Argumentative Essay: The Legalization Of Medical Marijuana

Marijuana is one of the most discussed and controversial topics in the U.S today. Many say that it has medicinal benefits and should be made legal. While many say that it has a “high potential for abuse” (Medical) and should remain illegal. Among the arguments, proponents for medical marijuana have presented a stronger argument for legalization through their use of research and evidence.

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.

Medical use of Marijuana is probably the most discussed topic of the legalizing campaign over the recent years. Some opponents of Marijuana say that it does not have any medical uses at all, and argue that Marijuana is only harmful and should remain illegal. Others for legalization have an opposite view that is starting to gain more recognition as time goes on. Around the late 1990’s, some members of the nation’s medical establishment began to acknowledge marijuana’s potential health benefits. One respected health organization, the Institute of Medicine, released a report in 1999 which stated that “nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety can all be mitigated by marijuana (Medical). In an article Drug Legalization, Advocates of medical marijuana say that in many cases it is the only treatment that has been shown to work. “It is a very effective medication for people who have failed to get good results from standard medications,” says Ethan Russo, a neurologist who has studied medical marijuana, “and that is why so many people are devoted to risking their lives and career to get this drug”(Drug). There are many reports that Marijuana can help with conditions traditional medicines do not seem to help with. Marijuana has also been a huge help to patients with Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Glaucoma, and Insomnia. With a lot of prescription medicines being expensive, Marijuana would be a cheaper alternative to buy if people chose to do so.

Legalizing marijuana is crucial to the medical field because many patients cannot use this marvelous plant to relieve their pain. This plant can help patients with multiple sclerosis, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, HIV, nerve pain, and seizure disorders. Many patients must go behind the doctors back and consume cannabis or give it to a loved one to relieve their pain. Only twenty-nine states have allowed the use of medical marijuana. Furthermore, that means that twenty-two states do not allow the usage of any form of Cannabis. Marijuana should be an all-around legal

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.

In recent years, medical marijuana has become legal in 23 states across the country, including washington D.C, new york,new jersey, oregon, and many others. Medical marijuana has been know too aid cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, along with a large number of medical conditions like Glaucoma, Arthritis, migraines, hepatitis C and many others. While there is a large following in the medical marijuana movement, there is also a large counter-movement who want to medical marijuana to stay illegal. In this paper I will argue why medical marijuana should be legal throughout the united states and how beneficial marijuana is to modern medecine. Marijuana could be used in modern medicine to help aid a wide range of diseases.

Medical Marijuana, a highly controversial issue in today’s society, is at the cutting edge of both cultural and medical debate. Regardless of federal restrictions of the use of the illegal drug, about 41% of Americans have tried it at least once in their lives.(Armentano) Furthermore, medical studies have shown that while medical marijuana is both addictive and poses some risks to the immune system, there are also positive results to alternative forms of treatment. Medicinal use of this drug has been shown to reduce psychotic behavior, nausea, pain and other sicknesses.(Jack) States should legalize the use of medical marijuana to help those who suffer from a variety of alignments, many of which cannot be cured by pharmaceutical drugs.

marijuana is more than that it used medically to help millions of people’s illness. Medical marijuana is being legalized in many states in the US. One article states that “ in 1970, congress placed marijuana in the controlled substance act because it was considered to have no accepted medical use. Since then 29 of the 50 states and DC have legalized the medical use of marijuana” (Medical Marijuana). Many states have realized that medical marijuana can help nausea, seizures or muscle spasms, and can even help relieve symptoms of many illnesses.

Legalizing medical marijuana is a controversial topic that most individuals tend to shy away from, but with the passages of laws in 23 states, the conversation is becoming inevitable (ProCon.org, 2015). While proponents of medical marijuana argue that it is a safe and effective treatment for various health symptoms, opponents argue it is dangerous, addictive, and a gate way to harder drug use. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the issue, the policies surrounding the issue, the pro/con of legalizing medical marijuana, and to provide recommendations.

The use of Medical Marijuana is a widely argued and criticized issue that is at the forefront of issues affecting our community and lives in this day and age. During my search for and against the use and legalization of Marijuana, I have been able to find extensive research which either supports or opposes the belief that Medical Marijuana should be an available option for medical treatment and the recreational use of it. I have committed myself to maintain an open mind while researching both the pro and con on the use of Marijuana, and have concluded that Medical Marijuana should be available for use. As for my opinion on the recreational use of Marijuana I have yet to decide whether it should be legal.

The legalization of medical marijuana has become a nationwide issue among US citizens that is both sensitive and fierce in nature. In 1972, president Nixon declared a "war on drugs" that lead to the U.S. Congress prohibiting medicinal marijuana use in the Controlled Substances Act under the notion that it bore no medical value. Since then, citizens, physicians, and politicians alike have battled over the veracity of this avowed Act. The fact that was neglected, however, is that the cannabis plant has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries, and has been widely attested to relieving the harsh symptoms of physical ailments of users. Because of the vast amount of evidence of the benefits of marijuana use in patients, it is therefore accurately deemed as a legitimate form of medicine in the 23 US States and Washington D.C. that have legalized it since 1996.

Today’s society is a never ending circle of evolving what is considered normal. Along with revolutionary new legalizations made recently, medical marijuana is on the rise and continues to be an ongoing debate. For decades, marijuana has been labeled “the gateway drug” and has negative perception linked to it. In recent years, many people have begun to look past these common thoughts and consider its positive characteristics. New studies have shown information on the benefits of marijuana use and the lives it may be able to help. Medical marijuana needs to be a legalized drug throughout the entire United States. The use of cannabis provides aid to many different sicknesses, continues to be made easier and safer to handle, and has shown advantages in areas that have already legalized it.

Imagine waking up every morning with having to ingest several different kinds of anti depression pills just to cope with PTSD. Almost all of theses prescription pills have long term effects such as the suicidal thoughts caused by the zoloft,or the dizziness caused by the Seroquel, or maybe even the inability to focus caused by the Celexa  Almost 70% of americans take some type of antidepressant. What if there was something out there that could do everything that theses prescribed drugs do without all the long term effects? Mary Jane, weed, pot, and gas are all names for one naturally earth grown plant called, marijuana. Although people believe that marijuana may cause a drift in brain development or wonder how a medicine could be smoked, the legalization of marijuana will give doctors and Americans across the nation access to this life changing plant as well as positively impact millions of lives, medically and financially.

Legalizing Medical Marijuana can help patients with relief from nausea and appetite loss, reduction of muscle spasms and relieve from chronic pain. Helpful for treatment for the AIDS-- reduces the nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite, Glaucoma -- reduces pressure relieving the pain and sometimes stopping damage to the eyes, Cancer -- excite appetite and relieving nausea and vomiting, and Epilepsy -- stops seizures. There are a huge volume of reports and studies which state that marijuana is highly effective in treating a number of illnesses, and it can make a highly achieved replacement for several types of medication, many of which having countless horrible side effects. “Many California doctors recommend the drug because they’ve seen salutary results with marijuana with marijuana not found with its legal pill form equivalent, Marinol.”( Minamide, Elaine. "Medical Marijuana":pg14)

The Chemical breakdown of cannabis, which marijuana is a herbal product of, contains many components that prove beneficial in the medical field. Parts of the medical field that these components benefit would include various neurological conditions, such as spasticity, pain or sleeping disorders. It is currently difficult to conclude whether these benefits overpower the risks that a person with a neurological disorder would be taking. However Canadian surveys have showed that in two neurological disorder cases, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, cannabis has proven to be beneficial to symptom relief. People with these disorders using cannabis have gotten relief from both their primary symptoms and other symptoms associated with their disorders. In people with epilepsy, the severity and frequency of their seizures was reduced. In people with multiple sclerosis were found to have reduced pain and spasticity, as well as being relived from psychological symptoms caused by the disorder. Without the use of cannabis in some users, they would have a much more difficult time dealing with the symptoms of their disorders (Wingerchuk, 2004). However, there still remains a lot of opposition on the topic of medical marijuana.