Positive Aspects of Medical Marijuana

Marijuana is the common name for a drug comprised of the leaves and flowering

tops of the Indian hemp plant, cannabis sativa, which can be smoked or eaten for unique

feelings. The active ingredient of marijuana, known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is

concentrated in the flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant. In the USA, the legality of

marijuana, found to be medically useful by some, has been a controversial topic for

decades (Nahas 1).

Today, the 5,000-year medical history of cannabis has been almost forgotten.

Cannabis sativa has been used therapeutically from the earliest records to the present

day. Although the Chinese and East Indian cultures knew about the properties of this

drug from very early times, the drug spread across the globe with progressing global

discoveries (Nahas 2). However, the most valuable medical experiments were made

during the 19th century. At that time, due to its analgesic effects, marijuana was

prepared chiefly in an alcoholic solution used to treat tetanus, neuralgia, labor pain,

dysmenorrhea, convulsions, asthma, and rheumatism. Its use declined in the early 20th

century partly because other more valuable alternatives became available -- synthetic

drugs such as aspirin and barbiturates. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed.

Designed to prevent non-medical use, this law made cannabis so difficult to obtain for

medical purposes that it was removed from the pharmacopoeia (Randall and O'Leary

140).

The modern renaissance of medicinal cannabis began in the early 1970s, when

several young chemotherapy patients claimed that marijuana was more effective for the

relief of nausea, weight-loss, and loss of appetite. Advocates argued that medicinal

marijuana countered t...

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Works Cited

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The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church. "Marijuana and the Bible." Beacon Press, 1998. The

Vaults of Erowid. 10 Nov. 2001.

Lawler, Phillip F., ed. "Another Scottish Churchmen Says Legalize Cannabis." 19 Aug.

1999. Catholic World News. 12 Nov. 2001.

- - - . "Cardinal Rejects Pro-Marijuana Campaign In Brazil." 3 June 1996. Catholic World

News. 12 Nov. 2001.

Miller, Richard Lawrence. The Case For Legalizing Drugs. New York: Praeger

Publishers, 1991.

Nahas, Gabriel G. Marihuana: Deceptive Weed. New York: Raven Press Books Ltd.,

1973.

Randal, Robert C. and Alice M. O'Leary . Marijuana Rx: The Pateints' Fight For Medical

Pot. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1998.

The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version.