Medicinal Use Of Medical Marijuana

Marijuana is one of the most discussed and controversial topics in the U.S today. Many say that it has medicinal benefits and should be made legal. While many say that it has a “high potential for abuse” (Medical) and should remain illegal. Among the arguments, proponents for medical marijuana have presented a stronger argument for legalization through their use of research and evidence.

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.

Marijuana is a drug that divides people. Some people claim it as the wonder drug of the '90s, capable of relieving the symptoms of many serious illnesses. Others curse the day the cannabis plant was ever discovered. From pain relief to stimulating the appetites of patients on chemotherapy, marijuana seems to have plenty going for it as a medicine. The legalization of marijuana is a large controversy in many parts of the world today, but the obvious negative effects that the drug induces has kept it from being legalized. Many researchers have a strong positive attitude towards marijuana. It has been said that the drug is “worth investigating and even providing as a medicine for pain relief, severe

As a state legislator, if I took on the utilitarian method that means I would do the greater good for the greatest amount of people in the situation, which means my decision has to be based on the greater good for everyone (Johnson 157). Without thinking of my personal beliefs or values, I think of those around me instead. But until the eighteenth and nineteenth century we did not have a definition for this kind of act, now it is known as Utilitarianism (Johnson 157). If I had to make the decision on if I should vote for the use of marijuana for medical usage such as helping cancer and glaucoma while using utilitarianism I would need to use the four steps. The first step to prepare my decision would be to identify the action under consideration, which would be to vote to legally allow the marijuana for cancer and glaucoma patients (Johnson 157). The second step is to acknowledge all who are affected by this action, such as myself, the patients, the doctors, the community, and technically the nation (Johnson 157). The third step is to realize the good and the bad consequences from this decision, so the good would to take pain away from the patients but the bad would be if people start to use it for non- medical reasons (Johnson 157). It also could be a good consequence because it could lead to scientists and doctors to use marijuana to explore these diseases to try to create a cure. And in the end game, that is what it is all about is to try to find a cure for these

In the report, author Barney Warf describes how cannabis use originated thousands of years ago in Asia, and has later found its way to several regions of the world, and in time spreading to the Americas and the United States. (3) It was mainly used for spiritual purposes and medicine. Primitive Germans used it during child birth and toothaches for pain relief.

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

The cannabis plant has been used for centuries. Beginning in 8,000 BCE hemp cord was found to be used to make pottery. Because of this, it’s actually considered one of the oldest plants used in human agriculture. It

The cornerstone works of Bostwick (2012), Eddy (2010), and Cohen (2009) best describe the science versus the politics of marijuana as medicine. Together, they provide an in-depth description of the political climate surrounding marijuana as medicine including the political maneuvering surrounding marijuana's classification as a Schedule I drug. Other works reviewed in this section of literature, offer support and posit that the decisions regarding the use marijuana as medicine needs to be removed from the political arena and decided upon through scientific-based evidence (Armentano, 2007; Hoffmann & Weber, 2010; Spiegel, 2013; Boyd, Trumbel & Hatalsky, 2014; McKenna, 2014). The importance and significance of this section of literature, discussing the science versus politics of the use of marijuana as medicine, is that the works it contains are written by

Illnesses that are considered for treatment using marijuana in Ohio, for example, are different from ones in Alaska, but many of them overlap. The most common are cancer, epilepsy or other seizure disorders, MS, ALS, crohn’s disease, any type of chronic pain, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, and nausea. Almost all of the illnesses that are considered for treatment using medical marijuana relate to either some type of chronic pain or involuntary muscle spasms. Once again, the list varies from state to state, but many common illnesses that involve one of these two types of problems are on each state’s requirements. Many of these illnesses have also had studies conducted about them in regards to using medical marijuana as a treatment even though not all of them were conducted on humans. Even so, the results showed that these diseases could have the potential for treatment by using medical

According to government surveys, about 25 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year. More than 14 million do it regularly. (NORML: Working to Reform Marijuana Laws, 2015) Marijuana has been the topic of much discussion these past decades. The main factor of discussion is whether or not to legalize it and the outcome it would have on the states. Some states have already legalized but for medicinal purposes only. Much research has come out in this decade that marijuana just isn’t for your average drug junkie but it can be for someone who is going through cancer treatment, has anxiety, or has constant seizures. While there are some people who believe that marijuana is a gateway drug and if it is legalized for medical purposes

Furthermore, Pew Research Center tracked the increasing support for marijuana and reached a conclusion where “today, 57% of U.S. adults say the use of marijuana should be made legal, while 37% say it should be illegal. A decade ago, opinion on legalizing marijuana was nearly the reverse….” (Geiger). People have realized the benefits of this drug in medication and today there are 28 legal medical marijuana states including Washington, DC. The plant can cure numerous diseases including AIDS/ HIV, Alzheimer’s, Arthritis, Asthma, Cancer, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Glaucoma, Multiple Sclerosis, and can help fight basic body pain too. Among the various species of marijuana, the two most commonly used for medicine are Cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. The former causes increased alertness and an energetic sense, and the latter is reported to cause a sense of relaxation or lethargy. (Ammerman et al.) Christine Vestal covers health care for Stateline and wrote an article in The Washington Post to treat chronic pain and states that “Nationwide, an estimated 1.4 million patients in 28 states and the District of Columbia use legal medical marijuana for a varying list of conditions. A much smaller number of patients in 16 states use limited extracts of the plant, primarily to treat seizure disorders.” Therefore, marijuana could be

The true medical benefits of marijuana are nearly endless. Marijuana has been utilized by ancient peoples all the way up to the modern society. “The first recorded use of marijuana as a medicinal drug occurred in 2737 BC by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung.” (Hill, N/A). According to (Hill, N/a) the Chinese emperor discovered and well documented just some of the few medicinal benefits of marijuana, he learned how it controls pains in simple medical issues such as: rheumatism, and the gout. Whilst he just found out a couple benefits of medicinal marijuana. Other ancient civilizations discovered more uses, according to (Ghaly, N/A) “The Ancient Egyptians used cannabis and applied it as suppositories for treatment of hemorrhoids.” so it was essentially it was used once again as a pain reliever. In India, people discovered multiple uses: “Cannabis was used for a plethora of medicinal and spiritual purposes, ranging anywhere from nausea and diarrhoea to headaches and insomnia. But the Indians were using

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

Marijuana has become a prominent part of our society. Hundreds of Millions of people around the world use this drug for a multitude of reasons. According to NBC News, “52 percent of Americans over 18 have tried marijuana at some point in their lives. The survey, conducted by Yahoo News and Marist Poll found that not only have most adults in the U.S. smoked pot, 44 percent of those who tried it once still use it today.” Approximately a 2 million people in the US alone use marijuana for medical purposes (mpp.org) Though the year's marijuana has become increasingly more legal. It is legal in 29 states, 8 of these states have made it legal for recreational use. People are becoming more accepting of the drug. This is partially due to pop culture. Stars like Miley Cyrus, The Weekend and Brendon Urie have all revealed that the smoke pot on a regular basis. Their fame makes them role models for society and I believe that the fact that they smoke creates validation for the people who look up to them. As far as medical marijuana is concerned, in a lot of cases, it is still very hard for the people who need it to get it. The state and federal laws in many cases contradict each other and this creates issues for people who require it. Also, many doctors tend to be hesitant to prescribe it because they either don’t believe in its healing powers or they don’t truly know the effects it can have on the mind and body. But what are the positive and negative effects or both