Medical Marijuana

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For decades America has associated marijuana with many things, and none of them ever any good. From the ‘60s with the hippie revolution, to today with criminals of all kinds, there have been numerous associations that are arguably unwarranted in this day and age. Why is it that we have such negative feelings about marijuana? In America today, the government considers it a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use.” The problem with this classification clearly lies in the second half of its classification. Marijuana certainly has medicinal purposes, and humans have been using it for centuries to primarily treat chronic pain and a lack of appetite. It is hard to construct a viable argument against medical marijuana’s effectiveness without distorting the truth, yet still people argue that it is a horrible thing and could never help people. The major issue at hand proves to be the federal government’s cooperation in the push for legislation for medical marijuana. About a fifth of the states in the United States have already legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, but that has not stopped the federal government from intervening and prosecuting possessors of marijuana in states where it is legal to do so. Under Barack Obama’s presidency, there have been pushes for legislation reform on the federal side, and this has provided leeway for state dispensaries to operate, but it is not enough. All over the world people have cancer, people are dying from AIDS, people suffer from glaucoma, and people with Alzheimer’s are forced to suffer through their illnesses with no real effective treatment. Currently, we have only mediocre treatments for the symptoms of these diseases. How... ... middle of paper ... ...uana will mark a turning point in our country. We will finally be able to appropriately treat patients for debilitating pain and severe loss of appetite by natural, not synthetic means. Research has been, and is being done to justify the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and the results are quite positive. We, as citizens of the United States of America, owe it to ourselves to become active in this reform. The federal government is closer to swaying in favor of medical marijuana each time a state passes a law to open dispensaries and legalize marijuana, and we must do our part by urging our states to pass these laws. Perhaps we will live to see a day where America can get over its fears of marijuana, a day where the country as a whole can accept it as viable treatment, and a day where millions of patients can receive the treatment they so rightfully deserve.

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