Essay on Legalizing Medical Marijuana

The legalization of the drug marijuana is a hot topic nowadays. Many people want this substance to be legalized and regularly available like cigarettes. But what some people do not know are the serious health risks involved when using marijuana. There is a lot more to marijuana than just smoking it.

The main active ingredient in medical marijuana is Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. (Armand, Read) THC is a cannabinoid that has shown to work well in protecting neuro cells that may reduce the risk of cancer spreading while giving chemo therapy more time to work. THC also helps reduce the pain and nausea that comes with chemo therapy. THC also helps with muscle control, which can help Parkinson’s and autism patients. So far, the FDA has approved medications that contain THC ( Dronabinol and Nabilone) in some states. (Armand)

Marijuana use is on the rise, especially among teenagers and young adults. With the recent laws passed in eight states about legalizing medical marijuana , many stand divided when it comes to this never ending debate, but I firmly believe that this miracle working drug should be legalized throughout the United States.

Medical Marijuana Marijuana is medicine. It has been used for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of ailments. Marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) was legal in the United States for all purposes - industrial and recreational, as well as medicinal until 1937. Today, only eight Americans are legally allowed to use marijuana as medicine. NORML is working to restore marijuana's availability as medicine.

The topic of legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States has been a very controversial one. States such as Colorado and Washington have gone on the offensive and have legalized recreational marijuana and have enjoyed the high revenues brought in from cannabis sale. On the other hand other states have kept low profiles because they are wary of the possible negative outcomes of legalizing recreational marijuana and are using the states of Colorado and Washington as guinea pigs to see what their next course of action on this controversial topic should be. This is not only a highly debated topic among politicians, but also by the people. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans

How would most Americans react if the law allowed the use of heroin, LSD, or amphetamines for medical purposes? Many of us would react in disbelief mainly because of the effects of these powerful and addictive drugs. However, in Arizona the law permits the use of heroin, LSD, and amphetamines for medicinal purposes, yet the medicinal use of marijuana remains illegal in the United States ("Facts"). Because marijuana is categorized as a Schedule 1 drug under the federal Controlled Substance Act ("Issues"), physicians cannot legally prescribe it. The national debate on the effectiveness of marijuana as medicine is divided between those who advocate marijuana's medicinal value and

In the United States, marijuana for medical purposes has gained more prevalence in current political discourse than in previous years. Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a flowering plant that originally came from South and Central Asia. For centuries, the cannabis plant has been used for many natural products such as seed oils, seed, fiber that is used to make hemp products and contains over four hundred chemicals, some of which have an antibiotic like effect (Nordqvist, 2013). Studies have shown that two of the chemicals, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD), have a positive effect on humans for mild to moderate painkilling effects and sedative effects (Nordqvist, 2013). The purpose of this paper is

Marijuana in the medical field has countless usages from dealing with chronic pain to helping cancer patients with nausea. “Two of the most important treatments, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, also cause damage and often, severe vomiting” (McKinley). Cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy are essential in treatments for cancer though it often can result in extreme vomiting in the patients receiving treatments. Medicinal marijuana can help patients with their nausea and vomiting. If the vomiting ceases while using marijuana, the individual’s appetite is sure to increase making it easier for the individuals to sustain an adequate weight as cancer patients are most of the time under weight. “The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to

We now realize that medicinal pot is an effective, and sometimes superior medication, and that the last 70 years of prohibition have been uncalled for. Its uses are numerous, and it is a terrible injustice that patients are being denied access to this wealth of uses. One of the best uses of marijuana is for pain relief, mainly neuropathic pain, which is pain associated with nerve damage. It can be used to control nausea,

Medical marijuana has been used for centuries to combat pain, weakness, anxiety, insomnia, female problems and nausea. Today it is commonly used by cancer and AIDS patients to stimulate hunger, combat nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy or other drug therapy and reduce pain. It has also been shown to be effective in reducing eye pressure, especially in the cases with glaucoma. Medical marijuana, or cannabis, is derived from the Cannabis sativa plant and there is some evidence of cannabis being used medicinally for over four thousand years. Many believe that medical marijuana is a healthy and natural alternative to dangerous and toxic pharmaceuticals that often have side effects worse than the original condition. The United Sates

Marijuana is the familiar name for a raw drug made from the plant cannabis sativa. One of the active chemical in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinal (THC); a stimulant it give users the pleasure effect of relaxation, known as a “high” or hallucinating when consumed too much either through oral or smoking. It is the mainstream drug and a blistering topic to our nation in this day and age. Legalizing marijuana is an ever-growing political and social battle making its way to the top of American controversial issues list. Marijuana is one of the prime adversaries on the outlook of America’s war on drugs. Numerous people crave this drug to be permissible and readily available similar to tobacco and alcohol. While it is mind-boggling that

Morals and politics are what make up the structure of this country, so when an issue receives mixed responses coming from two different points of views it becomes contraversial. The legalization of marijuana is a controversial subject; however, there are many positive arguments to support the idea. First of all, it is very expensive to keep marijuana illegal. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana has also proven to contain positive medicinal uses for illnesses (Marshall, 67). In addition to its positive use, ignorance keeps the public unaware of the fact that alcohol and cigarettes are far worse. The American government is simply approaching this issue very poorly, because the

For the past decade or so, there has been a war on legalization of medical marijuana that states that patients would have to be either prescribed by their doctor, or have permission from their doctor to grow marijuana and smoke it for MEDICINAL PURPOSES. In todays world, some parents are even giving their young kids medicinal marijuana to cure there sickness. Such as Kaitlyn Pogson who is a 13 month child who suffers from epilepsy. Barry Pogson (father) decided they were going to move to Colorado because it wouldn't be legalized in Canada in time to save her life. Just after a week, Kaitlyn was more alert, slept better and hasn’t had to return to emergency for seizures. They couldn’t believe it.

The medical use of marijuana has been a discussion that has been in the news and all around us recently. This is currently a hot topic of interest. There is an enormous amount of evidence that marijuana could be effect against many things. For example evidence shows it could be used to help relieve pain during chemotherapy, but along with this there is also evidence that at times marijuana can cause harm to someone as well. As nurses we must see each side of the debate to make our care for our patients sounder. One quote that directly applies to this topic, which is very important, was written in the Journal of Clinical Nursing:

When most people hear the word “weed” or “pot” they may think of the illegal drug of marijuana and how horrible it must be. People are brainwashed on how bad this drug is but after a little bit of research, you may think otherwise. To start, studies on medical marijuana have proven that the drug has therapeutic effects concerning pain management, nausea, vomiting, seizures, and appetite loss for patients suffering from medical diseases. These diseases include cancer, HIV, epilepsy, and more. Legalizing the use of marijuana as a medical remedy would improve a patient's quality of life and promote positive responses to treatment. Doing this could also help boost our economy with taxation, create employment, and save our economy billions of dollars. Legislators should legalize marijuana solely to benefit those individuals with terminal medical diseases and to help put a boost in the United States economy.