Is it possible for an illegal drug to be deemed legal for medical purposes? Well for an illegal drug like marijuana, that is the question. There are currently many people who use marijuana legally to suppress their illness. Marijuana should be allowed for medicinal purposes.
But one of the arguments is that there are alternatives to using marijuana such as medications that come in pills, solutions, shots, or drops. There is no prescribed drug today that is smoked. Another concern is that marijuana is illegal is the United States. Making it a medicine would require a change in the current law which would have to be voted on by Congress. The biggest and most important argument against marijuana is the negative effects it could have on a
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The end result is blindness. Smoking marijuana relieves this pressure that builds up. In one
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study, a woman with glaucoma was given a conventional glaucoma prescription drug and marijuana. By using both these things, the woman reduced the dangerous pressure that had built up in her eyes(Zeese and Ruzzamenti 23). But does this mean that a person has to get high so they don’t go blind? Researcher Paul Palmberg states that a person develops a tolerance to the drug so that the patient doesn’t get high but still gets relief(Zeese and Ruzzamenti 23). Marijuana helps with nausea, weight loss, and glaucoma, but what else does it do?
Marijuana has been proven to help in the fight and cure of neurological diseases and disorders. Toxicologist Paul Consroe believes that THC in marijuana may help tone down the spasms that people suffer with Huntington’s disease, spinal cord injuries and other disorders. His studies show that specialized proteins that serve as docks for THC, are in regions of the brain known to play a role in movement disorders. These receptors also bind to anandamide, a marijuana-like substance manufactured by the body. In a 1986 study, Consroe showed that cannabidiol, a component of marijuana, calmed the abnormal movements of five people suffering from dystonia, a condition that makes muscle spasms that contort the body(“Marijuana as Medicine“).
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Robert Randall is one of the patients who
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.
In their article, Welsh and Loria start off by saying how medical marijuana has been legalized in more than 20 states(Paragraph 1) and how even CNN’s medical correspondent has changed his stance on medical marijuana(Paragraph 2). People are still stuck between whether marijuana should be legal or not, but most can agree that medical marijuana is “okay”. They go on to show that more and more studies are being conducted to try and understand how the drug is beneficial. Loria and Welsh then go on to write about the potential benefits of marijuana. In a study conducted by the National Eye Institute, they found that marijuana lowered intraocular pressure for people with glaucoma and those without(Paragraph 10). The next benefit that they mention, which this was has caused lots of controversy, is that marijuana stops cancer from spreading. A research done at California Pacific Medical Center has shown that CBD, cannabidiol, could help
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.
Roughly three million people in the United States suffer from glaucoma and the disease has actually impaired two million of those people. Glaucoma is the number one cause of blindness in the United States. Smoked marijuana does have properties that lower high internal eye pressure (intraocular pressure or IOP), alleviating the pain and slowing, sometimes stopping the damage to the eyes.
Marijuana is no longer used just to achieve euphoria or by hippies to show rebellion against the United States authorities. In today’s world you do not need a lava lamp and a van down by the river, you can now receive marijuana from doctors. The medicinal use of marijuana is fairly new in the U.S. One of the most common diseases medical marijuana patients suffer from is glaucoma. Although it is now legal, recent studies show hemp may not be the answer for glaucoma patients. The benefits of marijuana’s use for glaucoma treatment has not proven to outweigh its risks.
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?
Firstly, marijuana has many health benefits. It can be used to treat a disease in the eye called glaucoma, by
Another advantage of legalising marijuana may be the medical benefits of cannabis which can be used to create a safe therapeutic effect, when used medicinally in its purest form. Studies also show the marijuana when used under a supervised routine of medical care can be used to reduce stress, as well as relieving and reducing nausea from cancer patients who participate in chemotherapy. Other medical source’s state Marijuana, once again when used under supervision for medical reasons can be effective in treating glaucoma, through relieving pressure on one’s eye socket, as well providing relief to those suffering from AID’s and Multiple sclerosis. Whilst to put in perspective the damaging effects of marijuana in
Medical marijuana can also be used to treat and prevent the eye disease glaucoma, which can damage the optic nerve, by increased pressure of eyeball and causing loss of vision. According to the National Eye Institute: "Studies in the early 1970s showed that marijuana, when smoked, lowered intraocular pressure (IOP) in people with normal pressure and those with glaucoma." These effects of the drug may prevent blindness. Marijuana use also decreases the symptoms of a severe seizure disorder known as Dravet's Syndrome. THC may be able to slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease, a study led by Kim Janda of the Scripps Research Institute suggests. Another benefit of medical marijuana is that it relieves arthritis discomfort, by reducing inflammation, which may help
There are many scientifically proven health benefits to smoking marijuana the first of which is it can be used to treat glaucoma and other eye disease. Pot doesn’t just treat glaucoma it can be used to prevent it. According to the National Eye Institute "Studies in the early 1970s showed that
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.
It can be used to treat glaucoma. Glaucoma is a disease that increases the pressure inside the eyeball and this will damage the optic nerve. When the optic nerve is damaged, it results in blindness. The National Eye Institute conducted studies in the early 1970s which showed that smoked marijuana reduces the intraocular pressure in people who have glaucoma.
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
Even though medicinal marijuana has harmful effects, marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes because medicinal marijuana is less toxic than other prescribed drugs and marijuana has many positive effects on disease and health
so expensive to obtain that its usage as a medical remedy in the U.S. came to a