The Uses of Medical Marijuana Essay

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MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

Though medical marijuana has proved to be very beneficial for medicinal purposes, some would say its pros do not outweigh it’s cons. It has said to have many side effects which include brain damage, heart problems, damage to lungs and immune system, impaired learning, memory loss, perception problems and poor judgment. Smoking marijuana has also been the cause of a large amount of car crashes and workplace accidents. On a federal level it is still illegal but in 13 states it is legal for certain uses. Federal law trumps state law but they are being lenient on enforcing that law so states are getting away with allowing it. There are many different people who have concerns about marijuana such as doctors, terminally ill patients, federal government, state government, medical organizations, etc.

From a medical organization opinion they believe marijuana can be a controlled substance and should be reclassified since there is limited evidence to prove it’s unsafe. However they are weary to fully support it because some side effects were noted after a glaucoma research that include: increased heart rate and decreased blood pressure.

From a doctor perspective there are pros and cons as well. First off it has been said that cannabis can help with pain, nausea and vomiting cause my certain illness like cancer, multiple sclerosis, cancer and even AIDS. They also believe that it is less harsh then other drugs. On the other hand there is little proof and scientific data to prove its medical benefits. Right now it is considered a dangerous drug and many alternatives for pain relief and other medical reasons.

US Government officials believe since it has problems such as making some learning impaired and giving them poor judgment then the fact that it is beneficial to a great number of ill people does not make it ideal. It is currently illegal but they are being very lenient in enforcing the law so some states are taking it upon themselves and making it legal by state law.

Treating Aids with marijuana is a good idea because in comparison with those receiving placebo, those who took marijuana gained 4 pounds more. However the most dangerous concern is the fact that marijuana could lower the immune system. It may weaken immune system in aids patients and or expose them to pathogens. Some would argue that with aids they are already vulnerable to having a low immune system.

Medical marijuana for the terminally ill such as for patients with terminal cancer, benefit from marijuana so much it outweighs the suspected risk. The use of marijuana is considered to be used to help ease the terminally ill at the end of their life. But some doctors would argue there are many alternatives that could be used rather than marijuana.

There is very little evidence that smoking marijuana have major health risks, in fact, cannabis has been smoked in western countries for more than four decades with no reported cases of cancer or emphysema contributed to marijuana. Three to four marijuana cigarettes show the same evidence of chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage of bronchial mucosa as 20 or ore tobacco cigarettes a day. So some say that smoking marijuana is better than smoking cigarettes while others believe it is likely to weaken immune system ad cause infections of the lungs and it should be avoided.

Marinol is available in capsules but contains only THC which has only a few therapeutic benefits in the cannabis plant. It differs from marijuana because it has one pure, FDA pharmaceutical in stable dosages.

Although there are many benefits in about ten percent of patients taking cannabis have led to psychological dependence but some say that doesn’t mean it is true addiction. Most users don’t take it on a daily basis and abandon it