Marijuana Addiction : The Effects On Mind, Body, And Nation

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

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?

Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General, once spoke about the legalization of marijuana for medical use in a press conference. "It's criminal to keep this medicine from patients," she said (Silverman, 1995, pg. 2). She received criticism not only from many citizens of the United States, but also strong criticism from the President who appointed her. The legalization of marijuana for medical use has always been a sharply debated subject, and many of the debaters are uneducated about the effects of using this illegal drug for therapeutic use. Many studies have been done and the results are clear. As a medical drug, marijuana should be available to patients who do not adequately respond to currently available

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.

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,

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.

The United States government restricts and makes marijuana illegal, including marijuana for medicinal purposes. However, in June of this year it was reported that 25 states including Washington D.C., have made medicinal marijuana legal, and 3 states have pending legislation or ballot measures (ProCon.org). Using medicinal marijuana on ill patients could help, and possibly, save their lives. For example, medicinal marijuana could help cancer patients, those who suffer from depression, and aids patients. Annually, 7.6 million Americans die just from cancer, 15 million are diagnosed with depression, and 50 thousand are affected by AIDS. (World Cancer Day & DoSomething.org). The use of medicinal marijuana is a controversial issue in today’s society.

“Marijuana is the most commonly used drug illegal drug in the world.” (“What is Marijuana”, 2013). It has recently become legal in a couple states, and more states are sure to follow their lead in the upcoming months. People can make the argument that marijuana does not have any negative effects, but they are wrong. Becoming addicted to marijuana is easy, and it only opens up the door for you to try other harmful drugs once marijuana quits getting you high. You need to know the whole story, how people become addicted, the negative effects it has on your body and mind, and what you can do once someone you know has become addicted.

Many people have overdosed on medicine prescribed by a doctor, these man made medicine may even kill you, just one pill can end your life. Scientifically said, medical marijuana has cured many more illnesses and some infections than most prescribed medicine. Society should be more informed of Cannabis and not just negatively judge it because it is drug. Ads nowadays show Cannabis as a product that will hurt you and cause side effects in your body, but this my friend is incorrect, medical marijuana can benefit you in different ways; don’t judge a book by its cover. Society just label things to make them seems bad, evil, and harmful, but Medical Marijuana should be legalized for the health being of the people in the whole world, Cannabis is good for many reasons, and the following paper will blow your mind away.

The use of marijuana has been a controversial topic for quite some time now, but is this only because people are looking at it from a point of recreational use? Have you ever felt pain, nausea/ vomiting, loss of appetite the way a cancer patient has? Envision not being able to eat because you want to throw up everything, or have pain caused by nerve damage. Cancer patients go through these things and more daily. They don’t have the appetite to eat or are in too much pain to even think about eating or prepare their own meals. I believe that with the use of Medical Marijuana this has changed. Marijuana should be used in medical treatment of ill patients that will benefit from it.

Substantial research exists regarding marijuana and addiction. Most people who use marijuana do not become addict. According to Dr. Kevin Hill an addiction psychiatrist at Mclean hospital in Harvard medical school only 9 percent adults become addicted of marijuana as compare to 31.9 percent addicted to tobacco. Such results show marijuana in humans is low in comparison to other drugs of abuse, including alcohol and nicotine.

In the article “Medical Marijuana Should Be Legalized”, Noel Merino talks about the benefits of marijuana and how it can treat several medical conditions. Merino feels that marijuana should be legalized for medical use because it is actually one of the safest drugs currently existing that can be used therapeutically to alleviate a wide range of ailments (Merino 4). As a matter of fact, some of the most common minor and easily treatable illnesses medical marijuana can treat include a decline of nausea and appetite loss, a reduced amount of intraocular pressure, a decreased amount of muscle spasms, and a declined amount of chronic pain (5-8). It is true that marijuana can still

Within today’s society, Cannabis is seen as a harmful substance of such negative controversy. Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Despite many malicious allegations have been made regarding marijuana today, the truth of what marijuana’s real dangers are are beginning to come about again. Sadly, these facts have been held under considerable judgement because of what people stereotype a pot smoker as. This has been brought under heavy criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people view as the typical “pot smoker.” This image society has of a lazy and unambitious America has all been the result of almost one hundred years of false propaganda and stereotypes gossiped by certain private individuals trying to keep weed illegal for their own personal benefit.

Imagine you are a mother or father of an epileptic child waking up day after day watching your child suffering with uncontrollable seizures, sometimes over 30 times a day. The physician prescribes more and more medication to help alleviate the seizures to no avail. Or you are a patient suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder where medications only make symptoms worse or does not give and relief. Now visualize a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy having nausea and nonstop vomiting. The patient is losing weight and has no appetite. The prescriptions given by the physician have no impact on the patient. Wouldn’t you like to have an alternative form of relief? Some patients have found that relief with the use of medical marijuana.