Opioids Pros And Cons

Weeks before my 12th birthday, I went to an emergency center thinking that I had an ear infection. Sitting in a hospital bed, I recall panicking, as I realized I could not move my legs. 2 years and a vast multitude of tests later, doctors were able to determine that I have an autonomic nervous system condition called Dysautonomia. Now, at 19 years of age, my doctor has just signed the paperwork so that I can become a medical marijuana card holder. After years of dealing with the dilemma that is prescription opioids, I have found myself opting for medical marijuana instead, and for good reason. Without a doubt, medical marijuana is a better alternative to prescription opioids in terms of overdoses, negative side effects, and psychoactive properties.

Marijuana is composed of approximately over four hundred chemicals. According to the Mayo Clinic "Marijuana contains at least 60 chemicals called cannabinoids. Researchers are evaluating how effective some of these cannabinoids might be in controlling symptoms of certain medical conditions. For example: THC, an abbreviation for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC is the main component responsible for marijuana's mind-altering effect. It also may help treat signs and symptoms such as nausea and vomiting that are associated with a number of medical conditions. Cannabinol and cannabidiol, these compounds have some of the properties of THC, but cause less psychoactive effects — the high. [...]” Medical marijuana can be used to treat a variety of illnesses ranging from anxiety to more life threatening diseases like cancer.

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 cannabis has emerged on the scene in the last ten years or so as a true alternative to opioid medications. While research conducted in the early 20th century and the 1990s and early 2000s indicated cannabis could be an effective treatment for pain, few medical professionals really advocated it as an alternative to the opioids they’d always prescribed.

            Many citizens in the United States suffer from lifelong diseases that cause them to lose the ability to live their day-to-day lives. The United States is now faced with the problem over whether or not drugs, often stigmatized by society, should be made legal. One of these lifesaving drugs is medical marijuana. This leaves us with the troubling question: “should medical marijuana be legalized in the United States?”. Supporters of the drug have argued that it should be legalized because it is superior to other painkillers and can be beneficial to people suffering from numerous illnesses. However, those who oppose its use, argue that not enough research has been done and it may be harmful. The

Given the troublesome overdoses from opiates the man-made heroin, if the doctors were to prescribe medical marijuana for their patients that have chronic pain instead of the addictive opiates in the 18 states where medical marijuana is legal. The conclusion would be to think why the politicians would be so steadfast on a plant that can help our fellow American citizens be pain-free without addiction. In addition to epileptic children using a new marijuana-derived drug without the high. Medical marijuana has many health benefits when our fellow American citizens are diagnosed with

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

But for most conditions, there is little evidence that opioid-based treatment is more effective than other options (Pho 8). For back pain, migraines, and pain related to surgery, there are many alternative treatments such as physical therapy or anti-inflammatory drugs (“Safer Alternatives” 3). This is due to the fact that opioids are easier to prescribe or even because their patients demand them (“Safer Alternatives” 3). Unfortunately, it is also because insurance plans don’t always cover alternative treatments that may help the patient (“Safer Alternatives” 4). This can lead to patients getting addicted to opioids for something that could have been easily treated using an alternative treatment. In some cases, the doctors may be susceptible to bribes. For example, six executives from Insys

people who you care for be negatively taken over by expensive drugs can be frustrating for many friends and family. Often, those who are prescribed pain relievers that contain opioids continue to crave the drug after their refills are no longer available. As a result, some people may try to obtain a substance that has the same effects as opioids. For instance, some addicts may choose heroin as an alternative when they are no longer prescribed pills. It is frustrating that patients who receive help initially actually end up worse than they were, due to addiction. I understand that one can say marijuana is addictive, but it has less harmful long-term effects versus other hard drugs. Whether or not weed is addictive I am sure that citizens would

Cannabinoids are the chemicals which give the marijuana plant it’s medical and recreational properties. The two main cannabinoids from the marijuana plant that are of medical interest are THC and CBD. THC can increase appetite, reduce nausea, decrease pain and inflammation (swelling and redness), and also help with muscle control problems. Unlike THC, CBD is a cannabinoid that doesn't make people feel high. It can be useful in reducing pain and inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures, and possibly even treating mental illness and addictions. Although marijuana can help relieve the symptoms of certain medical conditions, its use is still illegal on a federal level, and because we don’t have data from large, long-term, well-designed studies, the FDA continues to have concerns about potential risks versus benefits (2.). Many people argue that marijuana should be legal for the medical purposes. In fact, several states for already legalized marijuana for medical use for example California, Colorado, and Nevada.

In today’s society, there are certain diseases that are debilitating and causing painful reactions to Americans throughout the United States. The patient with MS who cannot control the spasms created by their disease, the rheumatoid arthritis patient with pain so severe they cannot rest and nothing seems to be easing the pain. Then there is the AIDS patient who cannot eat, as they are so nauseated from the HIV medications that they are taking; these patients have just some of the disease scenarios that medicinal marijuana can help. Many people have long used marijuana for both medicinal and other purposes for many years. However, its modern use is a very controversial issue having both strong supporters as well as firm opponents. With

Medical marijuana produces medicinal and therapeutic effects to treat a variety of chronic illnesses around the world. The chemical THC in marijuana provides “feelings of euphoria and ‘floating’ and contains pain relieving properties” (Zimmerman). THC stands for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. A few of the illnesses that medical marijuana has an effect on include; cancer, glaucoma, alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, AIDS, anxiety, depression, the list goes on. Here are a few examples of the benefits medical marijuana provides for medical health care.

This paper will explain the importance of legalizing marijuana for medical use. There are many reasons as to why it should be legalized but here are a few. In fact, medical marijuana can help patients with medical conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, pain, and many more conditions. In comparison to helping patients with those conditions, medical marijuana has fewer side effects then the medication the doctors provide you with. Medical marijuana is also more affordable then the medication provided by doctors, therefore, more families could afford treatments for their own or their kids conditions. Although medical marijuana has many valid reasons to be legalized there are still people who disagree and think it should not be legalized. They say

One of the main uses of marijuana is for medical reasons. Marijuana contains a chemical called THC, which according to the Medicinal Marijuana Association, it makes marijuana “beneficial to patients suffering from illnesses such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and many other serious, debilitating, or terminal conditions. The properties in marijuana can greatly relieve chronic pain associated with these illnesses” (Listland). By legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, patients who have suffered from severe chronic pain can have another

Marijuana can help patients with physical illnesses such as cancer, HIV, and AIDS, by reducing or relieving pain. Here is a study I found interesting that sheds some insight on the subject of marijuana and pain relief. “Abrams and his colleagues studied 21 chronic pain patients in the inpatient Clinical and Transitional Science Institute’s Clinical Research Center at SFGH: 10 on sustained-release morphine and 11 on