Persuasive Essay On Medical Marijuana

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Is it possible for an illegal drug to be deemed as legal for medical purposes? This is the case for Marijuana. Cannabis, also known as marijuana, is an preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or medicine. When people hear the word “marijuana”, they think of drugs, ruined lives, and addicts. Although marijuana does have a good side, that side being used for its medicinal properties. Medical marijuana has the potential to become a natural alternative drug to alleviate pain from many common diseases in this day and age. While recreational use of marijuana is controversial as is any drug, many believe that the drug should be made legal to use for medical purposes. Medicinal use of marijuana dates back to 2737 …show more content…

Up until 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, marijuana was a legal source for medicine in the United States. Because of this setback, it has become increasingly difficult for researchers to study medical marijuana. Neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta personally apologized for dismissing the value of scientific research for medicinal marijuana usage. Although there are sixty-six cannabinoids in marijuana, two inexact have been the subjects of most studies examining medical uses: delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabinol (CBD). Medical marijuana is a growing legalization movement throughout the United States that now consists of sixteen states that allow the use of medicinal marijuana. If further scientific research is funded, maybe one day the United States will hopefully legalize medical marijuana use in every …show more content…

Its medical benefits far outweigh its few associated negative side effects. Some negative side effects include:dizziness, dry mouth, agitation, increased appetite, and slowed reaction time. Compared to other drugs, marijuana is not an addictive drug nor can it kill you, unlike many common drugs that doctors prescribe daily to treat illnesses. There are no reported deaths from marijuana usage because it would be physically impossible to overdose of this drug. According to a 1988 United States administrative law hearing, the user would have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response. Medical marijuana is used to help treat and manage debilitating diseases such as epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. Because marijuana was labeled as a “Schedule I substance, illegal, and without medical value”, it became the most widely used illicit recreational drug. Physicians and other healthcare professionals who write prescriptions for it can be prosecuted under federal law. Many scientists have tried for decades to obtain permission from federal agencies like the FDA and DEA to have human medical trials and further the study the effects that marijuana has on the body. Marijuana is still a drug and it should still be treated as such even if it becomes legal to use for medicinal purposes. “It has to be stressed that cannabis is not a totally benign substance and smoking it

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