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Cannabis has medical benefits
Should cannabis be legalized for medical purpose
Should cannabis be legalized for medical purpose
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The Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Use
Picture in your mind a young girl that is almost done with her freshman year of high school. These next few years are supposed to be some of the best years of this girl’s life. But instead of this young girl worrying about what clothes she is going to wear, or how she is going to style her hair, she has to worry about side effects of chemotherapy. Melinda has been diagnosed with Hodskins Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes, at age fifteen. When all the other fifteen-year-old girls are busy chasing boys and dealing will all the drama that comes with high school Melinda is in the hospital getting blood transfusions because the chemo has depleted her of necessary cells.
The chemo that Melinda has transfused into her has many side effects that come with it. The chemo basically kills a person in order to kill the cancer cells. These side effects include nausea, intense pain and a loss of appetite. There is only one drug that exists today that has the potential to cure all of the above side effects, and that is marijuana. This drug is currently illegal, and doctors cannot prescribe it to patients.
This issue affects college students because we are the ones that are going to play a role in this debate in the future. Many of us are going to become doctors, FBI agents, or United States Senators. That is why college students need to be informed about this complex issue. We are the ones that are going to be making decisions about this issue later on in our lives.
The debate on legalizing marijuana for medical use is not just a simple pro/con debate. It is a very complex issue that has many different approaches to it, and in each of the approaches there are differences of opinion. Three main sides to this debate are the medical approach, government and enforcement approach, and the lawmaker approach.
The medical approach consists of doctors that treat cancer patients, and cultural beliefs that since marijuana is illegal it should not be used at all. Some doctors and people of the public believe that marijuana should be used to treat side effects of chemotherapy, and other doctors and people of the public believe that it should not be used as a medicine.
Marijuana is a relatively harmless drug that governments around the world have made illegal. If legalized, marijuana can be beneficial to society in a number of ways: whether it be for medical, economic, or public safety reasons. Marijuana has been proven to treat several life debilitating, and even life threatening diseases. Although it is not a cure, marijuana can ease the pain and suffering of a dying person. Another benefit of legalization is the financial gains that governments will accomplish through the taxation of marijuana. This is a realistic claim if marijuana sales are compared to that of cigarettes; governments make billions each year from cigarette taxes (Caputo and Ostrom 484). Every year law enforcement spends countless man-hours trying to apprehend marijuana dealers and growers. This time would be better utilized in dealing with more serious crimes. This essay will display some main reasons why marijuana is a substance with beneficial uses and applications. First, marijuana can be used as a treatment for the effects of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and other terminal diseases. A study carried out in California clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of marijuana as a treatment for cancer: “Over 74 percent of the cancer patients treated in the program have reported that marijuana is more effective in relieving their nausea and vomiting than any other drug they have tried.”(Zeese 1990). Chemotherapy for cancer patients often produces nausea and vomiting. Marijuana has been proven to relieve these symptoms and there have been no known side effects recorded (Ad Hoc Group of Experts part 4).
Rebecca and Tom head to Omaha, when they get to the hospital, the medical staff begin tests and blood work. Rebecca says, "I'm tired of being poked and prodded"(Perl, 1995). Rebecca states that she never thought she would be the one in the hospital because her husband had a kidney transplant, her brother was diagnosed with leukemia, and she is a health reporter(Perl,1995). On December 10th, Rebecca found out that her previous chemotherapy had not made the tumor any smaller(Perl,1995). Rebecca starts a more powerful form of chemotherapy, but later she finds out that it is not shrinking the tumor either, so her stem cells are filtered out of her blood and they are saved until after her chemotherapy. Rebecca finally has her transplant and soon after she starts feeling very sick. She said, " I feel fragile, anxious, and sick"(Perl,1995). Rebecca admits to Lorraine Brazier, her friend Graham's wife, that if it was not for her son she probably would not fight as hard for her life(Perl,1995). Two days after the transplant, Rebecca is back in the hospital because her heart rate reached 190 beats per minute. Since it is unknown what may have caused her heart rate to increase the doctors decide they are not going to treat the condition. Four days after Rebecca's transplant she is diagnosed with RSV and she was isolated. She had to be on a machine and wear a mask for eighteen hours a day. Finally Rebecca receives some good news, the stem cells that were transplanted are growing and reproducing new cells(Perl,1995).
Of course, there are many people opposed to legalizing marijuana, despite the benefits. Some doctors are against legalizing marijuana because they think that it will cause “emotionally crippled adults”, and they think that people can become addicted to it. Doctor Howard Samuels believes that marijuana is a psychoactive drug which will create problems for adults in the future. I disagree with this. It doesn’t do anything harmful to your brain, so I don’t see how it would cause problems for adults in the future that use marijuana. You can’t become addicted to it, like you can with cigarettes and alcohol. Marijuana doesn’t have nicotine in it, which causes the addiction to cigarettes. Doctors prescribe morphine to patients, and that is very addictive...
A few months ago, she was diagnosed with leukemia and has been receiving Chemotherapy. The doctors have confessed that the Chemo has not had any impact, and found a donor match for a bone marrow transplant.
Further back than two decades from the present moment, a beautiful woman blended flawlessly into the immaculate ottoman she lied upon; limp and colorless. Claiming each moment as an opportunity to retch up any remaining poisons, she also savored each minute as an opening for somber thoughts. Succeeding into only her mid-thirties, my mother was not near surrendering in her battle against Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and she was even further from anticipating any predestinations. Toxins recycling through her veins, she could barely imagine the following minute, let alone the ringing of a bell to signify the end of her treatment. And even though she was eventually able to grasp onto that bell, she still not able to grasp onto the doctor's unfortunate news
So far, twenty-three states have legalized cannabis for medical uses. Originally, medical marijuana was use for lesser ailment like pain or insomnia due to the lack or research. Then as people started to do more research they realized marijuana could actually help patient with more serious conditions like glaucoma, or to help those who suffer form seizures, or even to fight cancer. Marijuana helps people with cancer a great deal. For starters, the chemicals in marijuana make patients hungry and help to keep patients strong. Second, research has shown promising evidence that the chemicals in cannabis fight the spreading of cancer cells and even help to kill cancer cells. Medical marijuana also helps to prevent users from obtaining other serious afflictions. Currently, researchers are studying the way the chemicals in marijuana effect amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaques, are the number one cause of Alzheimer’s disease, and researchers now believe marijuana use can help fight and help prevent this horrible disease. All of these studies could help to one day make incredible break throughs in modern medicine, and possibly find cures for Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Medicinal marijuana is just one reason for the legalization of
Legalization of marijuana has become an increasingly popular topic for debate in society with “sentiment in favor of legalization [increasing] by 20 [percentage] points in just over a decade,” bringing support for legalization to 52% (Dionne and Galston). The most common arguments for reforming current legislation are the following: enforcement wastes public resources, taxation can provide a new source of revenue, and enforcement of current laws is discriminatory (Dionne and Galston). It is necessary to look at the impact on the primary stakeholders by analyzing the various harms and benefits through application of the ethical theories of utilitarianism and deontology, in order to determine the solution that will result in the best possible outcome.
Imagine you are lying in your home, suffering from the side-effects of chemotherapy and all you can do is think about how sick you are and what could possibly keep you from being secluded from life and happiness. Marijuana will prevent side-effects linked to terminal illnesses, does not cause any real harm to a human well-being, and would increase US revenue due to taxation and also tourism. Well, according to Ed Rosenthal and Steve Kubby of the book Why Marijuana Should Be Legal, from which this viewpoint is excerpted. They argue that “marijuana is effective at relieving pain, controlling nausea, and stimulating the appetite, and is successfully used to treat a large number of medical problems, including asthma, cancer, AIDS, depression, and glaucoma. Marinol, a synthetic formulation of THC—the chemical in marijuana that is responsible for many of its soothing effects—is not nearly as effective as natural marijuana, they claim.
Medical marijuana has been used for centuries to combat pain, weakness, anxiety, insomnia, female problems and nausea. Today it is commonly used by cancer and AIDS patients to stimulate hunger, combat nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy or other drug therapy and reduce pain. It has also been shown to be effective in reducing eye pressure, especially in the cases with glaucoma. Medical marijuana, or cannabis, is derived from the Cannabis sativa plant and there is some evidence of cannabis being used medicinally for over four thousand years. Many believe that medical marijuana is a healthy and natural alternative to dangerous and toxic pharmaceuticals that often have side effects worse than the original condition. The United Sates declared marijuana a narcotic and declared it illegal with the passing of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.
In order to eradicate the drug problem, a public debate is going on to find some solutions to this drug dilemma. It has become a highly controversial issue whether drugs such as marijuana should be legalized or not. Some people advocate this issue and believe that legalization is the only solution left for the nation, while others oppose because it will increase the number of drug users and drug related crimes. Marijuana is a drug that is illegal in the United States. This drug, as you know, is bad and causes severe side effects to your brain and body.
As of today the nation stands behind three basic ideas of what to do with marijuana; legalize marijuana, make it legal only as a prescription drug, or keep it as it is, illegal. People, who are pro-marijuana like me, argue that marijuana is considerably less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, the most frequently used legal drugs. Furthermore marijuana has never directly caused anyone's death. People who side with the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes believe that the ends justify the means. But the people who want to keep it illegal think that the medical uses do not outweigh the harmful side effects.
There are several qualities to have to be successful in college. These qualities can range from attending class to going above and beyond what’s expected. Success comes from the journey taken or the path chosen. Success also comes from being prepared. As a student, I must step up to the challenge and find the path to success along the way. Several ways I define success is to uphold academic integrity, have the ability to prioritize, and to motivate myself to stay on top of what needs to be accomplished.
Currently in our country there is an issue at hand that has divided not only American people, but even politicians across the country. The highly debated issue that has been dividing the country for many years now is the legalization of medicinal marijuana. While the government has left the issue up to individual state’s legislations, the pressing debate at hand has been calling for a federal law to nationally legalize marijuana for medical purposes. For years now, it has been something that has been highly debated and something that people on both sides feel highly passionate about. What if medical marijuana could save the life of one of your loved family members but that being denied to you because it hasn’t been legalized in your state. The legalization of medical marijuana would not only benefit the country health wise but also economically and its something that must be legalized throughout the whole country.
When one hears the word “cancer”, thoughts about how their previous life is about to change cloud the mind, but when one hears the word cancer for their child, it is a whole different outlook; the affects of childhood cancer are not only taken on by the patients, but also by their families; the affects can range from emotionally to physically, socially to financially, and even educationally. “Childhood cancer is considered rare, especially compared with adults. Still it’s the leading cause of death in children pre-adolescent, school-aged children” (Report: Childhood Cancer Rates Continue to Rise, but Treatment Helps Drive Down Deaths). Around 12,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year and around one in five children that are diagnosed with cancer will die.
Firstly, what is success? Success can be seen as the self-satisfaction of knowing you did your best to be the best that you can be. This definition, developed