marijuana has been experimented when it comes to diseases like PTSD. Clinical studies generally support the biological benefits of cannabis potential therapeutic effects, however, it all depends on the dosage. There has been reported benefits of cannabis and PTSD when it comes to nightmares and sleeping. Marijuana also benefits when it comes to depression, anxiety, and psychosis with PTSD. However, the negative benefits with PTSD include the development of the brain and misuse of the drug. The study states that there is not enough research yet to determine if marijuana will truly benefit PTSD more than harm it.

4. Add a section Positive Effects If dosages are under control, marijuana can benefit the human body in many ways. It has been proven to help chemotherapy patients, calm anxiety, increase hunger, and help patients with diseases like PTSD. It is shown to help with inflammation and chronic pain in the body. There is also known benefits when it comes to diseases like multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and PTSD.

Drafting
Long-term effects of cannabis

1. I want to edit the opening of this page, kind of sum of the article. Talk about everything real quickly that is mentioned in the article and talk about the long term effects that will be mentioned.

Marijuana is an extremely questioning drug due to lack of research. Although the federal government has not scheduled marijuana to be legal country wide, certain states are taking it in their own hands to regulate the drug and make it legal. According to Governing Magazine, in 2018 medical marijuana is legalized in sixteen states, marijuana is legalized for recreational use in seven states, and twenty-seven states have still no broad laws about legalizing marijuana (“State Marijuana Laws in 2018 Map”). These statistics show the up and coming legalization of the drug. It also shows how it is working and proving beneficial medically and recreationally.

“State Marijuana Laws in 2018 Map.” Governing Magazine: State and Local Government News for America’s Leaders, 2018, www.governing.com/gov-data/state-marijuana-laws-mapmedical-recreational.html.

There are many effects that marijuana can cause to the human body that can be positive or negative.

2. I would like to talk more in the "physical health" sections in the article. I would add more information from my research paper that I have collected and evaluated of mental health effects.

"Physical Health" section Brain Science, however, has found a clear indicator that marijuana can change developing brains, possibly affecting mental abilities and dispositions for people whose brain is still developing. However, a study also shows that there are positive effects with chronic pain. Cannabinoids interacts with receptors on the cells in the brain and immune system which allow them to reduce pain and inflammation (Barcott).

Barcott, Burce and Michael Scherer. “The Great Pot Experiment. (Cover Story). Time, vol. 185, no. 19, 25 May 2015, pp. 28-45. EBSCO host, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=102652987&site=ehost=live&scope=site.

Cancer However, the effects of marijuana are less severe than tobacco, nicotine and alcohol due to the fact marijuana is not a neurotoxin and it does not have connections to lung cancer. It also does not bring the risk of sudden death without a secondary factor like other drugs (Barcott).

Barcott, Burce and Michael Scherer. “The Great Pot Experiment. (Cover Story). Time, vol. 185, no. 19, 25 May 2015, pp. 28-45. EBSCO host, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=102652987&site=ehost=live&scope=site.

3. In the "mental health" section I would talk about how marijuana can help PTSD patients.

Marijuana has been experimented when it comes to diseases like PTSD. Clinical studies generally support the biological benefits of cannabis potential therapeutic effects, however, it all depends on the dosage. There has been reported benefits of cannabis and PTSD when it comes to nightmares and sleeping. Marijuana also benefits when it comes to depression, anxiety, and psychosis with PTSD. However, the negative benefits with PTSD include the development of the brain and misuse of the drug. The study states that there is not enough research yet to determine if marijuana will truly benefit PTSD more than harm it (Steenkamp). Dosage is extremely important with any drug and marijuana should not be limited or illegal due to the fact of the harms of misuse.

Steenkamp, Maria M., et al. “Marijuana and Other Cannabinoids as a Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Literature Review.” Depression & Anxiety (1091-4269), vol. 34, no. 3, Mar. 2017, pp. 207-216. EBSCO host, doi:10.1002./da.22596.

4. I would add a section about the positive effects of marijuana since that is asked in the talk page.

If dosages are under control, marijuana can benefit the human body in many ways. It has been proven to help chemotherapy patients, calm anxiety, increase hunger, and help patients with diseases like PTSD. It is shown to help with inflammation and chronic pain in the body. There is also known benefits when it comes to diseases like multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and PTSD (Barcott).

Barcott, Burce and Michael Scherer. “The Great Pot Experiment. (Cover Story). Time, vol. 185, no. 19, 25 May 2015, pp. 28-45. EBSCO host, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=102652987&site=ehost=live&scope=site.

Article Evaluation
Long-term effects of cannabis

1. In this article, everything is relevant to the article topic. The article talks about the long-term effects of cannabis. Each article header explains what it is talking about in detail. However, when you first look at the page before the table of context there is only a sentence talking about the ongoing debate about marijuana. Having such limited information to start the article does distract me and make me believe, at first look, that the article might not be reliable.

2. The article is very neutral. They talk strictly about the long-term effects of cannabis. They explain the effects it has on the brain and physical effects of the user. In the writing, however, some things might be positive and some things might be negative. The article talks the truth about the effects of marijuana and how it can harm or benefit an individual.

3. Some viewpoints are underrepresented. Sometimes there is headers that do not have much information than the other headers. For example, the header named "Gateway drug hypothesis" only has one sentence about this topic. If there is no information about this that is apart of the long-term effects then it should not be included. When talking about the long-term effects the article does a good job hitting every point, benefit, and negative effect that marijuana has.

4. All the citations I clicked work and bring me to reliable cites. These sources do support the claims that are stated in the article on wikipedia.

5. Most facts do reference with an appropriate citation. Most of the information comes from databases or government sponsored websites. These sources are neutral and state the long-term effects of marijuana and the talk about legalization.

6. The information is not out to date that I can see. I believe that they should talk about why certain states are legalizing marijuana due to the fact that they mention the ongoing debate about the legalization in the first sentence of the article and in other headers throughout the article.

7. There is only one edit that was talked about on the talk page. It states that some things have been deleted.

8. The article does not have a rating.

9. This article does not contradict what I stated in my research paper. Although, I stated more positive effects from cannabis then this article does, we do have the same ideas and facts.