Conant V. Mccaffrey Case Study

There has been a lot of debate on whether or not marijuana should be legal for medicinal purposes in all fifty states. Many people believe that marijuana is an unsuitable substitute for many of the medications we have today. On the other hand, many researchers have conducted extensive studies that have shown how beneficial medicinal marijuana can be. Many states have already picked up on this, and have laws set in place to allow the use of medicinal marijuana. Medicinal marijuana has a wide variety of uses, and should be allowed for medicinal purposes in all fifty states.

Marijuana has survived the passing of time and still helps the sick today. The advanced stages of treatment for patients with Cancer, AIDS and other diseases often include, terrible nausea, vomiting, and different types of pain. Patients have reported much relief from

Recreational marijuana legalization in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska have, technically, broken federal law. As long as the federal government does not do anything about the state’s blatant disregard for higher law they can do what they want. I think that because state and federal law contradict at the moment there should be clarification. States should only be able to pass a law such as this if it is also legal on a federal level, but if there are no repercussions for violating federal law where does it end? Recreational marijuana is a state issue, in my opinion. If it is to be legalized in America at a federal level then each state should be allowed to choose their side. At this point, federal government is showing its cracks. 4 of our states are currently not obeying the Constitution; federal law trumps state law. Our government needs to pull itself together and start paying attention to what the states are doing.

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?

The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is a long-standing controversy. For centuries marijuana was prescribed to alleviate symptoms associated with a variety of illnesses. Anti-medical marijuana sentiments began with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act banned the use of marijuana completely, categorizing it as a drug with no medicinal value, high abuse rates, and detrimental health effects (http://www.farmacy.org/prop215/apha.html). Since 1996, numerous states including California, Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have passed medical marijuana initiatives supporting the right to prescribe marijuana for seriously or terminally ill patients (http://www.marihemp.com/marimed.html). The American Public Health Association and the Institute of Medicine represent two organizations that have recently researched and endorsed advancements in the study of medical marijuana. Both groups support the use of marijuana for specific treatments, such as reducing nausea in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, stimulating the appetites of AIDS victims, and limiting spasticity in MS patients.

As an American citizen, I believe if it is “right” or “legal” in one state it should remain as it is on the other states. Therefore, since it is legal for recreational use in Colorado and Washington, it should be available to all of the states in America, including the states with legal medical use. I believe it definitely needs to be a federal issue; it isn’t fair for the drug to be handed in some states and prohibited in others. American citizens should have the right to obtain marijuana regardless of what state they live in, it should be legal for all states!

After reading Chapter 16 I came to the conclusion that In Raich v. Ashcroft, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the medical use of marijuana does not have any direct or obvious effect on interstate commerce; however, the U.S. Supreme Court beg to differ, the Supreme Court felt like that medical marijuana would have an effect on the interstate market for marijuana, so in 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit Court (which wasn’t right but they had the power to do so). In addition, the federal government had the power to prohibit the use of medical marijuana. The federal law enforcement is targeting individuals who seem clearly to be using marijuana for purposes other than medical treatment.

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.

Medical marijuana has been known for its instrumental role in the treatment of several ailments both physical and psychological. It has been found to play a role in the treatment of chronic pain, muscle spasm, multiple sclerosis, nausea, vomiting, appetite stimulation, stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia. The effects of marijuana are produced by the active ingredient found in it - delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Because of these findings according to Hoffmann & Weber (2010) experts in the medical field have had to be revisiting the evidence as it relates to the medicinal benefits of marijuana and the American Medical Association (AMA) has been the driving force behind the petition for marijuana as a ‘Scheduled I controlled substance’ so that further research and development can be done on the plant. Further value is added to the advantages of medical marijuana when regardless of its criminalization, the FDA and American Cancer Society agree that the active ingredients in marijuana, orcannabinoids, have been approved by officials to “highlight increased nausea and vomiting and appetite in people with cancer and AIDS”. The American Cancer Society says that "marijuana has anti-bacterial properties, inhibits tumour growth, and enlarges the airways, which they believe can ease the severity of asthma attacks"

Marijuana is a schedule one drug, and has no medicinal purpose. Cocaine and morphine on the other hand are schedule two and do have medicinal value. Gen. McCafferey says "a physician who tries to prescribe a schedule one drug with or without the referendums in California or Arizona, is subject to prosecution under federal law." (Simmons112) This quote has come under great duress since the DEA is the only group which can arrest someone who uses pot and slap someone with a petty misdemeanor. People will not care if they run the risk of a misdemeanor and likely use the drug anyway. Dennis Peron, one of the leading activists of marijuana legalization, has devoted twenty years to the legalization of marijuana. He says that when friend Jonathan West, developed AIDS, Dennis saw the potential uses for medical marijuana when he saw Jonathan feel better after smoking weed. (Rist and Harrison 75-76) Peron fought wildly to pass a bill to legalize medicinal marijuana. "Any other drug that eased nausea, increased appetite, and reduced pain, would be prescribed everywhere." says Peron. (Rist and Harrison 75-76) A Harvard Medical psychiatrist calls the drug a "wonder drug" for pain, nausea, and appetite. However, there are many cons to the pros in prescribing marijuana for nausea and pain. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active drug in marijuana used to help relieve nausea in cancer

Additionally, medical marijuana could also cure cancer, a vigorous disease that kills many people daily. Research shows that THC is the main cannabinoid associated with marijuana and has been recognized to contain a strong anti-cancer effect. Wai Liu, a researcher discovered that there are numerous less known cannabinoids that may decrease the growth of cancer cells in Leukemia. Liu also found out that because the cannabinoids are not psychoactive, a patient could have the anti-cancer benefits without having the high feeling associated with THC (Bekiempis 1). Thus, marijuana does not target all rapidly dividing cells like the way chemotherapy or radiation does – which leads to weight and hair loss. Rather, the marijuana attacks the cancer (Bekiempis 1). Additionally, medical marijuana has many therapeutic uses. For example, research proves that

Imagine you are lying in your home, suffering from the side-effects of chemotherapy and all you can do is think about how sick you are and what could possibly keep you from being secluded from life and happiness. Marijuana will prevent side-effects linked to terminal illnesses, does not cause any real harm to a humans well-being, and would increase US revenue due to taxation and also tourism. Well, according to Ed Rosenthal and Steve Kubby of the book Why Marijuana Should Be Legal, from which this viewpoint is excerpted. They argue that “marijuana is effective at relieving pain, controlling nausea, and stimulating the appetite, and is successfully used to treat a large number of medical problems, including asthma, CANCER, AIDS, depression,

The legalization of marijuana has been a debate in the public eye within the United States for quite some time now; however, as time progresses many states continue to pass legislation. As of, March 2017, 26 states and the District of Columbia have laws legalizing marijuana use in some fashion and 24 remaining states with pending legislation. Although states are in debate for legalization it remains that federal law still prohibits any form of usage, selling, or buying. Federal law supersedes state law on this issue as it is written, “Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No” from the Legal Memorandum Published by the Heritage Foundation,

It is hard to imagine the day-to-day pain that a cancer patient endures, but one can imagine that any type of relief would be invited from the victim and their families. These poor individuals suffer throughout the day, and unfortunately are in so much discomfort that attempting to live an ordinary life is virtually impossible. Providing people in these conditions with something that will help is almost a no brainer to people looking from the outside in. This is where marijuana can be an effective substitute for the treatments they are already taking. On this drug, many of those going through unbearable pain can function, and begin to appreciate life as they might have before the pain began.

For example, marijuana is used for glaucoma and AIDS patients either as a pain–killer or to ease the appetite of their patients. According to Rudolph J. Gerber‘s book, Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics, “many AIDS patients with treatment-induced nausea, appetite loss, and wasting syndrome claim that marijuana saved their lives by motivating them to eat” (Gerber 82). This argument is true; however, marijuana can cause side effects like “addiction, cancer, damages to the body’s respiratory, immune, and reproductive systems, and it can also affect the short-term memory (Marshall)” of those patients that are being recommended to take it for their treatment. For instance, David Murray, the special assistant to the director of the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), said, “People feel good after they take it, but they don’t get better.” Therefore, according to Murray, medical marijuana might help ease pain or appetite, but it does not necessary mean that it will cure or save that patient from its disease.