Should Marijuana Be A Medical Option?

Submitted By RoseBud64
Words: 1165
Pages: 5

When it comes to the health and physical being of the people in America, doctors begin to take their roll on bettering the problems. The use and practice of medication, certain eating habits, and exercising on a daily basis come into play for majority of their studies. One thing that the doctors in the medical field come to find are the side effects for usage of marijuana. Most doctors already do prescribe the drug to patients with a developing cancer for pain and for being able to somewhat eat something in the process, but never for substance abuse. Every year thousands of people are arrested for possession of marijuana and abusing the herb for immoral purposes. The medicinal herb has already been legalized in several states, but the government is debating on allowing it for more. Legalizing the usage of marijuana will not only help victims that have been diagnosed cancer, but also help put a new tax up for relief of federal debts and even potentially help lower crime rates in the country. On the topic of cancer, the physician’s perspective was surprisingly an unexpected result from the survey that was given. When a questionnaire was presented, physicians in the medical field were asked to give a pro or con to the poll, “Should Marijuana be a Medical Option?” To the cancer patients, the need for the prescribed herbal plant is considered a key out of the suffrage they undergo when diagnosed with a form of cancer. Symptoms include: loss of appetite, severe headaches, over all body pains, and many other illnesses that come along with the various cancers, the medicinal hemp plant is proven to soothe and help ease some symptoms which can help counteract the diagnosis. Over 50% were pro medical usage for cannabis, while the remaining percentage was against the legalization for recreational purposes. "I think it's going to lead to more use, and that, to me, is a public health concern," Dr. Robert DuPont, an M.D. and professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School, told the Times. But other physicians within the medical community said association leaders did not consider the broader picture and benefits of legalizing marijuana. What they fear is the abuse that might come from it, knowing that it would not be prescribed for anyone that would not need it aside from the diagnosed cancer victims and the symptoms that follow along with it.
The number of students who have lost federal financial aid eligibility because of a drug conviction are roughly 200,000+ (Drug Policy Alliance) In addition, the plant substance was tested on recreational usage to see if it can cause impairment to different parts of the brain, daily routines, and mental stability conditions. Brain damage was studied on teens using the illicit drug through statewide school tests and the scorings they received. In result to the testing, the teens that were considered heavy users (used more than 7 times a week) were to score lower on their test than non-users. (Health Psychology) The usage of marijuana affected the tasks that a normal person would accomplish on a daily routine, rather than the user that continues to be unproductive while on the drug for recreational purposes. The mental health had many side effects and similar symptoms such as “cannabis psychosis.” (Irverson 2003) This was a condition that researchers discovered from patients that were taking very large dosages of the drug, and can often be serious enough to have someone end up in the ER, leading to seek medical help that could potentially build a mental condition with such symptoms that are often comparable to those of schizophrenia.
On the subject for taxation, the government has been arguing this for years. Arresting and setting up trial for someone in possession of the illicit substance can cost a few thousand dollars per person, ranging about roughly 1.5 million happening each year that cause our country to fall further into debt. “From 1997 through 2010 the NYPD made 536,000 arrests for