In legalizing cannabis, the American people will be given the best option for treatment to improve their physical and mental health. The use of cannabis as an herbal medicine, goes back to 2700 BC, when the Chinese Emperor, Shen Nung, first discovered it along with ginseng and ephedra which treated diseases across civilizations (“History of Marijuana as Medicine”). Despite having mainstream medicines to treat diseases and chronic pain, Americans across the U.S. still suffer and are often crippled by their affliction. It makes sense to legalize cannabis because it is the most natural, least harmful, and least addictive drug for therapeutic treatment. Grinspoon and Bakalar have claimed that “the simplest way to enable patients to use cannabis …show more content…
Most people are physically conditioned with using opioids that it is becoming an ineffective treatment, thus causing misuse, taking higher doses than the prescribed quantity (Tina Rosenberg). Consequently, opioid abuse is killing thousands from an overdose. In 2015, opioids had killed “33,000 people” (Douglas Berman), whereas no overdose of cannabis has been reported (Igor Grant). Further, opioids ability to cause physical dependence and withdrawals surpass those of cannabis (Grant). In the latest national survey by Pew Research Center assembled those who supported legalizing marijuana and those who were opposed. In that survey, those that opposed, thirty percent concluded that cannabis was dangerous, addictive, and lead too many people to more drugs; when in fact, scientific evidence concludes that states with legalized medical marijuana witness fewer opiate deaths and use (Berman). This is because cannabis has the capabilities to lessen the necessity for high doses of opioids, thus causing opioids dependence and addiction to be limited (Carey Clark). The reason cannabis is such an effective treatment is due to its ability to connect with the body’s sensory system (Mark Torres). This connection allows cannabis to create obstructs of inflammation and prevent disease (Torres). Therefore, only a few drugs can compete with cannabis’ effectiveness which comes with hardly any side effects (Torres). During a research for the documentary “Weed”, the Figi family treated their five-year-old daughter with medical marijuana for Dravet’s Syndrome, which caused “seizures and severe developmental delays” (Welsh and Loria). The use of cannabis had “decreased her seizures from 300 a week to just one every seven days. Forty other children in the state are using the same strain of marijuana to treat their seizures and it seems to be working”
By this point in time, the opioid crisis is well-known and concerning. One potential solution suggested by researchers, medical professionals, and individual patients alike is the use of medical cannabis for treatment of conditions such as chronic pain. In fact, many patients now prefer medical cannabis to opioid treatments. It’s not difficult to see why.
Marijuana has a long medical history, ranging from its anecdotal use in ancient times, through medical prescribing in the 19th and early 20th centuries to modern. "The first record of cannabis as a medicine can be found in the oldest Chinese pharmacopeia, Shen Nag Ben Cao Jing, written in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD to 220 AD). It was indicated for rheumatic pain, malaria, constipation, and disorders of the female reproductive system" (Greenwell, 2012, Vol. 26 Issue 1). Pain is one of the most common reasons that medical cannabis is recommended. "Scientists have long known that tetrahydracannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, is an effective pain killer" (Mcdonagh, 2003). Studies of medical marijuana show significant
Medical use of Marijuana is probably the most discussed topic of the legalizing campaign over the recent years. Some opponents of Marijuana say that it does not have any medical uses at all, and argue that Marijuana is only harmful and should remain illegal. Others for legalization have an opposite view that is starting to gain more recognition as time goes on. Around the late 1990’s, some members of the nation’s medical establishment began to acknowledge marijuana’s potential health benefits. One respected health organization, the Institute of Medicine, released a report in 1999 which stated that “nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety can all be mitigated by marijuana (Medical). In an article Drug Legalization, Advocates of medical marijuana say that in many cases it is the only treatment that has been shown to work. “It is a very effective medication for people who have failed to get good results from standard medications,” says Ethan Russo, a neurologist who has studied medical marijuana, “and that is why so many people are devoted to risking their lives and career to get this drug”(Drug). There are many reports that Marijuana can help with conditions traditional medicines do not seem to help with. Marijuana has also been a huge help to patients with Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Glaucoma, and Insomnia. With a lot of prescription medicines being expensive, Marijuana would be a cheaper alternative to buy if people chose to do so.
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.
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
In 2014, approximately 47,000 Americans died from the overdose of drugs. The fact that Americas drug problem has gotten this out of hand is alarming, but when taking a closer look at these numbers, it becomes clear that many of these Americans are not dying from illegal drugs like cocaine, meth, heroin, or marijuana. Instead, legal opioid painkillers were the biggest cause of overdose, resulting in approximately 14,000 deaths in 2014. In the 1990s, doctors began treating chronic pain as a serious issue, prescribing large amounts of opioid painkillers, and by 2012 doctors wrote 259 million prescriptions for painkillers. Opioid painkillers are highly addictive drugs that bind to receptors in the brain, reducing pain messaging to the nervous system. When scientists began to realize the harmful and addicting effects of painkillers, prescriptions were pulled back, causing users to turn to another opioid: heroin. The painkiller addiction problem became so serious that the Obama Administration has put 1.1 billion dollars into funding addiction education, prevention, and treatment; however, when doctors eliminated painkillers, they need an alternative to treating chronic pain. In order to suffice, doctors have looked at another controversial issue: medical marijuana. Studies have shown that cannabis can help treat chronic pain in most cases, and unlike opioids, marijuana isn’t linked to deadly overdoses. However, opposers are worried about marijuana’s harmful effects on the brain
Philippe Lucas’s article “Cannabis as an Adjunct to or Substitute for Opiates in the Treatment of Chronic Pain” recommends using cannabis instead of opiates to relieve chronic pain. He also proposes cannabis may be used to treat prescription opiate abuse by patients suffering from chronic pain and depicts cannabis as a medicine and not a gateway drug. Lucas suggests national governments abandon misinformation emphasizing drug prohibition and start supporting the claim that cannabis effectively treats a variety of illnesses including chronic pain, and is a possible “drug exit” for problematic substance abuse. Appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos are frequently present, creating the ideal balance of evidence and theory regarding medicinal cannabis and opiates.
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.
Marijuana has shown itself and its derivatives to be profoundly successful in treating a multitude of diseases, their symptoms or side effects of their treatments. Marijuana should be reclassified from Schedule 1 agent and more studies done into the other possible medical uses for this drug. Opposition to the idea of making medical marijuana legal argue that the drug is dangerous. It can’t be more dangerous than the opioids and other more dangerous drugs already available by prescription. In states where medical marijuana is legal, the statistics of drug overdose deaths have dropped as much as twenty-five percent. Patients are suffering, a possible solution to that suffering is available; let’s make medical marijuana legal.
Marijuana is the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant, Cannabis Sativa. Marijuana contains delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is responsible for the stimulation of brain cells that release dopamine creating a feeling of happiness and excitement. Research and experiments have proven that marijuana can have superb results on health issues. Marijuana can be used to treat and prevent diseases such as glaucoma, seizures, decrease anxiety, minimize cancer pains, and many more. A drug that causes temporary relief from problems that has never been connected to overdoses is illegal in the United States because of two men, Harry Jacob Anslinger, and William Randolf Hearst. Harry Anslinger was a United States government official
Cannabis has been traced to Central Asia/Himalayan region 36 million years ago. Values were placed on its medicinal, spiritual, and dietary contributions. The Chinese emperor Shen Nung was said to be the first to describe the therapeutic properties and uses of cannabis in 2737 B.C.E. Cannabis was recommended as the treatment for malaria, rheumatic pains, constipation and even child birth and when mixed with wine it becomes a surgical analgesic. Medicinal cannabis was widely used as an analgesic for headaches, toothaches, neuralgia pain, anticonvulsant, sedative hypnotics, anti-inflammatory, antibiotics, anti-parasitic, anti-spasmodic, and an appetite stimulant. (NetCE, 2009)
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
For quite a long time there has been debate surrounding the issue of whether medical marijuana ought to be legally sanctioned as a medicinal treatment. Medical marijuana involves the use of cannabis and its constituent’s cannabinoids in order to treat a disease or its symptoms (National Institute on Drug Abuse 2015). Numerous studies led declare the drug a miracle treatment for a variety of medical issues. These studies, however, are limited and effectively challenged by different studies that exhibit the health risks marijuana can have on the human body. Additionally, independent of upcoming scientific evidence, ethical and economic implications of legalising marijuana likewise should be evaluated before determining its widespread use.
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.