The Problem Of Medical Marijuana

As more effective treatments for diseases and cancers are being developed, a safe and promising drug is being under attack for its many misconceptions. Marijuana use of both medicinally and recreationally, has been hindered by the misconceptions it has faced due to it being on the schedule 1 drug class of the U.S government. These misconceptions of medical marijuana have hindered its legalization by having people continue to believe them, refusing to learn the beneficial properties of medical marijuana, and as a result have affected people who could benefit from this form of treatment.

There are many different medications out in this huge world made for all different uses based upon the individual and his or her needs. Many of these can start a controversy between political parties, countries, states, and the average human. One big controversy is about the legalization of medical marijuana. There are many different uses for medical marijuana that range from epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, concussions, anorexia, and many more. There are several ways it could be made to use such as in pill form, it could be smoked, eaten, and several more. There is still no true decision as to whether or not marijuana meets the standard of being a medication (Harding).

McGuinness (2009) addressed the issue of marijuana use among adolescents, and advised psychiatric nurses to educate youth, along with their families, about the risks of the drug. She also suggested referring clients and families to the resources available through NIDA's Web site (http://www.drugabuse.gov). Through this Web site, it is easy to navigate to educational materials that address marijuana's health effects and the potential for addiction. (Durkin

According to “ Marijuana: A Continuing Concern for Pediatricians” from the journal Pediatrics, marijuana has major effects on the human body and one’s personal life. The author feels that people need to be aware of these effects. Therefore, marijuana should not be legalized in the United States. In this article the author wants to advise people of all the effects that can take place after smoking marijuana. One of the author’s largest ideas, is that marijuana is known as a gateway drug. Therefore, the drug itself can cause addiction, and if you smoke marijuana you can likely become addicted to another type of drug. Once someone uses the drug, issues regarding school, grades, money, and a job come into play as well (Marijuana: A Continuing Concern).

Marijuana also treats other disease like, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease which affects the memory, behavior and thinking and mental disorders. In the multiple sclerosis painful muscles contractions occurred that pain is reduce by the use of medical Marijuana in the form of smoking. THC also very useful to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disorder. It is also used to treat the glaucoma which is an eye disease.

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

Federal government has the power to control all the state local activities including the purely local that can have substantial effect on the interstate commerce. In the case of growing marijuana plant at home for personal consumption being for medical use, the federal government banning that marijuana sounds not right at first glance. The marijuana plants are grown within a state and the grower cultivates the plant for personal use and the situation sounds like no interstate commercial activities are involved or affected.

Numerous groups debate the topic of medical marijuana. Some people support the legalization of medical marijuana, while others oppose it. The rhetors in this discourse community come from a variety of places and backgrounds. In the medical profession, both the American Academy of Neurology and the American Lung Association speak out about medical marijuana. On the federal level, the White House and the U.S Federal Drug Administration consider the impact of medical marijuana. Medical marijuana also sparks interest with the creation of jobs. Specifically, farmers such as Gary Mangum and dispensaries such as Medical Marijuana, Inc. Insurance companies such as Prudential Life get involved with the debate. Lastly, activist groups like Americans for Safe Access and Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana make themselves known in the discourse community. Overall, these rhetors create the discourse community for medical marijuana.

First, the federal government believes that if legislation is passed in legalizing marijuana, illicit drug abuse will increase among the general public (Clark, Medical marijuana: Medical necessity versus political agenda). Secondly, the DEA fears that marijuana serves as a “gateway” drug for harder drugs such as cocaine, heroin, etc. Finally, the federal government contends that legalizing marijuana for medical purposes would contradict the nation’s zero tolerance policy on the use of illicit drugs. Therefore, this legalization could result in corrupting adolescents into believing that illicit drug use is tolerable and even helpful to some degree (Clark, Medical marijuana: Medical necessity versus political agenda). It is the fear of law-makers that similar to alcohol and tobacco marketing techniques, marijuana distributors will advertise to adolescents that substance abuse is socially acceptable (Joffe). While the government focuses its attention on the potential social harms that may or may not arise, thousands of patients suffer from not being given this access to

A researcher from the University of California, Berkeley, conducted a study that involved 350 users of Medical Marijuana; over half the group reported using the drug for the treatment of pain, and an even larger percentage used it to treat a mental illness. This study proves that many individuals of the middle class that receive prescription doses from Medical Marijuana Dispensaries use this substance to break their previous addictions to harder substances with more severe withdrawal symptoms and other negative side effects. Among these negative addictions were alcohol, prescription drugs that were once thought to only result in positive effects, and even harder street drugs. Medical Marijuana was viewed as a more positive experience for all participants as it resulted in significantly less severe chances of leading to withdrawal symptoms and there is a larger framework by which it successfully treated these physical and mental ailments. This is a study that has proven its worth to Medical Marijuana users throughout the country; it was published in the Harm Reduction Journal, and was performed by Amanda Reiman of the School of Social Welfare at

Marijuana, this plant brings up a lot of controversy. After the legalization of medical marijuana in California, it seems like the legalization is the biggest topic up for debate. Around the world, there are people are against it and many who strongly support the legalization. Personally, I am for the use of medical marijuana. There are more pro’s then con’s when it comes to using marijuana as a medicine. This brings up the question, are you for or against the use of medical marijuana?

Medicine is akin to controversy in many areas that are seen to conflict with the law with currently marijuana being a hot topic. While medical practitioners see it as medical marijuana, in the eyes of the law it is still illegal in many states. According to FindLaw (2012), in medical practice, medical marijuana is described as the use, possession and cultivation for medical purposes. In this case it is recommended for terminally ill patients suffering from chronic pain and symptoms of terminal ailments.

“Drugs are bad for you,” a constant reminder everyone is told from the day they are born to the day that they die. As a child one doesn’t understand why drugs are bad; he just knows not to do them. Growing up some people begin to realize: although it’s against the law some people are still going to find a way to get them. There are good and beneficial drugs, and then there are drugs that are bad and malignant. One of the commonly misunderstood benefitting drug is Marijuana. In today’s society, most children and teens are taught to believe that any drug is a bad and most drugs can be. Marijuana, in contrast, is healthier and more beneficial than what society gives it credit for.

The second reason that the government should not legalize marijuana is that doing so will send the message that is okay to use other psychoactive drugs. Legalizing marijuana could result in advertising of this drug to adolescents. A study was conducted during 2003 showing that roughly 48 percent of twelfth graders reported using alcohol in the past thirty days and 24 percent reported smoking cigarettes in the past thirty days. Household access to illicit substances is coupled with a greater risk of marijuana use among both younger and older adolescents. This is often coupled with parental drug use which sends the message that it is okay to use psychoactive drugs (Joffe & Yancy, 2004, p. e636). The general idea is that we, as people, shouldn’t be making it easier for our children to get drugs. Thus far, it is shown that there is a struggle to educate the youth to avoid the use of psychoactive drugs. However, certain organizations, such as DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), have made solid efforts to

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