Legalize It Already

As mentioned above numerous studies have shown the viability of cannabis as a potential cancer treatment. Studies have not only shown how marijuana inhibits tumor growth, cell death, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow but it also can dramatically improve the quality of life of a cancer

The two main cannabinoids in Cannabis are THC and CBD and both have been scientifically proven as well as FDA approved to provide several medical benefits that assist in the argument in legalizing medical marijuana. According to an article on drugabuse.gov, “THC increases appetite and reduces nausea and may also decrease pain, inflammation, and muscle control problems. CBD is a cannabinoid that may be useful in reducing pain and inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures, and possibly even treating mental illness and addictions.” These two main cannabinoids have been proven to provide patients with several medical benefits that other drugs cannot provide and that may not be safe or have safe side-effects. Since medical marijuana has so many medical benefits that it can provide as a benefit to so many patients, including cancer patients, by killing certain cancer cells and slowing its growth down then it would only be fair to legalize it throughout the United States for the sake of every patient’s health (drugabuse.gov). As stated before, medical marijuana is also a safer alternative to a variety of other drugs which is another reason as to why it should be

It’s proven that the use of marijuana can help people with certain illnesses and help them recover. In an article; it stated that using marijuana for a medical effect can help you with your sleeping disorders, aches, eating conditions and pains. It can also help relax muscle tension, chronic pain and seizure disorders. Marijuana has been successful at

And even if you have not, there is an overwhelming wealth of facts all over the internet and even in news papers. Both the American Cancer society and the American Medical Association support research trials to assess cannabis’s medical potential. Millions of Americans diagnosed with incurable and fatal diseases are using marijuana to help ease their suffering. There are still others that aren’t able to get help though because their state forbids it, or they are too afraid of being caught by the federal government.

First, let me begin by explaining what exactly is medical marijuana, medical marijuana is the use of the cannabis plant or extracts from it to treat disease or symptoms. This can happen because of two main chemicals in marijuana tetrahydrocannabinol or (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) and these two chemicals both have different effects on brain that can help many people dealing with serious to normal health issues. THC increases appetite and reduces nausea. The FDA-approved THC-based medications are used for these purposes. THC may also decrease pain, inflammation (swelling and redness), and muscle control problems. This can be extremely helpful to cancer patients suffering from the side effects of chemotherapy which include weight loss and

Along with the nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy comes appetite loss and weight loss. Over 50% of cancer patients develop a condition called cachexia which represents a significant loss of lean body tissue. If it gets bad enough, patients can undergo IV or tube feeding. Marijuana, however, has been shown to stimulate appetite very effectively.

According to drugfreeworld.org (Short), some effects of using marijuana are short term memory problems, hallucinations, risk of heart attack because of the increase in heart rate, addiction (after long term), and a decline in IQ. Why would you risk your health in other areas just to solve problems such as headaches or pain. During our debate the other team mentioned that it was Medical Marijuana was used to treat cancer patients. They also said that it could help stop the growth of cancer. I later did some research to determine if this was in fact true. According to cancer.org (Marijuana), they have conducted trials on cancer patients to see how the Medical Marijuana effects the patient/cancer. “There have been some

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,

Cannabis has cured some Cancer symptoms for many patients, “A number of studies of smoked marijuana found that it can be helpful in treating nausea and vomiting from cancer chemotherapy...studies have found that inhaled (smoked or vaporized) marijuana can be helpful treatment of neuropathic pain (pain caused by damaged nerves)” ("Marijuana and Cancer." Marijuana and Cancer. Web. 13 Nov. 2015) meaning that inhaling medical marijuana can actually help you with some symptoms that cancer does on your body. “More recently, scientists reported that THC and other cannabinoids such as CBD slow growth and/or cause death in certain types of cancer cells growing in laboratory

Next, let’s examine groups that support marijuana becoming officially authorized. These groups dispute that it has medical benefits for patients that have cancer or AIDS. It helps relieve pain, relaxes, and may help the patients get their appetites back. Marijuana is also known to help slow down the progression of the disease in Glaucoma patients. People suffering from epilepsy use marijuana to prevent the epileptic seizures. It’s also known that marijuana helps with the treatment of people who maybe clinically depressed.

Marijuana has been found to alleviate symptoms of serious diseases. Asthma, glaucoma, and muscle spasms are just a few. It has also been proven to help a

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.

The NIH (National Institute of Health) is one of the many advocates for medicinal marijuana. They claim that marijuana may be helpful in the alleviation of chemotherapy, to reduce nausea and enable the patients to eat. The drug also helps in the stimulation of appetite and reduction of the loss of lean muscle mass in AIDS patients. These AIDS victims also find that the drug also helps with the “wasting syndrome” that often characterizes the terminal illness. It has also been proven it can prevent epileptic seizures.(Potter, 1998) In addition, marijuana aids in the reduction of interlobular fluid pressure in the eyes caused by glaucoma, which can causes serious damage to vision, and in some cases can lead to blindness. Migraine sufferers have found relief form their headaches, and victims of spinal injuries and multiple sclerosis reported that marijuana controlled their spasms.(Randall, 1998)

In 2000, George Bierson’s “Marijuana, the Deceptive Drug”, was published by the Massachusetts News. Bierson concludes that marijuana is harmful in many ways, including brain damage, damage to the reproductive system, and weakening of the immune system. He also attempts to convince the reader that marijuana is a “gateway drug” that leads users to venture into much harder drugs. I believe that research to support anything can be found if one is looking hard enough, but that the fallacy of Bierson’s conclusions is due to his research seeking facts to support an already-assumed conclusion. Based on my research and my own personal experience, I have found that several of his points, when looked at logically, do not reach his