Tens of thousands of patients are denied of medical cannabis that could benefit from its therapeutic use. Not only does it help ease the pain of many agonizing diseases, but it also contributes to the prevention of some illnesses. It can also replace harmful antibiotics that we use now. An abundance of arguments have been made on this issue, but I feel as though most of them are a bit far-fetched and can be retaliated with legitimate responses, which will be further explained later in this essay. So far, twelve states have legalized marijuana for medicinal uses. These states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The earliest to pass this law was in 1996, and with much reason. Medicinal marijuana can provide multiple types of pain relief. First, it was proved to relieve asthma attacks and improve breathing. Also, its active ingredient, THC, reduces vomiting and nausea caused by chemotherapy. It relieves the muscle pain and spasticity that comes from multiple sclerosis, and may also help some of these unfortunate patients with bladder control and relieve tremor. The leading cause of blindness in the United States is caused by glaucoma, which is when the pressure inside one’s eyeball has increased. Marijuana, when smoked, reduces this pressure, making it a significant amount better to deal with. Medicinal cannabis also strongly improv...
...o treat many conditions; an ancient Chinese emperor prescribed it to cure conditions such as gout and malaria, soon its healing properties were heard around the world and the use of cannabis as a medicine spread like wild fire to many other regions (Earleywine, p. 168). In fact marijuana was legal in the United States till 1942 when against the medical communities recommendation it was removed from the list of acceptable medications. Today there are numerous studies being conducted on the effects of medical marijuana and scientists have proven its effects on treating many symptoms. According to Dale H. Gieringer in his book Medical Marijuana Handbook he states, Marijuana is proven to be effective as an anti-nauseant and an appetite stimulant for people going through chemotherapy and as an analgesic for patients suffering from chronic pain (Gieringer, p. 39).
Legalization of Marijuana has quickly become a controversial issue in America. In the United States, legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes is spreading to the state level. For example, in November 1996, the people of California and Arizona voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal reasons. As a result of Proposition 215 in California, patients now smoke marijuana provided their physician recommends its usage. A prescription is not required, and marijuana continues to be illegal to prescribe. The Clinton administration responded that it “would not recognize these decisions, and would prosecute physicians who recommend or provide marijuana to their patients.” Although California and Arizona are the only two states to have already passed laws regulating marijuana usage, twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws and resolutions regarding marijuana usage. These laws and resolutions range from establishing therapeutic research programs, to allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, to asking the federal government to lift the ban. Despite the states’ desires to have marijuana legalized for medicinal purposes, the US National Institutes of Health examined all existing clinical evidence about smoked marijuana and concluded that, “There is no scientifically sound evidence that smoked marijuana is medically superior to currently available therapies.”
When marijuana is taken it can have amazing effects on the user, if someone with chronic neck or back pains, severe vomiting and nausea or someone with Neurological conditions uses marijuana it can remarkably relieve them from the pain. Marijuana has potent analgesic properties which can be used to treat a variety of different pains. Medical marijuana as a chronic pain reliever can reduce patients' pain and improve the quality of their life, without the same serious side effects associated with use of some pharmaceutical pain relievers. Marijuana can also be taken as an Anti-emetic which is a drug used to prevent one from vomiting, if a person potentially believes that he or she is going to vomit then smoking marijuan...
The article discussed several potential health benefits to medical cannabis. For example, medical marijuana can be used to test glaucoma by slowing the progression of the disease and preventing blindness. It can help control epileptic seizures and decrease the symptoms of a severe seizure disorder known as Dravet’s Syndrome. The chemical CBD may help prevent cancer from spreading. In addition, it may decrease anxiety, ease the pain from multiple sclerosis, and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Medical marijuana may lessen the side effects from treating some illnesses such as hepatitis C. It has also been used to alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, and promote
Today, in the United States alone there are over: 400,000 cases of Multiple Sclerosis, 4 million cases of glaucoma, and between 1.3 and 2.8 million cases of epilepsy. That is at least 5.7 million people that suffer every single day. For many of those people, the situation seems hopeless, but there is an option that may help. Medical marijuana has been proven to be very helpful in all of those cases including other things such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and just pain in general. Not only has it been known to help reduce pain and other symptoms from those diseases but it has also becoming apparent that marijuana may also be able to potentially slow down cancer as a connection has been made between the plant turning off a gene
Through recent years, society has been faced with the controversial and obtrusive issue of whether or not to legalize marijuana. In the past, and even still in the present, marijuana has often been regarded as an illicit and malicious drug. However, research shows that marijuana is not nearly as bad as society deems it to be. Rather it can be used to greatly benefit humanity. Cannabis’ (marijuana) range of beneficial uses include: helping former veterans cope with life after war, alleviate symptoms for people who suffer with Parkinson 's and epilepsy, and replace prescription drugs. This disputation regarding marijuana can be solved by simply legalizing it for recreational purposes, and implementing laws and regulations similar to that of alcohol.
Abstract: For the past few decades, debate has ensued over the putative medicinal value of marijuana. These claims extend back over 4000 thousand years ago to ancient civilizations on the Asian continent. More recently, some scientists experimenting with cannabis have found evidence to support these claims. However, the United States federal government has remained reluctant in supporting further research characterizing the therapeutic properties of cannabis. These policies may have been shaped by cannabis' early associations first with low-income minority groups and later with the youth movement in the 1960s. Government support of additional research is key in settling the long debate over the medicinal value of cannabis.
Since 1978, 32 states have abandoned the federal prohibition to recognize legislatively marijuana's important medical properties. Federal law, however, continues to define marijuana as a drug "with no accepted medical use," and federal agencies continue to prohibit physician-patient access to marijuana. This outdated federal prohibition is corrupting the intent of the state laws and depriving thousands of glaucoma and cancer patients of the medical care promised them by their state legislatures.
Physician-assisted suicide refers to the physician acting indirectly in the death of the patient -- providing the means for death. The ethics of PAS is a continually debated topic. The range of arguments in support and opposition of PAS are vast. Justice, compassion, the moral irrelevance of the difference between killing and letting die, individual liberty are many arguments for PAS. The distinction between killing and letting die, sanctity of life, "do no harm" principle of medicine, and the potential for abuse are some of the arguments in favor of making PAS illegal. However, self-determination, and ultimately respect for autonomy are relied on heavily as principle arguments in the PAS issue.
Marijuana has been proven to treat numerous diseases and help cope with the pain from them. There is scientific research behind Medical Marijuana being able to treat these diseases. Research shows that it is effective managing and treating certain symptoms and diseases. It is legal in some states in the U.S. and has been helpful to many patients with their struggles related to their condition. A doctor who supports the use of medical marijuana stated that "The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day." (Joycelyn Elders 1) This quote supports the use of medicinal marijuana for reliving patient’s symptoms in a safe way with lo...
Despite the 1976 ruling by the federal government that marijuana has “no acceptable medical use”, sixteen states have passed medical marijuana laws that allow for patient use o...
Present-day medical marijuana has seen a substantial upsurge in use among individuals suffering from pain and certain diseases, as well as rise in backing amongst the general public. One cannot turn on the television without witnessing a discussion or debate involving the legality and medical use of this specific Cannabis plant. The reason the use of medical marijuana has become such a controversial topic is because possession of cannabis has been illegal in most of the world since the late 1930's, causing medical marijuana use to be identified as socially and morally deteriorating to a greater part of the population. Over the last 85 years, popular
Marijuana can be a step in the right direction in diagnosing and treating many diseases. Medical Marijuana saves lives and helps patients deal and overcome pain due to diseases or disorders. Dr. Andrew Weil, founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, explained how marijuana can “relieve pain, nausea, and other debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis and cancer and the drugs used to treat them.” (Weil) Dr. Weil revealed how marijuana is able to target certain cancer cells without harming the healthy cells in order to help patients fighting for their lives. Dr. Weil is a supporter for the use of medical marijuana and declared “our current national policy is counter-productive and irrational.” (Weil) Currently, there are many doctors who have been and starting to advocate for the use of medical marijuana. In our advancing medical industry, we are faced with incurable diseases which ultimately can lead to a loss of life. Marijuana has been proven to help patients who suffer from pain by relieving their pain and relaxing their bodies. People must understand how marijuana is tremendously beneficial to all types of people in America whether it is used as medicine or a supplement to help people throughout their everyday lives. Marijuana is inexpensive and effortless to produce, so it can be utilized to boost our technological advancement in medicine. When more people realize the
But Doctors and Scientist are amazed by it’s benefits and 76% of doctors approve marijuana for medicinal purposes. “In a placebo controlled in a 2007 study in the journal Neurology, Abrams and his colleagues found that marijuana is effective at reducing neuropathic pain, or pain caused by damaged nerves, in HIV patients. Opiates, such as morphine, which is generally given for increased pain, aren’t effective for treating that sort of pain.” Also Researchers at the American Academy of Neurology have also found that medical marijuana in pills or sprays reduce stiffness of muscles and muscle spasms in MS. As well of relieving certain pain related spasms, burning, numbness, as well as an overactive bladder. Marijuana also relieves the pressure in eyes, slowing down the progression of Glaucoma and preventing blindness. One family used medical marijuana to treat their 5 year old daughter with Dravets Syndrome and the results were dramatic, their daughter, Charlotte, went from 300 seizures a week to once a week. This treatment works due to the cannabidiol in the plant interacting with the brain cells to hinder the activity in the brain that causes seizures.
It can be used as a treatment for many different diseases and health issues. “There are a number of medical benefits of marijuana, most notably in the treatment of patients undergoing chemotherapy” (Messerli, “Should Marijuana be Legalized..”). Others believe it helps in the treatment of depression. Legalizing marijuana will make it easier for the patients to receive the drug and it will make it easier for scientist to study the drug further to confirm the drugs medicinal purposes. Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. No one has ever died from an overdose, and it has a wide variety of therapeutic applications, including relief from nausea, appetite loss, pressure, muscle spasms and chronic pain. By a few studies that were allowed on this drug, marijuana has been shown to help relive neuropathic pain which affects millions suffering from HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis, to just name a few conditions it would