Marijuanas' Legalization As an Alternative Medicine

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According to a 1996 Gallup poll, "73 percent of Americans favored making marjuana available by perscription", but 69 percent did not favor the legalization of its recreational use. (Koch) With this topic continually in the news, it becomes more about its medicinal and therapuetic uses and less about how it is used recreationally. Medical marijuana should be federally legalized to be used as an alternative medicine because it is a better choice than other drugs for pain and nausea, it is more affordable than other medicines and with its change from a Scheduale I to a Scheduale II drug, would fall in the same regulations as a perscription drug.

Marijuana is a better choice than other drugs for pain and nausea because its side effects are not as harsh and it is the only thing that that seems to work for some patients. For those with nausea, it causes this to fade, giving them the ability to eat again. For those with pain, it helps them in the way that an aspirin would work for an average person. An example of this is Angel Raich, who suffered from chronic pain and a brain tumor which could not be removed, who was so weak at one point, she had to use a wheelchair. With no pain relief in sight, she decided to try marijuana with her doctors' approval. The drug worked, "...her symptoms improved, and she even retired her wheelchair"(Marshall). It is also a better choice because other medicines could be made from it. Kathy Koch, an assistant managing editor who specializes in education and social-policy issues, explains more about this in her article "Medical Marijuana":

Scientists see the potential for developing a variety of new medicines from among the 200-plus active ingrediants in [marijuana]cannabis, including more than...

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...e medicines. Marijuana is also more affordable to patients than other more expensive perscription drugs due to its ability to be grown at home or a dispensary. Finally if marijuana were recategorized as a Scheduale II drug it would be perscribed in certain cases and watched over carefully for those who need it, without a doctors fear of breaking the law or losing their medical license. Legalizing medical marijuana would lead the way for more medicines and cures to be found and therefore, better health for all.

Works Cited

Koch, Kathy. "Medical Marijuana." CQ Researcher 9.31(1999):705-728. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 8 Nov 2011.

Marshall, Patrick. "Marijuana Laws." CQ Researcher 15.6(2005):125-148. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 8 Nov 2011.

Worsnop, Richard L. "Alternative Medicine's Next Phase." CQ Researcher 7.6 (1997):121-144. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 8 Nov 2011.

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