Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

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

Marijuana has survived the passing of time and still helps the sick today. The advanced stages of treatment for patients with Cancer, AIDS and other diseases often include, terrible nausea, vomiting, and different types of pain. Patients have reported much relief from

Marijuana was in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and was prescribed to patients for various conditions including labor pains, nausea and rheumatism. During the 1850’s up to the 1930’s it was a very popular intoxicant. A movement conducted in the 1930’s by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (presently the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) fought to make marijuana appear to be an Addicting and powerful substance that would lead

Marijuana has been used for many millennia with some of the earliest mentions dating back to 2700 BCE in China. It has “long been considered valuable as an analgesic, an anesthetic, an antidepressant, an antibiotic, and a sedative”, it has also been “administered internally to treat gonorrhea and angina pectoris” (Abdullah). Also, unlike many other drugs, “chronic use does not establish a physical dependence, nor does the regular user suffer extreme physical discomfort after withdrawal” (Abdullah).

Cannabis has been used since 2900 BC for numerous medical purposes. The herb itself has been used in ancient times by sects within Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Sufism and other religious groups for religious and spiritual purposes. The earliest writing on medical cannabis was found in the Chinese Pharmacopedia, also known as the Rh-Ya, around 1500 BC. It was recorded that the herb was used for ‘healing purposes’. Cannabis has been used since 3000 BC and has continued to be used in various ways and forms by the human population despite the fact that it is illegal. During recent years, cannabis is being used recreationally, mainly by the young adult population.

    Many people suffer unbearable pain and discomfort from their illnesses and seek any method that might bring relief. Many suffer from chemotherapy treatment, HIV infection related wasting, glaucoma, or other serious ailments that carry an unbearable amount of pain. They first try the drugs that their doctors have prescribed. These prescribed legal drugs seem to have some benefits, but often carry with them many side effects that may be more harmful than helpful. Many patients give the legal drugs a try and find that they are not effective in relieving them of their symptoms. As a result, many turn to marijuana for its medicinal use. Because it is an effective treatment,

Other states have legalized the drug for both medicinal and recreational use. The use of marijuana dates back many, many years ago as early as 2900 BC when a Chinese Emperor referenced the drug as one that possessed both yin and yang. The drug was recognized for its medicinal uses in 2700 BC when the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung discovered healing properties linked to the drug (“Medical Marijuana Historical Timeline” para. 1). Today the drug has been credited as a major benefit to patients suffering from diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and multiple sclerosis alleviating them from excruciating pain associated with the diseases.

As mentioned earlier, the DEA considers marijuana to have no value as a medicine. The truth is, however, that marijuana does have significant medical value. Value that we have only begun to scratch the surface of because of the restrictions the government has in place. In an interview on NPR radio, Dr. David Casarett goes as far as saying “There 's no question that the war on drugs has set back medical marijuana research and cannabinoid research in general by probably decades. Marijuana in the United States is classified as a Schedule 1 substance, which is reserved for those substances like heroin that have significant risks, including the risk of addiction, but, in theory, [have] no medical benefits. And that categorization really has slowed down the process of research. It 's been hard to get medical marijuana; it 's been hard to do clinical trials; it has left a lot of patients essentially to their own devices.” (NPR).

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 is the most essential and therapeutically active substance that has been discovered by man. Therefore, medical cannabis refers to the use of the cannabis drug as recommended herbal therapy by physicians. This is mostly known as antiemetic. The experimental demonstration of marijuana’s significant properties thousands of years ago proves that it is one of the most essential substances that can be used in manufacturing drugs (Minamide). As provided from the ancient Indians, its psychoactive properties were realized which triggered its use by doctors to treat a variety of ailments and illnesses. This argument has been supported by the modern scientific experiment in the United States. Researchers have found that marijuana was greatly important in treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, headaches, pain reliever mostly in childbirth. In addition, they also found out that smoking marijuana reduces pain, especially with patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, and chemotherapy (Minamide). In the recent past, marijuana has been found to be an important substance on AIDs patients where it reduces nausea, vomiting, and appetite loss. Moreover, it was recognized as a significant substance in relieving glaucoma eye pressure. It was also shown that it plays a vital role in Multiple Sclerosis. It reduces muscle pain, spasticity, and reduces diseases that cause body tremors. Epilepsy,

There have been many research efforts within the United States alone to help relieve the disbelievers of the drugs ability to help patients who really need it. Although Marijuana has not yet been proven to cure glaucoma, it has been proven the drug does relieve the pressure set forth from glaucoma. Along with that there are many research efforts to show how Marijuana is a helping factor for relieving some of the symptoms associated from the AIDS virus in patients by helping the patients eat and retain food. Along the same lines with patients who are anorexic, the use of marijuana creates an appetite in those patients and allows them to eat and retain more food.2

Some government officials and citizens choose to see only positive things that may come from marijuana. One of the positive effects has been a number of children who have constant seizures have greatly reduced seizure activity. These patients are still being monitored to see possible side effects, characteristics and if the drug continues to stay effective (Noonan 2015 p.1). Marijuana is also known to increase appetite, which is good for AIDS patients and patients trying to gain and maintain weight. It also suppresses nausea, which benefits cancer patients who take chemotherapy (Noonan 2015 p.2). “THC in marijuana also disrupts pain signal transmission, which helps people with chronic and severe pain” (Noonan 2015 p.2). Some research studies in

Marijuana has been used medicinally for over five thousand years worldwide to treat various ailments including malaria, rheumatic pain, diarrhea, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, elephantiasis, anemia, and rabies. It was used as an analgesic and anesthetic during the Roman Empire. As early as 1850 Untied States physicians recognized marijuana’s medical values as a treatment for neuralgia, tetanus, typhus, leprosy, gout, and insanity. In February 1997, a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found five areas where medical marijuana could have a therapeutic value; Wasting away syndrome, nausea and

Now, as long as you are willing to show that it is high-quality research and also provide your own funding, you can have access to medical marijuana (66666)". The decision of the Clinton Administration came two months after a government-sponsored study concluded that "the active ingredients in marijuana, called cannabinoids, appeared useful for treating pain, nausea, and severe weight loss in AIDS patients (666666)." No evidence of marijuana being a "gateway drug" was found. The study also came up with some surprising results. It found that treating glaucoma through marijuana was not as useful as we thought. The drug does reduce eye pressure, but the effects are short-lived. The same study found that marijuana was effective in relieving muscle spasms due to multiple sclerosis (888888).

For example, marijuana is used for glaucoma and AIDS patients either as a pain–killer or to ease the appetite of their patients. According to Rudolph J. Gerber‘s book, Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics, “many AIDS patients with treatment-induced nausea, appetite loss, and wasting syndrome claim that marijuana saved their lives by motivating them to eat” (Gerber 82). This argument is true; however, marijuana can cause side effects like “addiction, cancer, damages to the body’s respiratory, immune, and reproductive systems, and it can also affect the short-term memory (Marshall)” of those patients that are being recommended to take it for their treatment. For instance, David Murray, the special assistant to the director of the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), said, “People feel good after they take it, but they don’t get better.” Therefore, according to Murray, medical marijuana might help ease pain or appetite, but it does not necessary mean that it will cure or save that patient from its disease.