Marijuana Argumentative Essay

The question of whether Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal use, because of its potential to possibly cure cancer and serve as a therapeutic analgesic, is complex. Marijuana was made illegal and classified a schedule 1drug; a schedule 1 drug has a high potential for abuse and has no accepted medical use. Since then, marijuana research has been very limited. However, Marijuana activists and new research conducted on the benefits of marijuana is putting into question whether marijuana should be a treatment option available to cancer patient’s .This research paper will attempt to rhetorically analyze a documentary supporting the thesis that THC cures cancer by killing cancer cells. This research paper will also attempt to debunk the documentaries’ …show more content…
Cannabinoids are potent chemical compounds that attach themselves to cannabinoid brain receptors that are naturally produced in the body. Once the cannabinoids are attached, they repress neurotransmitter release in the brain. The human body naturally produces two types of cannabinoids: CB1 and CB2 (Gevirtz, pg.1, 2009). These two naturally produced receptors are responsible for regulating our memory, mood learning, emotions, and even appetite. Marijuana is derived from the dry leaves of the plant. Marijuana contains a potent chemical known as THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) (Gevirtz, pg.1, 2009). When marijuana is smoked THC enters the brain, causing the user to feel euphoric, relaxed, and sociable, and users may experience an increase in …show more content…
, a pain researcher at McGill University, the results of the study concluded that marijuana indeed served as a therapeutic analgesic; reducing the pain of the volunteers. (Rabin, pg.6, 2010) In his study, Ware took twenty-one volunteers, all of whom were suffering from nerve damage and intractable pain, and administered marijuana with different concentrations of THC. (Rabin, pg.6, 2010) Prior to the study, all volunteers reported that no drug had effectively worked at reducing pain, they experienced insomnia, and appetite loss was a problem. All volunteers were separated into two groups and given marijuana with various concentrations of THC. Regardless of concentration, all volunteers “who took just a puff of marijuana three times a day got some mild pain relief.” (Rabin, pg.6, 2010) All volunteers were administered a pipe and given the marijuana to take home. The volunteers were instructed to smoke the marijuana out of the pipe at home and upon inhaling it; they were instructed to hold the smoke in their lungs for 10 seconds before exhaling. (Rabin, pg.6, 2010) Volunteers reported less pain felt when smoking marijuana, better sleep, and appetite gain. Volunteers who smoked the marijuana with the highest THC concentration reported a greater reduction in pain. “The cannabis with the highest concentration of THC, 9.4 percent, appeared to deliver a modest reduction in pain: 0.7 point on an 11-point scale.”

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