...How effective is the use of medical marijuana? Can the treatments benefits outweigh the risks? In recent years the debate over the use of medical marihuana increased rapidly. Whereas a patient suffering from chronic pain in California can easily get a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis, the German patient suffering from the very same symptoms would not be allowed to treat his ache with marijuana, which is the most common name for the hemp plant, or Cannabis sativa. Cannabis can be classified as one of the oldest drugs known to humanity. Its history dates back until the Neolithic times in China about 6,000 years ago. From there, the plant spread to India and the Middle East where it widely served as an analgesic, anticonvulsant, antispasmodic, antiemetic and hypnotic (Hall &Degenhardt, 2003). Moreover the hemp was reported to be a successful appetite stimulant as well as effective in treating a number of disorders, including tetanus, neuralgia, asthma and migraine as well as in alcohol and opium addiction and in the treatment of mental illnesses (McKim& Hancock, 2013). Not recognized at first as a substance producing intoxicating effects, marijuana’s use spread soon all over Europe and the U.S. in the 19th century, where it was used for medical purposes. The plants medical benefits were substituted in the early 20th century by pharmaceutical opiates, acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and sedatives like chloral hydrates and the barbiturates, which could be given...
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...PURPOSES FOR MARIJUANA 2 MEDICAL PURPOSES FOR MARIJUANA MEDICAL PURPOSES FOR MARIJUANA 3 Abstract In the medical field there are many uses for marijuana, scientifically known as cannabis sativa. The main psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant is known to contain about sixty cannabinoids; however, most of these “minor” cannabinoids are only produced in trace amounts. Besides THC, another cannabinoids produced in high concentration by some plants is cannabiniol (CBD), which has been shown to block the effect of THC in the nervous system. (wikipedia.org) Many research teams from the United States to Madrid have reported findings of the beneficial use for cannabis. Clinical trial studies have proved that the use of cannabis in patients with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and patients that suffer from chronic pain has significantly improved their quality of life. (Ellis et al. 2008 op. cit.) Although clinical studies have proven medical use of marijuana, the United States federal government has not been convinced yet. On the state level, fourteen of the fifty states have enacted the “Medical Marijuana Law.” Each state has implemented their own policies that reflect fees...
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...Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option? Isaac S Gray Colorado State University Global Campus Hum101-3 Critical Reasoning Michelle Vondley Ph.D Should marijuana be a medical option? Marijuana and its medicinal benefis has been a topic of discussion for centuries, in fact Patrick and Claire (as stated in Time magazine, 2009) states “as early as 2737 B.C., the mystical Emperor Shen Neng of China was prescribing marijuana tea for the treatment of gout, rheumatism, malaria and, oddly enough, poor memory. The drug's popularity as a medicine spread throughout Asia, the Middle East and down the eastern coast of Africa, and certain Hindu sects in India used marijuana for religious purposes and stress relief. Ancient physicians prescribed marijuana for everything from pain relief to earache to childbirth. Doctors also warned against overuse of marijuana, believing that too much consumption caused impotence, blindness and "seeing devils."” (para 1). As you can see the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has been around for a very long time. Just as with any other medicines, drugs etc., just because it was used in “ancient times” or long ago doesn’t mean it is safe now, but to know the history in which it has been documented to be effective for medicinal purposes goes a long way in the debate of whether marijuana should be accepted as medicine. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved marijuana for any health condition, some states allow its use for certain...
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...used as a medicine; CBD comes from cannabinoids, one of the classes of chemical compounds that acts on cannabinoid receptors in cells that alter neurotransmitter release in the brain. Marijuana comes in many forms including oils, edibles, concentrates, etc. Marijuana doesn’t need to be smoked. The cannabis plant is one of the oldest...
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...certain products. The seeds can be used as a healthy substitute for certain foods; they are packed with protein and essential fatty acids. The stalk from hemp can be used in the creation over twenty thousand different products, including much cheaper oil and paper. Popular mechanics coined marijuana as the “New Billion Dollar Crop” back in 1938, and a couple of years after that it was used in the efforts against Hitler. But marijuana in American history has had a short timeframe, first banned in 1937 and then allowed again but only to be banned after WWII. Marijuana has been a tax issue for the American for the past hundred years; prohibition has done the exact opposite of what it set out to do. America should have known prohibition wouldn’t work, it didn’t work against alcohol, and instead it led to the creation of organized crime and production of more alcohol than ever before. There were more speakeasies or bars open during the days of prohibition, then there are currently open in America today, and our population is nearly triple of what it was back then. Why prohibition of marijuana has lasted this long is unknown by most people, other than the government. The government provides the most amount of money towards marijuana research each year. But most of those studies are discarded because they go against the government’s purpose for keeping marijuana illegal. Marijuana has the stereotype of being the most dangerous drug in American history, even though there aren’t any documented...
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...illegal. Marijuana is also known as cannabis. For many years, cannabis has been termed as an illegal drug. Today some countries in the world have legalized marijuana. To be specific, a small amount of cannabis has been legalized in regions such as Europe, South America and North America. In USA, some states such as Washington and Colorado have also legalized the possession and the usage of marijuana for medical reasons. Most countries in the world have great penalties for the usage and possession of cannabis. It should be observed that these penalties range from very simple to severe punishments. The punishment for the small amount of marijuana is not the same as the punishment for the possession of a large amount (Earleywine, 2005). The paper does explain as to why cannabis should be legalized. Lack of evidence The main reason as to why the legalization of marijuana should be lawful is that there is lack of evidence for its legalization. From a philosophical point of view, people have the right to make choices and decision for themselves. Of course, it is the function of the government to limit those choices and decisions if the action that is taken by a person does not affect with the rights of other persons. Persons who choose and decide to use cannabis do so because of their free will. Marijuana should be legalized because for its medicinal values. In addition, it should also be legalized because it is less harmful than alcohol (Calabria B, et al., 320). On the planet...
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...marijuana can have negative effects. Prolonged use of marijuana can cause lung damage, mental health issues, impair cognitive abilities, there is a high potential for abuse and it is illegal. Medical marijuana should not be used for medical purposes because it does more harm than good. Any type of smoke, when it is inhaled into the lungs, is unhealthy. Smoke comes from burning gases and materials that travel into the air. They are poisons, toxins or irritants that cause the lungs to become inflamed. (Allina Health, 2012) This damages the airways and stops oxygen from getting into your blood which can cause respiratory failure. Inhaled smoke can also reach and damage other parts of the body like the heart, brain, liver and kidneys. In a 1988 paper, Tashkin and his colleagues report attempted to establish that marijuana smoke produces more toxic chemical release than tobacco smoke. Marijuana smoking resulted in a tar burden to the respiratory tract that was 3.5 to 4.5 times greater than that produced by tobacco smoking in the same subjects. Furthermore, smoking a single marijuana cigarette caused a fourfold greater increment in carboxyhemoglobin saturation than did smoking a single tobacco cigarette. (Tashkin, 1988) Some people feel that smoking marijuana provide a rapid onset drug effect, meaning the relief for pain is felt in minutes. Studies have shown that cannabis has rich chemical components like THC the primary psychoactive ingredient of...
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...Legalization of Marijuana Brian S. Clear HU2740 28 August 2013 Marijuana dates back many years, and has been used throughout different cultures in various ways. Over the last few years however Marijuana has been used to fit our lifestyles and social environment in many ways. In our society today many people around the world smoke Marijuana for different reasons like medical purposes, with that being said I think Marijuana should be legalized permanently as it has many beneficial uses, including easing pain, it would help the United States get further out of debt. Legalizing Marijuana would also create jobs for many people lowering the unemployment rate in the United States. Marijuana whose scientific name is Cannabis Sativa has been mentioned in manuscripts dating back to 2700 B.C. in China. The Jamestown settlers recorded that they had first planted the crop in 1611, as they used the hemp from the plant’s fibers to make rope and canvas. Marijuana also known as ‘weed’ was used to make clothing, as the plant was very durable. During that time Marijuana was used more for survival far more than any other purpose. Marijuana came into play with the scarcity of alcohol during the prohibition era. The use of the drug rose from there, and became a large problem in the Unites States. The United States is one of those countries that can immensely benefit from the legalization of Marijuana use. In the United States, Marijuana is the most widely used controlled substance...
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...Medicinal Cannabis….what’s all the hype? Medicinal Cannabis Jennifer L. Mello COM/156 Abstract I am writing this research paper not just to inform you, but to help educate you. There are many proven scientific trials and methods of medicinal cannabis. The research that I have found has truly enlightened my way of thinking. Segal, Ph.D. (2012), "The Jamestown settlers brought the marijuana plant, commonly known as hemp, to North America in 1611, and throughout the colonial period, hemp fiber was an important export. Indeed, in 1762, 'Virginia awarded bounties for hemp culture and manufacture, and imposed penalties on those who did not produce it.” (Jamestown Settlers Bring Marijuana to North America). Booth (2005). Medicinal Cannabis….what's all the hype? The therapeutic qualities are marvelous. Cannabinoids offer the following for patient’s antipastic, analgesic, antiemetic, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory actions. People who suffer from psychiatric diseases have found relief with their conditions ranging from depression, anxiety, bipolar, and similar mood disorders. The National Institute of Health, also known to many people as NIH. This organization states that medical marijuana helps a great deal with chemotherapy, and nausea. Letting the cancer patient consume food. They have also found that people who suffer from epileptic seizures that use medicinal cannabis helps to prevent them altogether. (Potter, 1998). Cancer patients who are going...
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...The 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...
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...To Legalize or Not to Legalize Medical Marijuana Elizabeth Connell ENG/102 Research Writing To Legalize or Not to Legalize Medical Marijuana Even though marijuana is a drug, legalized marijuana for medicinal use will help patients through various medical issues. Marijuana has been proven to ease the side effects of chemotherapy, helps patients with severe migraine, and glaucoma patients. Many people are on the fence over the legalization of medical marijuana. There are several reasons to legalize marijuana for medical use, let me tell you about one of the reasons. Six-year-old Charlotte is a little girl who suffered from an untreatable form of epilepsy. By the time she was two years old, her parents had tried all medications to cure her some of which almost killed her. She suffered nearly fifty seizures a night. Her parents managed to get her a medical marijuana card in Colorado. Her parents reported her seizures stopped after her first dose of cannabis oil. Charlotte came out of her catatonic state and met her parents for the first time. CNN featured Charlotte and documented her story. Some parents have turned to medical marijuana to treat their children of the incapacitating epilepsy. Doctors are attributing the drug with reducing seizure activity and bringing alleviation to epileptics. According to an article written by K. Pickert (2014), an innovative clinical trial is about to commence. This clinical trial may finally afford some science to support their assertions...
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...Center for Health statistics reported that drugs caused 37, 485 deaths in 2009; followed closely by alcohol related deaths totaling 23, 199. When research was done to identify the drugs and alcohol used in these fatal events, Cannabis (Marijuana) caused zero deaths. So why is a drug that is grown so naturally and causes zero deaths at the center of so much controversy? Marijuana has been used for medical purposes and is a popular subject in the economic and political debate arenas. “Cannabis sativa is an annual plant that grows wild in warm and tropical climates throughout the world and is cultivated commercially. The leaves and buds of the plant have been used in herbal remedies for centuries. Scientists have identified 66 biologically active components, called cannabinoids, in marijuana. The most potent of these is thought to be the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, although other active substances are being studied. The medical use of marijuana is limited because different strains of the plant contain different amounts of various compounds, which makes effects hard to predict ("Find support & treatment ," 12).” Medical researchers have isolated substances from the plant (cannabinoids) that can be used in precise doses alone and in combinations with other medicines to achieve more predictable effects. Certain cannabinoid drugs have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to...
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...brings technological, health and economic benefits to the world. When people hear the word hemp or marijuana they believe in the medical aspects but it also has a vast amount of usefulness for example; hemp is able to produce plastic and medicine it is said that one acre of hemp is to produce more oxygen than twenty-five acres of forest. One important use of cannabis is the use as bio fuel with the plant’s ability to grow in infertile soils also reduces the need to grow it on primary croplands, which can then be reserved for growing food, says Richard Parnas, a professor of chemical, materials, and bimolecular engineering(Christine Buckley). With the high demand of oil and jobs, hemp is a more reliable source a resources in addition a research from the University of Connecticut stated: The hemp biodiesel showed a high efficiency of conversion – 97 percent of the hemp oil was converted to...
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...many reasons. Not only is marijuana been proven over and over through research and studies to help with many illnesses, but marijuana has never caused death by overdose like many legal drugs do year after year. I will also discuss how not only the marijuana plant can be used for medical, and recreational use, but the plant is also a relative of hemp which can be used to produce, rope, clothing, paper and many other resources . We can use nearly every part of the Cannabis Sativa, or marijuana plant. The plant grows rapidly and has been known to reach heights in excess of 20 feet. It is a plant that very few natural pests will attack or infest, and very few extremes in weather will hinder its growth. The leaves of the plant are narrow leaflets with usually in with at least 5 or more leaves. Each leaf connects to a slender stem that is attached to a thick, hollow stalk. The edge of the leaflets will resemble that of a serrated knife. The species does have male and female plants. The male plants tend to grow taller, and are topped with flowers covered in pollen. The female plant being shorter, has larger pollen catching flowers, and produces seeds and protects them with a sticky resin. The plant in turn has many uses. The stalk can be used to make fiber; the seeds can be used for food and oil. The flowers, leaves, and resin are used to make medicines. The fibers are used to make anything from clothing to paper. The seeds can be used in a variety of foods and snacks. The flowers,...
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...In this paper I am going to argue why Marijuana has medical usage and the benefits of having it legalized for that purpose. Does marijuana have any medicinal use? Quite a few say yes marijuana does have medical use and yes it should be made legal for that purpose. The people that think this way are correct marijuana does have medical use. It has been used as medicine since 2727 B.C. were the first recorded use of cannabis as medicine in Chinese pharmacopoeia but not only was it used in China but every part of the world. Humankind has used cannabis for a wide variety of health problems for not just centuries but over a millennium. But there are still people who deny that marijuana had medical use. These people who are wrong marijuana does have medical use. They also have their own scientific studies...
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