All My Life I Have Heard Just Say No To Drugs. You Hear

Should marijuana be available for patients to use as medical treatment for their long-term illnesses? This question is not only an ethical issue concerning the use of drugs, but it could also be a serious legal issue considering that marijuana is illegal according to the federal government. Many doctors have praised the merits of using cannabis for treatments for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, chemotherapy and cancer treatments, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV and AIDS, arthritis, anxiety, and depression. While most professionals in the medical field seem to agree on the benefits of using medicinal marijuana, there has been much division about the legal ramifications involved in prescribing and distributing this illegal product to the patients

Arguably, medicinal marijuana has proven to be most effective for the relief of nausea and anorexia associated with cancer and AIDS/HIV treatments. For cancer patients who not only go through the unimaginable pains and discomforts of the disease itself but also the process of treatment through chemotherapy, the option of using marijuana may prove to be helpful in relief of the symptoms. In an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Kate Scannell, M.D. wrote "From working with AIDS and cancer patients, I repeatedly saw how marijuana could ameliorate a patient's debilitating fatigue, restore appetite, diminish pain, remedy nausea, cure vomiting and curtail down-to-the-bone weight loss" ("Do"). Dr. Scannell concluded by claiming "...almost every sick and dying patient I've ever known who's tried medical marijuana experienced a kinder death" ("Do"). This example alone is worth allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana. If marijuana brings relief by easing the pain and suffering of just one patient, isn't that enough reason to legalize its use for medicinal purposes?

There will always be pros and cons in every situation, but marijuana actually has many pros. Marijuana may affect the development of the brain and behaviors if used at a young age, but it also helps with many disorders. “The panel said cannabinoids stimulate the appetite, combat nausea, and might also control pain. The drug also acts as a sedative and reduces anxiety, which may itself have a therapeutic effect, they added” (Ault, 1). Marijuana could be very helpful for those who are ill. It is a step at discovering new ways to cure diseases and help with the symptoms of different disorders. If we already know that marijuana could help with pain, sickness, and mental health, then why not legalize it? Many physicians have prescribed medical marijuana to those who are undergoing pain due to cancer. Most of the feedback the physicians get are

Many medically ill patients experience agonizing pain everyday that they can not easily control with regular pain medicine, so what’s the next best thing? There have been many recent cases where medical patients have used medical marijuana for therapeutic uses and found that it had slowed the progression of their disease or helped cure it. Medical marijuana has started to become more popular with medical communities and researchers. Medical marijuana can affect many things in a positive way such as financial situations and social aspects, while having benefits on medical illnesses. Medical marijuana that does not contain the THC drug should be legalized in the United States because it would provide therapeutic benefits without making the user feel high.

The THC in marijuana is the chemical that gives people the “high” that they pursue like madmen. The isomer can be used to treat pain, as a relaxant, alter vision, auditory and other senses, and minimize fatigue and appetite. Since medical marijuana is already legal in several states such as California and Colorado, why shouldn’t it become a legal and normal treatment across the United States? The numerous medical benefits clearly show that marijuana, when used correctly, will benefit the user tremendously and help him or her feel much better.

The people that I do know that abuse pain medication also smoke marijuana. I do think it can improve other medical conditions. My mother suffers from Parkinson's disease. We have researched the use of medical marijuana for treatment of the tremors and shakes that come along with the disease, and it has been proven to help. There was a significant improvement in muscle rigidity, pain, and tremors associated with Parkinson's disease when subjects were tested in an experiment in Israel (McCall, 2014). She now knows that this can be an alternative to her treatment if her other medications do not

In November, Jeanette Bokland was diagnosed with breast cancer. She tried to treat it but she couldn’t. One of her friends offered her medical marijuana and she said yes. She didn’t smoke the marijuana, she ate it. It took away her nausea, severe restlessness, and anxiety. It allowed her to eat. It made her feel halfway normal. She called it “a miracle drug.” These 3 people are just examples on why I think marijuana should be a medical option.

Medical marijuana has been proven to be a very curable substance. According to Donald Abrams (N.D), as referenced in Kim Ann Zimmermann (2015), “the idea that marijuana may have therapeutic effects is rooted in solid science. Marijuana contains 60 active ingredients known as cannabinoids. The body naturally makes its own form of cannabinoids to modulate pain” .This supports the idea that marijuana can help individuals medically. It can also be helpful for many who need its medical help .Many people will be having the chance to buy and use it if it gets legalized. Marijuana is not in reach of everyone because when individuals want to buy weed they need to get a doctor’s prescription or have an excuse and not everyone can fake an excuse or get a doctors prescription; as a result, many people cannot purchase it except illegally. As long as marijuana is not legalized many individuals won’t be able to use it. Zimmermann (2015) explains that the primary psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana is THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is responsible for the psychological effects of marijuana. Moreover, the THC targets cb1 which is located in the brain, nervous system, liver, kidney and lungs the cb1 becomes active most of the time to relive pain (Kim Zimmerman, 2015). Many people call that process of reliving pain as getting “high”. In fact, most of the people who use marijuana use it to feel “high”. Because, when someone

This tax revenue could fund the environment. Also, opening of new schools and supporting current ones. Furthermore, it could enhance the building of new roads. It could also help create hospitals and clinics. Moreover, the tax revenue could help build new police stations, and firefighting stations. It could even help the homeless. Marijuana could also bring jobs to America. In fact, it could bring thousands of new job opportunities which will reduce our unemployment rate.

Doctors and patients have started to rely on marijuana. Medical marijuana has gifted hope to many patients undergoing severe sickness. Marijuana has been reported to restore appetite, diminish pain, and remedy nausea. Medical marijuana is prescribed in vaporizers and inhalers; this is a faster and easier way for marijuana to be put into effect. This can cause for a quicker healing, allowing the patient to get back to normal. Doctors believe that marijuana is a non-toxic alternative to most standard medications, because there is no such thing as an overdose. Though there are chances of misuse, some may consider that to be a poor excuse to rule out medical marijuana. For some, traditional medications do not have and effect quite as well as marijuana. Patients that benefit from medical marijuana should be allowed the use if necessary.

Chronic pain is intense suffering/agony that can persist between weeks to years. Currently, there are an estimated more than 3 million cases of chronic pain in the United States each year. That is where the Marijuana comes into play. An article on the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association states the following for Marijuana being used for chronic pain as well as other medical problems,”Aside from nausea and appetite stimulation, indications for which there are 2 FDA-approved cannabinoids (dronabinol and nabilone), chronic pain, neuropathic pain, and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis are the indications for medical marijuana supported by high-quality evidence”(Hill). As usual, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t state the drawbacks to using Marijuana to treat chronic pain. The same article states,”Medical marijuana and cannabinoids have significant potential health risks, such as addiction and worsening of psychiatric illnesses such as some anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and substance use disorders”(Hill). Currently, there are no ways to combatant these side

Marijuana should be a medicinal option because it relieves major chronic pain to many symptoms. According to the Herald Editorial board, Marijuana shows a great impact on pain, “from a widespread number of causes, including cancer, spinal cord injury and disease, severe spasms, post-traumatic stress disorder, nausea, glaucoma, Parkinson’s and other debilitating ailments.” This drug is useful, as patients at times cannot use certain drug due to allergies or other complications. Marijuana helps elevated those who suffer severe pain that other drugs cannot, but doctors still prescribe stronger and more addictive opiates that are legal. If marijuana was a legal drug for the purpose of medication, marijuana can potentially save lives. Marijuana should be prescribed as there are fewer side effects compared to the drugs prescribed by doctors. Why would the government not allow doctors to prescribe patients with extreme health issues that can potentially help elevate their pain. There are individuals who suffer from epilepsy, epilepsy is a condition that causes nerve cell activity to disturb the brain. At times individuals can have up to 10 seizures a day, at any given moment. Having 10 seizures a day at random times makes it difficult for them to go on with their day, but marijuana can decrease the amount seizures into one day. It’s remarkable on how marijuana can reduce the amount of seizures an epileptic person has. Marijuana needs to be an option for medical purposes for the amount of benefits it provides.

Marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the United States. However it has the singular distinction of being both a commonly used illegal substance and also a legally prescribed medical substance for mentally ill patients in many states. “Marijuana has been scientifically proven to reduce pain in patients suffering from conditions like Rheumatoid Arthritis.”(Drug Policy Alliance) Based on the benefits, medical marijuana should be legalized.

A number of movements to legalize marijuana have been gaining attention lately. Currently there are 14 states where marijuana is legal for medical use (medicalmarijuana). 41% of U.S. citizens believe marijuana should be legalized (drugpolicy) but others are still concerned about health damage. American society has lost the war against marijuana, and that's okay. We should stop wasting time and money trying to reverse history and instead legalize both medical and recreational use of this mild narcotic widely seen as no more harmful than alcohol.

Why keep those pricey bottles and boxes of drugs in our medicine cabinets which are worthless? New research suggests that marijuana is a medicine. This is a concern which should be addressed for the citizens of United States who have to fight for their medicine to feel better and ease their illness. This is why marijuana should be a medical option! Marijuana is a natural herbal plant which is often called pot, weed, MMJ, cannabis, bubble gum, green goddess and there are several other names that follows. It can be smoked, eaten and drank. There are few reasons why it should be a medical option such as it costs less, its chemical free, and last it helps with the side effects from other medicines and illnesses.