Should the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes be legalized?
Wouldn’t it be simple to provide a simple black or white answer to this question? Across the nation there is much debate on this very topic, one that I don’t believe can be solved so easily with a yes or no. There are so many activists that have strong opinions on this subject and go to the fullest extent to ensure they are heard. As simple straight forward as this question is it was hard for me to determine which side of the line I stood on. After reading all of the articles and much research on the issue I find myself leaning toward allowing medicinal marijuana use. By allowing medicinal marijuana use there are going to have to be many precautions taken to ensure that such a non-traditional controversial medicine is not abuse as many people will try to take advantage of the situation.
There are many organizations in our society that are advocates for legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Many well known organizations such as the American Cancer Society, American Nurses Association and the AIDS Action Council are both pro-legalization organizations. There are many more additional organizations such as the Federation of American Scientists, the Lymphoma Foundation of America and the Whitman-Walker Clinic. These organizations listed are only a few of the many that are out there along with many practicing doctors and state nurses associations. Despite the government trials and publications regarding the uselessness of marijuana these organizations are more in tuned to the patients who really need the drug to help cope with their lives. These organizations see the changes in patients who are use the drug even though illegal to go day-to-day.
Patients such as Dixie Ramango who made a statement of “Marijuana is the only thing that keeps me from giving up entirely; All I know is that it works from me. It keeps me alive so I can enjoy my grandchildren. Sometimes the pain is so unbearable. It keeps me from wanting to kill myself and call Dr. Kevorkian." Dixie Ramagno is one of the many people in the United States who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.1 Ramagno has done research on her own research that has shown how marijuana helps patients with multiple sclerosis, AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, nausea and pain. She claims that it has especially proven effective in helping AIDS pa...
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...ese applications for treatment has been proven to be legitimate by at least one court, legislature or government agency in the United States. 3
Activists who lobby to change the laws regarding the legalization of marijuana have many reasons why the drug should be changed from a schedule I drug to at least a schedule II drug. Many of the reasons and organizations are within the medical profession. Legalizing the use of medicinal marijuana will help those who really need the drug. I do believe eventually the drug will be legal regardless if it is classified for medical purposes or not, when it does become legal the federal government along with each individual state will need to take the necessary precautions to ensure the drugs are not misused within the United States. Having and keeping tight laws and programs for the new law will reduce the problems some are anticipating.
1. Medical Marijuana, by Gina Chon, Human Rights Volume 24 Number 4, Fall 1997
2. Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subpopulations and Mitogen Responsiveness in Tobacco and Marijuana Smokers, Wallace J.M., Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 1988
3. Medical Marijuana Briefing Paper, Marijuana Policy Project, 2003
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