Medical Use of Marijuana

Cannabis is the most hated but yet very beneficial drug in the world. The United States has had strict laws against the use and distribution of marijuana since 1937. (The Union, Brett Harvey) Federal and state laws on medicinal marijuana are very different from each other. Cannabis has a lot of health benefits, this is the reason California was the first state to legalize it for medicinal purposes. (How weed won the west, Kevin Booth) People in America have been getting arrested for the use and possession of marijuana since it was outlawed. Charlie Lynch was one of those people in 2008. (Lynching Charlie Lynch, Rick Ray) I believe medical marijuana should be a legally taxed substance in the United States.

Also, marijuana can be seen as being addictive in nature. “Approximately 9% of individuals that use marijuana become addicted” (Marijuana Statistics). Marijuana contains many chemicals, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which can cause many positive and negative effects to the human body and brain. A major attribute for medical marijuana is the economic advantages that are produced from the distribution of the drug. Also, the legalization of medical marijuana can portray positive and negative outcomes for law enforcement. Therefore, medical marijuana has many positive effects, such as treatment for diseases, and negative effects, such as immune system suppression. Throughout this research paper, medical marijuana will be thoroughly explained to exemplify the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing the

The use of medical marijuana (slang: Acapulco gold, ace, bhang, cannabis, hash, dope, ganja, grass, weed, hashish oil, hemp, home-grown, honey oil, indica, Jamaican roach, sativa, sinse, sinsemilla, tea, weed oil) has a been a major topic of debate for countless years. People all around the United States have seen propaganda of some sort regarding the legalization of marijuana. For example, with the ongoing discussion of legalization throughout the states, it’s abruptly mentioned in the news, everyday conversations, school topics for debate, and within stories of social media. In the article, “Is marijuana prohibition coming to an end”, Michelle Johnson a North Carolina journalist, states “Legalizing marijuana for a medical or recreational

Medical marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a controversial topic because many find it beneficial as others find the usage to be recreational. Throughout the years, medical marijuana has gone through periods of times in which it was legal and illegal. Over the years laws have been developed in order to try and regulate the usage of the drug. Studies have shown many the benefits of treating diseases and symptoms. Today it is used in treatment with many different diseases and disorders such as cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, and multiple sclerosis. As medical marijuana has different species and uses of the product, it is important to depict where the drug can be used for treatment. The usage of this drug enables patients to have a more positive and livable outcome with treatments.

In addition to increase public health problems, legalizing marijuana will lead to increase use of the drug among youngsters. Despite the regulatory approaches, legalizing marijuana has the inevitable effect of increasing the availability and consumption of the drug. Under the current prohibitions, the rate of consumption of marijuana among teenagers is already high; however, the rate of use would greatly increase if the drug was legitimately available to the population. For instance, despite the prohibitions against distribution of alcohol to teenagers, many youngsters who are under the legal age drink alcohol today. Similarly, high percentages of the young population are currently smokers even though the law prohibit them from buying cigarettes. Therefore, it is expected that the usage of marijuana among teenagers would increase if marijuana was legalized. Notably, the marijuana use will impair the development process of teenagers, which will negatively affect their health in later life. Thus, the increased use of marijuana among teenagers is a great concern. It will contribute to great dangers on the health of the youths.

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.

Patients and individuals who require the drug to function have experienced many benefits from using it. The problem lies in that medical marijuana is not legalized in many states, so patients often struggle to find a safe and reliable way to acquire the drug. Patients from an organization known as the Compassion Club, have said that "often members of the [club] tell us that their doctor has unofficially advised them to go home and smoke a joint, rather than prescribing other pharmaceutical medicines. But, most patients find it rather problematic getting the medicine from bars, streets and remote connections” (Black 1). Citizens needing the medication often resort to dangerous methods of acquiring it. Marijuana can help numerous individuals with many different types of diseases and the painful symptoms they may experience. Without the use of marijuana, patients like the son of Lester Grinspoon, whom is a Harvard medical professor, would likely face health problems that could have a terrible long term effect. Grinspoon’s son was diagnosed with leukemia and needed to undergo radiation treatment. Due to the radiation, his loss of appetite led to him eating little to nothing daily. Consequently, he was experiencing weight loss and the dangerously low caloric intake led to her son becoming more and more ill. Grinspoon said, “‘The scent or sight of food would send him into a bout of stomach convulsions.’ His mother and his son had a smoke in the parking lot before a treatment. ‘Afterwards, instead of coming home to bed, his son asked if he could go have a submarine sandwich. Dr. Grinspoon was amazed” (Black 3). Like Grinspoon’s son, pregnant women often struggle with malnutrition during pregnancy. Cannabis can also help mothers-to-be suffering from morning sickness. “Old doctors' tales to the contrary, this herb was far safer than any of the pharmaceuticals prescribed for me by

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis, marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.” Francis Young, DEA Administrative Law Judge, stated. Marijuana was thought of as a drug that was enormously harmful to the user’s health and well-being, but the truth about it is that if used correctly, marijuana has the ability to alleviate a variety of medical conditions, some that were thought to be “untreatable.” An immense amount of research and evidence has proven repeatedly that marijuana is able to treat many problems that plague much of our nation. Medical marijuana needs to legalization across the United States because of its ability to aid those with respiratory issues, to assuage one’s struggle with mental disorders, and it has a profound ability to mitigate the side effects often seen with people who are burdened with cancer.

The topic of marijuana, both medicinal and recreational use, has been one of controversy over the past few decades. As with any drug, the abuse or overuse of marijuana can lead to adverse health effects. These effects are especially prominent and the most influential among adolescents, which substances in general pose the most risk too. Although the developmental influence of marijuana is detrimental to this population, it is not intended for adolescent use as is the case with alcohol. According to The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) published in 2016, rates of use among adolescents has

The use of Cannabis (Marijuana) for medical treatment is gaining momentum across the United States. Currently twenty three states and the District of Columbia have passed bills legalizing medical marijuana for treatment of cancer, AIDS, PTSD, neuromuscular disease and various other health issues (Medical Marijuana Pros and Cons, 2014). On May 3, 2013, Representative Robert Hagan (Democrat- Youngstown) introduced HB 153 ( a reintroduction of HB 214 to the 129th Ohio General Assembly) to the 130th Ohio General Assembly to legalize medical marijuana for patients and provision for statutory protection regarding medical use of marijuana (Ohio Legislative Service Commission, 2014).

In Carrie Shortsleeve’s article, “The Truth About Medical Marijuana”, she is writing to those who are curious about the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Doctors and Scientists everywhere have been studying the use of marijuana for years and question the medical use of it every day. Some doctors and scientists are ready for it to be legalized in their states so that they can administer the drug as soon as tomorrow. While others are 100 percent against the use of marijuana in the medical environment. In her article, Carrie Shortsleeve interviews different doctors and professors to see what their opinions or thoughts may be on the use of medical marijuana. She goes into great detail using facts and statistics on both the positive and negative uses of the drug. The motivation behind Carrie’s article is to find out answers to the questions that we all ask ourselves every day, “Is marijuana safe to use in medical terms?”, “How do you know how much to administer a patient?”, “Will it be legalized in every state?” etc. There are many ways in which medical marijuana can be used to help you, but there are also many ways where it can do more harm than good.

Some say that marijuana does not help with any medical problem that some people may have. However, marijuana has many natural healing properties, from curing lack of appetite to nausea relief. Anne Harding from WebMD Feature states that pain is the main reason why people ask for a prescription. Barth Wilsey, a MD at the University of California Davis Medical Center says that marijuana could be used for headaches, helping people with diseases like cancer, or long term conditions, such as glaucoma and nerve pain. Doctors who live in states where the use of medicinal marijuana is legal often prescribe people with a marijuana card if they think it will help them with their discomfort. Before an individual is allowed access to buy medicinal marijuana, one must be put on a waiting list. Approval allows them to buy from a legal seller called a dispensary. Doctors also prescribe marijuana to people who suffer from muscle spasms caused from sclerosis or cancer patients who are going through chemotherapy. People of all ages who struggle with seizures or Crohn's diseases. The Federal Drug Administration(FDA) also approved thc a main ingredient in marijuana that treat nausea and increases appetite. How does medical marijuana work on your body? 'Your body already produces marijuana like chemicals that deals with pain. Laura Borgelt, PharmD from the University of Colorado says that medical marijuana can be smoked, vaporized (heated until active ingredients are released, but no smoke is formed). It can even eat it usually in the form of food or taken as a liquid. Consuming marijuana can cause effects to the body such as dizziness, drowsiness, increase in appetite more serious effects can include anxiety. Even though medical marijuana is not officially approved by the Federal Drug Administration(FDA) as a medicine but

It seems every decade marijuana studies show that it has no side effects on users, in turn it become more available like when some states in America had legalized it. Dr Kevin M. Gray believes that the only side effect of smoking weed is the physical addictions it causes, he believes that over 51% of all teens have used weed at least once and the biggest problem we are facing with this rapidly growing drug use is only addiction. Dr Marshall M. Gay believes that the health effects of weed isn’t that much as smoking cigarettes and doesn’t see it a threat to people’s health. “More than half (51%) of adolescents reported that marijuana is fairly or very easy to obtain.2 this ease of availability may have contributed to a recently reported "reverse gateway" from cigarettes use to marijuana”. The more ignored belief is that marijuana can lead to a variety of developmental, mental and physical side effects. The effects of smoking weed can extend to those of smoking cigarettes “studies show regular marijuana use can lead to many of the same

United Patients Group has an article named “Illnesses with Medical Cannabis,” that shows the illnesses that can be helped with cannabis. Some were glaucoma, cancer, and certain types of diabetes. Like i said there is medical cannabis, but the thing is that some people are so interested on not messing up their “innocence” label that they are to ashamed to take cannabis even medically. Can you imagine being shamed for the one thing that could help your pain. Just think that could be someone you cared about, maybe even

The use of cannabis toward medicine should not be shocking to anyone, since it has been around for centuries. As a matter of fact, it has been under medicinal aid for an estimated 5,000 years. Western medicine truly grasped marijuana’s medicinal abilities in the 1850’s. Infact, doctors documented over one hundred papers about how marijuana helped numerous disorders, such as nausea, glaucoma, movement disorders, pain relief, depression, and anxiety. It also helps cancer patients and those with HIV or Aids. Currently, many American patients have access to marijuana use so that they can have effective treatments for their illnesses. Medical marijuana use is achievable because