Are you from the group of people who thinks that consuming Cannabis can be one of the cures for the Corona Virus? Do you think that Cannabis can help you relax in this pandemic time? Experts do not agree with this. A lot of research is being conducted all around the world to check whether Cannabis can be used as a treatment to cure or get relief from Covid-19.
New York, which recently legalized the use of Cannabis, is the place where everyone is getting into Cannabis and considering it a good thing. In this article, we are going to talk about how safe it is to smoke cannabis during this time of pandemic and how you can avail Medical Marijuana Card in New York. So scroll down to gain all the important insights to this topic.
Use of Cannabis
Recreational marijuana is now legalized for medical purposes. It has legalized the residents of US states can use upto 3 Ounces of Cannabis for recreational purposes and have upto 24 grams of Concentrated cannabis. The government has legalized smoking marijuana in a public place where weed and cannabis smoking is allowed but not in places like schools, inside cars or workplaces.
Syracuse University, one of the famous universities of New York, has banned the consumption of any such material used for intoxication like alcohol, weeds, cannabis, etc., inside the campus. The dean of the University has also commented that if the use of Cannabis will be legalized totally in New York, then also he will not allow its use inside the campus.
As per the survey of 2019-20, it has been seen that the young students most support the use and legalization of cannabis, and the negative results have been shown on their academic results and physical and mental health.
The legalization of Cannabis in New York has shown a mixed reaction from the residents, and it is hard to detect whether it is good for them or not.
How to Get a Medical Marijuana Card
Getting a Medical Marijuana Card is necessary if you want to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. In this section, we will learn how you can avail your Medical Marijuana Card.
To avail of the medical marijuana card, you have to follow the specified process.
Step 1: Provide the Proof of Residency in New York
You have to give proof of New York Residency if you are a resident of New York state to be eligible for the Medical Marijuana Program. You can prove it through your Driving License, ID issued by the Government, utility bill, current lease documents, or any other such document that proves that you are a resident of New York.
Step 2: Fulfillment of Eligibility
If you are a New York resident and suffering from the below-mentioned medical condition. In that case, you are eligible to get patient certification for a Medical Marijuana Card.
Following are the health conditions that you must be suffering from:
● PTSD
● Chronic Pain
● Neuropathy
● Epilepsy
● Inflammatory Bowel Disease
● Huntington’s Disease
● Parkinson’s Disease
● Cancer
● ALS
● Multiple Sclerosis
● HIV/AIDS
Step 3: Certification of Patient
After you pass the above two steps, you have to get the patient certification for the registered physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant for the Medical Marijuana Program. They must assure in the certificate that the use of Marijuana is beneficial for your health condition. You must note that the physician or nurse practitioner you refer to is registered in New York State.
Step 4: Application of Patient
After completing the above three steps successfully, you can fill the patient application with all the required details on the New York Governments’ website under the Medical Marijuana Data Management System.
Step 5: Getting the Medical Marijuana Card
Once all the steps are properly covered, you can download your Medical Marijuana Card and purchase Marijuana at the registered dispensary.
This was the entire process that you have to follow in order to get the Medical card.
Covid-19 and Use of Cannabis
After the Covid-19 virus was first detected on 7 January 2020, it has shown devastating results since then. Millions of people are dead, and millions and millions are fighting for their life (12,222,229 and increasing, to be precise). Major businesses are suffering from huge losses, and people are losing their jobs. But there is one business that has shown a huge hike and grabbed a good amount of profit, i.e., legal sales of Cannabis. The revenue of the average store has hiked from 52 percent to 130 percent, and that is very high.
The reason behind such a hike is that people are considering Marijuana or cannabis as a cure for treating the anxiety that they are suffering from Covid-19.
But this gave rise to two important questions: is cannabis a cure to Covid-19? and is it good to smoke cannabis during the pandemic, especially for the people of the United states, where the consumption of cannabis has shown a great hike.
What Research Says About Effects of Cannabis for Causing Covid Symptoms
The researchers have quoted that consumption of cannabis is not good during the time of Covid-19 as it can affect your lungs and cause symptoms of Covid-19. Many experts suggest that it will be very effective to stay away from the use of Cannabis, even if they are in the form of edibles.
The World Health Organization has also stated that individuals attracted to the smoking of cannabis are at major risks of getting affected by the Covid-19 virus. One of the research indicates that the Covid-19 virus affected more patients who have a history of smoking.
Smoking cannabis can make it worse for people as more amount of concentrated carboxyhemoglobin will be inhaled by the body, which can support the development of the virus inside the body because of the inflammation it causes in the airway.
Smoke inhalation does not simply cause inflammation and irritation of the lungs but also impairs the immune system, increasing the risk of contracting infections.
A more serious threat to those who have been smoking marijuana for an extended period of time is the chance of contracting SARS-CoV-2 and severe symptoms of COVID-19. Although there is no scientific evidence to show that edible varieties of marijuana might negatively affect the lungs, it is recommended that one should refrain from smoking cannabis daily.
Final Words
So these were all the details regarding consuming cannabis during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be concluded from the above data that smoking Cannabis during the time of pandemic is not good for health, and it can deteriorate your body.