...Should medical marijuana be legalized nationwide? Team A BCOM/275 October 9, 2011 UoP Instructor Should medical marijuana be legalized nationwide? The use of marijuana for the treatment of patients with serious health conditions is currently one of the top contentious debate topics in the United States. Until its prohibition in 1937, marijuana was one the top three most prescribed medicines in the United States. To date, 13 states have statutory laws legalizing medical marijuana; however, it is not legal at the federal level. Several pros and cons exist to support whether medical marijuana should be or not be legalized nationwide. The primary arguments in debating the pros and cons of legalizing medical marijuana nationwide focus primarily on medical benefits, disease prevention, medical risk, substance abuse, and legal issues. Many scientific professionals and patients claim medical marijuana provides some sort of medical benefits. Although it has been a contentious battle between the states and federal governments to legalize or not medical marijuana nationwide, there are three important points to take under consideration; first, marijuana is a potent analgesic in patients with chronic pain. Second, it is a strong anti-emetic for patients receiving cancer chemotherapy treatment. Third and most important, medical marijuana should be legal, so patients do not have to break the law to receive treatment. Across the nation state organizations...
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...Medical Marijuana If a substance can make someone who is ill feel better, why keep it from him or her? On the surface this sounds right. People who advocate making marijuana legal for medical purposes take this approach. What could it hurt? A closer look reveals that marijuana should not be legalized for medical use, because young people are given mixed signals about drugs, other drugs can be used that are easier to regulate, and there are more harmful side effects. Marijuana is one of the most abused drugs in America today. It is estimated that close to four million Americans regularly use marijuana. It is often one of the first illegal drugs that young people experiment with (Gassett2). Legalization for medical purposes would send a mixed signal to our youth. Young people are taught at a very early age about the harmful effects and the abusive potential of marijuana. If at the same time, they are told that marijuana is medically benevolent, the result could be confusion. Andrea Barthwell, former deputy Director of the office of National Drug Policy said this in 2004, “Children entering drug abuse treatment routinely report that they heard ‘pot is medicine’ and, therefore, believed to be good for them.” (19). At a time when recreational drug use is at an all time high, it would not be wise to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. The war on drugs begins with young people. If they are confused about whether or not a drug like marijuana is harmful, the battle...
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...Medical Marijuana Marijuana legalization one of the most argued and discussed subjects worldwide. The topic is argued for it to be legal for medical uses, and recreationally. Opposing these arguments are the ideas that it’s a “high potential for abuse,” and it is harmful to those who ingest the drug. On the other hand, don’t a majority of prescriptions, drugs, and medicines that are legal, and are heavily used, all have a “high potential for abuse?” Medical marijuana being legalized for specific illnesses such as: epilepsy, crohn’s disease, and multiple sclerosis, will be life changing for those who suffer from those illnesses and diseases. This drug is the most widely used controlled substance in the world. Since marijuana has been illegal...
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...today is to legalize medical marijuana or to keep it illegal because of the high risks it poses. US Congress placed marijuana in schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act in 1972 because it was considered to have no use for medical purposes. Since then, 16 of the 50 states have legalized marijuana for medical use. Many studies state that marijuana can treat symptoms of cancer, pain, and many more serious illnesses. Opponents of medical marijuana argue that it lacks FDA approval. Researchers believe medical marijuana treats different serious illnesses. In 2002, Franjo Grotenhermen stated that “medical cannabis has treated effectively symptoms of nausea, vomiting, insomnia, anorexia, weight loss, and a lack of appetite.” “Medical marijuana has been known to stimulate eating habits to help cure anorexia, the lack of appetite and weight loss to help those people gain their weight back that could do them serious harm from the rapid weight loss (Grotenhermen, 2002).” Medical marijuana has also been known to treat more serious illnesses such as Sickle-Cell Disease, Fibromyalgia, Alzheimer's disease, and Tourette syndrome. Many of the case reports have shown that cannabis has helped to reduce tics caused by Tourette syndrome. A Research Institute in California called Scripps, did a study showing that THC an active ingredient in marijuana, prevents deposits from forming in the brain this is typically associated with Alzheimer's disease. Medical marijuana has been known to stimulate...
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...to Comp. 11 November 2013 Legalizing Marijuana Marijuana was not known to be illegal at a point in time; back in 7,000 B.C it was legal. Marijuana also known as the hemp plant had a number of uses such as; woven fabric from hemp, food, cloth, rope, and much more. A man by the name Harry J. Anslinger came along, who seeked career opportunity with the Bureau of Narcotics. He didn’t feel as if cocaine would be enough to get his company up and starting as fast as he wanted, so he took on marijuana and started working on making it illegal at the federal level. Anslinger stated “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.” Anslinger soon became the first drug czar a person who deals with direct drug-control propaganda in the United States. Anslinger began making up these stories about how marijuana was the cause of gang of boys raping two teenagers girls and how a sixteen-year-old killing his whole family. By 1937 the Bureau set two important steps, first a plan to get from Congress to pass a new law that it would be under federal control on marijuana and its distributions. Second, any forms of media would mention the cleaning up hundreds of acres of marijuana. As years passed the use of marijuana was not just known to be “evil weed”, but it...
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...Running head: LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 1 Legalization of Marijuana Communications and Thought 1 February 23, 2015 LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 2 Abstract The debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana has been raging decades. The debate is centered on the issues of health, addiction and economics. Arguments and claims supporting the legislation are countered by contrary arguments and claims. Scientific claims from one side are disputed by scientific claims from the other. The tug-of-war is beginning to show signs of a clear winner. Time has brought about changes in the thinking and behavior of a large segment of our population. Marijuana usage is now considered acceptable behavior by a clear majority of Americans. Social mores have changed and the use of marijuana is commonplace. We have reached the point in the debate where the trend is leaning toward legislation. LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 3 Legalization of Marijuana Introduction There is an ongoing national debate about the legalization of marijuana. According to a 2013 Gallup poll, a clear majority of Americans (58%) favor legalization. The age group most likely to support legalization is young adults from the age of 18 to 29 years. Surprisingly, the majority of the 30 to 64 years age group also favors legalization. The opposition to legalizing marijuana comes mostly from Americans 65 and older. Changing social...
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...Each day the medical field is evolving and creating new means of sustaining life by way of medications and treatments to chronically ill patients. Adapting treatments and medications to new medical discoveries is common in medical testing. Many treatments for life-threatening and chronic illnesses have wretched side effects such as nausea, depression, and loss of appetite – these severe side effects are forcing many patients to make the choice to refuse current treatment methods or medications that would otherwise extend or save their lives. Recent discoveries have shown that using marijuana as form of treatment for chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDs, cancer, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis, has shown to have justifiable healing and sedative reprieve without otherwise having to suffer the nasty side effects that other treatments have to offer. Current legalization forces patients with chronic and life-threatening illness to either suffer horrendous medicinal side effects from treatment and illness, or break the law by self-medicating by way of marijuana. Medical marijuana should be legalized for the chronically ill as an alternative treatment method to painful and horrid side effects of current treatment methods that are in place. Marijuana originates from the dried parts of the Cannabis Sativa or hemp plant and is known by hundreds of street names such as pot, weed, and grass. The hemp plant has existed for thousands of years with archaeologists discovering hemp fibers...
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...A major controversial issue in the United States today is the debate over medical marijuana. Currently, the medical use of marijuana is legal in twenty-three states and Washington D.C. The federal government and the majority of states believe legalizing marijuana is simply too dangerous. Despite the many benefits medical marijuana offers severely ill patients, opposers believe legalization will eventually lead to recreational use. Protestants against marijuana argue the benefits have not yet been proven and could potentially be dangerous. According to How Is Colorado Doing Since Marijuana Legalization, some say it helps the economy and brings jobs while others say it creates more crime and puts kids at risk (1). However, many testimonials from patients and their loved ones provide evidence that medical marijuana has been nothing short of a miracle for them. Because of the benefits marijuana offers, legalization laws should be passed in all fifty states for the sole purpose of medical use; severely ill patients who could receive benefits are being deprived because of the possibility that the drug would lead to recreational use, increased...
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...history of marijuana and medical benefits Dona Rudd COM/172 March 20, 2012 Russell Murphy The history of marijuana and medical benefits Although possessing marijuana is a federal offense pending, some states allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, generating revenue for the states. There are 16 states’ and Washington DC, in which marijuana is being, used for medicinal purposes and not break any laws. Eighteen states’ are pending Legislation to legalize medical marijuana. There are documents stating that the Chinese used marijuana for paper, the process consisted of hemp around 2000 BC. According to Guither, P. Drug Warrant (2006), “America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law “ordering” all of the farmers to grow Indian hempseed. There were several other “must grow” laws over the next 200 years. A person could be jailed for not growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767, and during most of that time, hemp was legal tender a person could even pay their taxes with hemp and try that today. Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of purposes including essential war requirements and rope, excreta. That the government went out of its way to encourage growth” Guither, P. ( 2006) (para 6). The history of marijuana Marijuana has many different names, Hemp, Ma, and Marihuana are just a few of the names in which marijuana is called. Marijuana and hemp are...
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...The Viewpoint of the Society on Medicinal Marijuana Everything in the society is changing, especially the laws. Legal and illegal drugs are everywhere in society. People, especially teens, know someone who has drugs and could easily get access to them. Drugs like marijuana are one of those easily accessible drugs. Marijuana is still one of the common drugs and is still considered illegal under the federal laws in the United States. Some states such as California have passed laws allowing marijuana legal to smoke and sell. The medical marijuana is to use for medicinal purposes and can only be prescribed by a doctor. Researchers and scientists support the use of marijuana as a medical drug. Some people like patients may view this positively, because the medical marijuana actually worked on them as they get a lot better. Despite some viewpoints in favor of the use of marijuana, it is still an unethical use of the drug, because there are still negative effects of using marijuana. Even though patients who are suffering from illness or disease and are using medical marijuana, patients viewed that it helps them feel better. With the increase of medical marijuana, the worldwide report estimates between 200 and 300 million people are now smoking marijuana (Earleywine 29). With 40% of the public using marijuana as medicine, it has changed the needs and values of our society. The use of medical marijuana can treat patients with many different ailments such as pain, nausea, vomiting,...
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...Medical marijuana refers to the use of cannabis to treat disease or improve symptoms. It also refers to using the whole unprocessed marijuana plants or its basic extracts to also treat a disease or systems. Medically prescribed marijuana has a beneficial effect on patients who suffer from diseases. It treats the disease symptoms while alleviating the unfortunate side affects. As a result of improving a patient’s quality of life and help to promote a positive response to treatment. The following several sources are supported by factual details in which subsidize the thesis: websites by health.harvard.edu, Drugabuse.gov, Livescience.com,drugpolicy.org, raysahelian.com,norml.org,mayoclinc.com ,Wikipedia.org. A. ` With Medical marijuana being new in the drug industry, legalizing thee drug has been a problem but it helps out ways the pros for the drug. For example, the movement to legalize marijuana for medical use in the U.S. has renewed discussion about how this drug affects the brain, and whether it might be useful in treating psychiatric disorders. With that research has been done to expose that medical marijuana can be used for psychiatric disorders and as a replacement to many remedies for diseases. In the comprehensive 1999 review, for example, the Institute of Medicine(IOM) concluded that marijuana may be modestly effective for pain relief, appetite simulation for people with AIDS wasting syndrome, and control of chemotherapy- related nausea and vomiting. Although, there...
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...Medical Marijuana in California The marijuana pant is one of the oldest plants known to mankind. It has become one of the most widely used plants. The plant has many uses other than medicinal use. It was used to make cloth and paper for centuries and was the most important source of rope until the development of synthetic fibers (Grinspoon and Bakalar). There are two different species of cannabis called sativa and indica. The feeling of each has a slight difference. Sativa has a more relaxing effect on the body than indica, but both are equally useful in medicating ill people. Marijuana is easily defined: it is one of the most benign substances know to humans (Rosenthal and Kubby). California is one of the first states in America fighting for the use of medical marijuana. In recent years, the medical use had grown vastly in the state of California. Medical marijuana is used for various reasons. Many people in California are beginning to buy or receive medical marijuana prescriptions to avoid serious consequences. “In 1996, California voters passed position 215, the Compassionate Use Act, legalizing marijuana for medical use. Proposition 215 permits ill Californians to use marijuana, provided they first obtain a doctor’s recommendation. Proposition 215 also give doctors legal defense against professional or legal sanctions for recommending use of marijuana” (Berkeley.edu 1). There is so much conflict between proposition 215 and the federal law. The federal...
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...The Use of Marijuana in Terminally Ill Patients In recent years, the medical field has witnessed major changes in methods of treatment with the most common being complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM refers to treatment methods that do not use conventional medicine. With time, the medical field is increasing research to establish the safety and efficiency of alternative medicine even though knowledge of CAM is still limited. Nonetheless, there is a difference between complementary medicine and alternative medicine. While complementary medicine refers to the conventional use of curative practices and products together with traditional medicine for instance a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy using marijuana to alleviate the effects of chemotherapy. On the other hand alternative medicine acts as a substitute of conventional therapy for example a cancer patient foregoing therapy and opts for dietary changes. CAM is on the verge of increase with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) reporting that up to 40% of adults 12% uses some form of CAM (Barnes, Bloom, Nahin, (US) & others, 2008). As opposed to traditional medical treatments that are comprehensively tested and vigilantly regulated professional bodies such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the majority CAM therapies have undergone exceptionally modest scientific study if any to assess their safety and effectiveness. One of the most common forms of CAM being used today is...
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...Legalization of Marijuana the New Drug War Looking back on reading articles and doing major research it was determined that the marijuana/hemp plant has been around since the world began. To track its roots was difficult at best, yet finding evidence as early as 7000 to 8000 years before Christ, when it was accepted that the first woven fabric was obtained from the hemp plant. The marijuana/hemp plant has many uses such as cloth, clothing, rope, incense and food (Guither). Jamestown Colony, Virginia had laws that would require farmers to grow hemp. At Mount Vernon George Washington grew hemp as a primary crop and at Monticello Thomas Jefferson grew hemp as a secondary crop (Guither). This may surprise some that two of our presidents grew marijuana and several presidents have admittedly smoked marijuana. The first laws forbidding marijuana may have been swayed, by Mormons using it. Mormon’s who traveled to Mexico for missionary work in 1910, came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church’s negative response to the marijuana may have contributed somewhat to the state’s marijuana laws (Guither). Marijuana has been peddled as one of the safest recreational and medicinal drugs available. Scientific studies support the conclusion that cocaine, heroin, alcohol and cigarettes are more dangerous to the user’s health than marijuana. Marijuana has proven itself to be a true medicine for a large number of diseases, effects of the disease and treatment effects. Medical marijuana can be...
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...Introduction Marijuana is a psychoactive drug made from the dried leaves and flowering parts of the hem plant (Dudley, 1999). Marijuana contains an active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC. It is one of the most strictly classified illegal drugs in the United States. Marijuana is a schedule I substance. Schedule I means that marijuana has a high potential for abuse. It is illegal to buy, sell, grow, or possess marijuana in the United States. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. Marijuana is derived from the plant Cannabis. War on Drugs Marijuana prohibition comprises a large part of the federal government’s War on Drug’s. Law enforcement officials made 600,000 marijuana-related arrests in 1995 (Gerdes, 2002). The criminal prohibition of marijuana, this represents an extraordinary degree of government intrusion into the private, personal lives of those adults who choose to use it. People convicted of marijuana offenses face penalties ranging from probation to life imprisonment, plus fines and forfeiture of property. The government spends millions of dollars annually on preventative programs such as Dare Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), in which local police officers visit schools to teach young people to refrain from trying marijuana and other drugs. Marijuana Medical Uses Despite federal laws prohibiting marijuana in 1996, California and Arizona passed state initiatives legalizing marijuana for medical use by patients...
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