Suffering Patients Need Medical Marijuana
If a doctor told you that you could either go blind in three years from glaucoma or break the law by smoking pot, which would you choose? If marijuana could prolong your life by allowing you to continue cancer chemotherapy without the unending vomiting and nausea, would you consider it? If cannabis could stop epileptic seizures that had plagued you since childhood, would you use it? This medicine can benefit patients suffering from these and many other afflictions, but it is being withheld; they are being denied a right granted to all living things—that of self-preservation.
“It’s not about drugs, it’s about letting men fight,” George McMahon told me when I was fortunate enough to
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McMahon’s daughter, who suffers from the same condition as her father, cannot obtain the drug either. By 1994, 36 states had enacted legislation to make marijuana available for medical use, but federal laws still inhibit the states’ wills (Grinspoon 17).
Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug—having a high potential for abuse, having no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and lacking accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision. Schedule I drugs are not available to patients even by prescription and are only occasionally granted to researchers under strict guidelines. The Food and Drug Administration has, at various times, based its refusal of a schedule change for marijuana on claims that it lacks the authority to regulate the practice of medicine and that there is an absence of data necessary for approval. Yet as Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young observed in his review of another drug, MDMA, on May 27, 1986:
The last [statement] flies directly in the face of the preceding statements of a complete reversal of position with no stated basis whatsoever. One can only conclude that, in the context of the battle over marihuana, FDA temporarily lost sight of its long-acknowledged lack of statutory authority to regulate the practice of medicine. Perhaps it failed to realize the
First, from 1900 to 1940, marijuana, including opium and cocaine were considered part of everyday drugs. As time went on, the U.S. cracked down on crack and opium, eventually outlawing them, but continued to be very “loose” with the use of marijuana. Hoxter a weed smuggler explains how he began in the 1960’s trying weed and years later saw himself unloading four hundred pounds of pot in Vancouver. The story of this man ends in his isolation and argument of why he couldn’t smoke weed even if he stopped selling? He asked a parole officer and she didn’t know what to respond. It is true what Hoxter states, fifty years ago alcohol was illegal and now it’s not, was it bad then? Will weed be legalized? And will the conflicts have been in vain? (Schou 8). Around the late 90’s and early 2000’s, scientific studies started to produce jaw-dropping results. Scientists started to discover that marijuana can significantly help people who have become ill. Medical Marijuana has been tested to help people with cataracts, cancer and severe depression (Zeese 1999). With this new worldwide discovery, the argument about medical marijuana ignited. States wanted to only make medical marijuana legal so it may help sick people, but the government did not want any form of marijuana legal. The law that was known throughout the United States was any form of marijuana was illegal. But now with this new discovery, doctors in states across the country want the
According to the United Nations, “158.8 million people around the world use marijuana—more than 3.8% of the planet’s population” (Marijuana). Marijuana has become a crucial topic throughout the world in recent years. Marijuana has been legalized medically throughout many countries, such as Australia, Chile, Spain, and Uruguay. Within the United States of America, twenty-eight states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, the most recent legalization passed was in the state of Florida. Therefore, one can assert that medical marijuana is a controversial topic locally and globally. Medical marijuana portrays many advantages and disadvantages within society. Medical marijuana portrays many benefits to victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
For decades America has associated marijuana with many things, and none of them ever any good. From the ‘60s with the hippie revolution, to today with criminals of all kinds, there have been numerous associations that are arguably unwarranted in this day and age. Why is it that we have such negative feelings about marijuana? In America today, the government considers it a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use.” The problem with this classification clearly lies in the second half of its classification. Marijuana certainly has medicinal purposes, and humans have been using it for centuries to primarily treat chronic pain and a lack of appetite. It is hard to construct a
Background: The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 established the federal prohibition of marijuana. Dr. William C. Woodward of the American Medical Association testified against the Act, arguing that it would ultimately prevent any medicinal use of marijuana. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 established five categories, or "schedules," into which all illicit and
How would most Americans react if the law allowed the use of heroin, LSD, or amphetamines for medical purposes? Many of us would react in disbelief mainly because of the effects of these powerful and addictive drugs. However, in Arizona the law permits the use of heroin, LSD, and amphetamines for medicinal purposes, yet the medicinal use of marijuana remains illegal in the United States ("Facts"). Because marijuana is categorized as a Schedule 1 drug under the federal Controlled Substance Act ("Issues"), physicians cannot legally prescribe it. The national debate on the effectiveness of marijuana as medicine is divided between those who advocate marijuana's medicinal value and
"It is very disturbing to realize that Giovanni Polli (1812-1880), was more compassionate 130 years ago than many government authorities today" (Kassirer, 1997, pg. 1185). The debates began and in 1975, the FDA established the Compassionate Use program for medical marijuana (Silverman, 1995). Marijuana is a DEA Schedule I in all forms (hash, hash oil, and cannabis) except for synthetic THC, which is schedule III. Schedule I is federally defined as drugs which have a high potential for abuse, have no currently accepted medical use in treatment, and have a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision. This federal law was disputed in 1988 by Judge Francis Young, an administrative law judge for the DEA, who recommended that marijuana be reclassified as schedule II on the grounds that if a respectable minority of doctors indorse it, then it has a "currently accepted medical use" (Erowid website, 2000). In 1990, the states of California and Arizona came to their senses and allowed marijuana to be legalized just for medical purposes (Silverman, 1995). A few years later, Missouri and Michigan also legalized medicinal marijuana. As of today, no additional states have decided to follow their lead.
Are you sick of hearing your girlfriend nagging you about letting go of your pot pasttime? Have you been hearing a lot of negative things about the use of marijuana lately? Would you like to know what the real deal is behind the use of this infamous drug? Then read on because you're in for a surprise.
Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While
It is our responsibility to gather our own proof and in turn divulge this to the public. “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” The Assistant Secretary of Health Dr.Roger O. Egeberg, wrote a letter recommending the plant, marijuana, be classified as a schedule 1 substance, stating that "Since there is still a considerable void in our knowledge of the plant and the effects of the active drug contained in it, our recommendation is that marijuana be retained within schedule 1 at least until the completion of certain studies now underway to resolve the issue.” One of the biggest decisions made on a drug that can help to prevent numerous deaths was made in the preface of not having enough evidence. When do we decide that it is time to dig deeper into this venture and educate ourselves. Knowing that there is the possibility of saving lives or simply assisting to cure unbelievably painful diseases or at least being able to help to manage them so that our beloved people can live peaceful and pain free should be motivation
Should medical marijuana be legal across the United States? Imagine a world where individuals who have chronic pain did not have to suffer anymore. Envision a cure for cancer, a disease many Americans are killed by daily. Picture people with severe, violent mood disorders being treated. Most people think the answers to these problems are simple and could be solved by over medicating patients. Today, there are twenty states in America who have legalized medical marijuana for specific health and medical related conditions (Medical Marijuana 1). The United States should legalize medical marijuana so patients who suffer from chronic pain can be treated, cancer could be cured, and mood disorders can be treated.
The argument for medical marijuana legalization has been one of the controversial debates that have raised heated discussions in many conferences worldwide. Therefore, this essay will provide a consistent and comprehensive argument to support the position that medical marijuana should be legalized. In this essay, the stand will focus on the fundamental aspects behind treatment. In addition, it will present evidence for how marijuana treatment provides heaps of benefits for terminally ill patients as well as pain relief options for others. As if so, this essay corroborates that legalization will allow substance controls and regulations, in turn, minimizing the chances for abuse or addiction.
The Drug Enforcement Administration situations on fighting to legalize “medical” marijuana are based on two proposals: the scientific field views marijuana as a treatment while the DEA targets sick and dying people using the drug. Neither suggestion is true, science proved it is not medicine and it is not safe to use. The DEA targets on criminal trafficking and not the sick and dying. In 1970 congress authorized laws against marijuana based on that there is no logically proven medical value. Like the Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for authorizing drugs safe an effective medicine has declined to approve smoked marijuana for any circumstance or disease.
It is hard to imagine the day-to-day pain that a cancer patient endures, but one can imagine that any type of relief would be invited from the victim and their families. These poor individuals suffer throughout the day, and unfortunately are in so much discomfort that attempting to live an ordinary life is virtually impossible. Providing people in these conditions with something that will help is almost a no brainer to people looking from the outside in. This is where marijuana can be an effective substitute for the treatments they are already taking. On this drug, many of those going through unbearable pain can function, and begin to appreciate life as they might have before the pain began.
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.
Drugs are heavily used throughout the entire world. However, it is important to understand and not undermine the variability in which drugs are used. It is clear some are for distinct medical treatment and others are for recreational use. In the United States, marijuana has been and continues to be a very controversial drug. Some states have allowed marijuana consumption for medicinal purposes, while others have completely outlawed the drug. Those who are against the legalization and regulation of marijuana suggest the economical and health risk associated with consumption of the drug are too high. Although there is risk involved with the legalization of the marijuana, our country has already been risking too much banning the drug.