FREE ESSAY ON MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE

MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE

For many years, the United States government has prohibited some drugs, such as marijuana,
from being sold in the marketplace. Yet, even with prohibition, marijuana use has only
decreased minimally. Because of its illegality, only the bad aspects of marijuana use
have been made known. However, there are many positive aspects of marijuana legalization,
including its application concerning to medical cures. As of today, in most of the
states, marijuana is classified as an illegal drug. However, due to its proven medicinal
purposes the drug should be made available for people to use.
Marijuana has been used for multiple purposes prior to the birth of Christ. Marijuana
originated in the Middle East. China played an important part in marijuana's history.
Hoatho, the first Chinese physician, used cannabis for medical purposes as a painkiller
and as an anesthetic for surgery (Mathre 35). China was not the only country that used
marijuana as a medicine. For example, in Thailand it was used to stimulate the appetite
of people who were ill. It would make them sleep, and counteract diarrhea (Mathre 36).
Clearly, we can see that the use of marijuana began as a medicine, and with more research
we can find better uses of marijuana as for medicinal purposes. 
Marijuana is very helpful to ease the suffering of the sick, but it also creates side
effects. The scientific evidence published to date indicates that marijuana has a broad
range of psychological and biological effects, some of which are harmful to human health.
Marijuana has different effects on the nervous system and on behavior. Marijuana impairs
motor coordination and affects tracking ability and sensory and perceptual functions
important for safe driving. It also impairs short-term memory and slows learning
(Marijuana and Health 2). Marijuana smoke is a complex mixture that has many chemical
components and biological effects similar to tobacco smoke. However, it also contains
some different ingredients. This suggests the strong possibility that marijuana, like
tobacco, could lead to lung cancer, or create respiratory distress. Smoking marijuana
also causes changes in the heart and circulation that are characteristic of stress
(Marijuana and Health 72). Evidence supports that marijuana increases the work of the
heart, usually by increasing the heart rate, and in some people that is a threat
(Marijuana and Health 73). Current evidence has shown marijuana also causes some chemical
changes in the brain. After exposure to this drug, there have been reports of effects on
brain electrical activity in human beings and in animals. Marijuana also has been found
to produce an acute brain syndrome. This is a more severe mental problem consisting of
confusion and loss of contact with reality (Marijuana and Health 129). 
The main reason that the United States Drug Enforcement Agency doesn't want marijuana use
to be legalized is because there is no evidence to date that proves that marijuana is an
effective drug when used for medicinal purposes. Scientists have researched this drug for
twenty years and have yet to produce reliable scientific proof that marijuana has medical
value. The American Cancer Society, the American Glaucoma Society, the National Multiple
Sclerosis Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the American Medical
Association all agree that there is some evidence that use of marijuana as a medicine has
merit (High Times). The agencies also argue that no other drug prescribed is smoked. New
findings show that marijuana is acutely harmful to AIDS and cancer patients because the
active ingredient in marijuana acutely reduces the white blood cells that fight off
infection. 
The United States Drug Enforcement Agency agrees with police departments that if
marijuana use is legalized, crime could increase due to a higher number of users.
Statistics have proven that eventually these marijuana users could become addicted and
crime could increase. These users would need to purchase the drug, and as the need
increases, more money would be needed to fund this habit. 
There are also many advantages of smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes. Persons
suffering from the advanced stage of AIDS find that marijuana stimulates their appetites.
They are able to digest foods to gain strength and prevent emaciation. Glaucoma patients
have discovered that using marijuana has prevented them from going blind by diminishing
their sight retardation. Cancer patients use marijuana to alleviate the severe nausea
that is a side effect of chemotherapy. By the 1930s marijuana's use as a drug began to
decline. Man-made drugs were being created in the laboratories as a safer alternative. In
1937, the use of marijuana became illegal when the Marihuana Tax Act was passed (Mathre
50). The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 was passed to officially mark marijuana as an
illicit drug. Ironically, at this time two new medical discoveries were made. The first
one was using marijuana in the treatment for glaucoma, and the second one was the ease it
provided for cancer patients. 
This next portion of my paper will detail the medicinal benefits of marijuana usage.
Marijuana has been shown to be beneficial in patients suffering from the eye condition
known as glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of diseases characterized by the triad of elevated
intraocular pressure, optic nerve injury, and visual loss (Grinspoon 40). It is very
prevalent today and is an important cause of blindness in all populations. Glaucoma is
more common in older patients and in certain ethnic groups. Today glaucoma is treated
with eye drops containing beta-blockers, which inhibit the activity of epinephrine
(Grinspoon 40). These drops are highly effective, but they may create some serious side
effects. Some of the side effects include: depression, slower heart rate, and an increase
in the risk of heart failure. Based on research by the University of California at Los
Angeles, it was concluded that the use of marijuana was more useful than conventional
medications when treating glaucoma, and it probably works by means of a different
mechanism (Grinspoon 41). Surveys were given to glaucoma patients, and they reported that
they all preferred smoking marijuana instead of paying for the expensive medication that
basically had the same result. 
Cancer chemotherapy is one of the most developed treatments utilized during the past few
decades in an effort to combat this fatal disease. Chemotherapy attacks the cancer cells,
but unfortunately, it also attacks and destroys the healthy body cells. Chemotherapy can
be an extremely dangerous balancing act in an effort to gain control of the cancer. Some
of the side effects of using chemotherapy include deafness, life-threatening kidney
failure, bleeding and bruising, destruction of heart muscle, skin erosion, hair loss, and
may sometimes even cause a second type of cancer (Grinspoon 24). Many cancer patients
agree that the side effects of chemotherapy are actually worse than the cancer itself. In
Marihuana, the forbidden medicine, it states that the use of marijuana was effective in
reducing nausea and vomiting. Based on surveys of randomly selected cancer patients, they
would rather smoke marijuana then be subjected to chemotherapy (Grinspoon 39).
Chemotherapy patients also suffer when taking oral medication that accompanies the
chemotherapy treatment. . When marijuana is taken with these ordinarily painful
medications, it has been known to suppress and even eliminate the side effects. This
allows the patients to sustain the treatment. It also helps them physically to expedite
the healing process. Cancer will consume the weakened patient. However, a strong patient
can achieve remission. 
AIDS is the second most deadly disease that affects the world population. One of the main
problems with combating AIDS is that the treatment is very expensive. There is no known
cure yet. It has only been in the last few years that patients have admitted having the
disease instead of suffering in silence. Victims like Ryan White gave this disease
dignity and people began donating money to find the cure. Previously, AIDS patients were
treated with expensive therapy. Now, however, marijuana is used currently on some AIDS
patients. Studies of smoked marijuana on healthy volunteers showed that it increased
their appetite and they gained weight (Mathre 86). The positive thing is that there
aren't any serious side effects for AIDS patient who smoke marijuana. Its usage isn't a
life-threatening treatment, and it can be quickly reversed when the drug is
discontinued.
There have been several arguments presented for the use of legalizing marijuana for
compassionate usage. States have been placing referendums on the ballots, and the United
States Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether marijuana can be distributed for
medicinal uses to seriously ill patients, a case that is pitting the federal government
against a California cannabis club. The court's decision to hear the case marked the
latest development in a conflict between federal narcotic laws, which prohibit the
distribution of marijuana, and a 1996 California voter's initiative known as Proposition
215. The California initiative allows seriously ill patients to grow and use marijuana
for pain relief as long as they have a doctor's recommendation. Similar measures have
been adopted in a number of other states.
The high court agreed to hear a U.S. Justice Department appeal of a ruling that would
allow marijuana clubs to resume service for patients who can prove that cannabis was a
medical necessity. In 1998, the Justice Department won an injunction from U.S. District
Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco prohibiting the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative and other similar medicinal marijuana clubs from distributing marijuana. The
Oakland club openly distributed marijuana to numerous members on May 21, 1998. Breyer
rejected the club's request to modify his injunction to allow marijuana for seriously ill
patients. A U.S. appeals court, however, agreed with the club last year. The court said
Breyer failed to give enough serious consideration to the possibility that cannabis was a
necessary treatment for patients served by the club, and that medical necessity could be
a defense to a charge of distributing drugs in violation of a federal law, the Controlled
Substances Act. Two months later, Breyer said the club could give marijuana to sick
people with serious medical conditions and for whom legal alternatives to marijuana do
not work or cause intolerable side effects. The Justice Department got the Supreme Court
to issue a Stay of Breyer's order, and also appealed to the Supreme Court by declaring
that the case presented "an issue of exceptional and continuing importance" (Reuters).
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case next year, and a decision is expected
by the end of June 2001.
The legalization of marijuana has become a major issue, and the number of supporters and
opponents seems to be equally divided. As stated previously, many physicians feel that
marijuana is helpful in the treatment of AIDS, glaucoma, and cancer treatment. They also
feel it is helpful for the treatment of arthritis, migraine headaches, multiple sclerosis
and spasticity. Proponents want this law supported so that the drug can be legally
regulated. People who really need it can get it and use it without being criminally
prosecuted. With the enactment of this law, physicians would also be protected if they
should recommend marijuana to their patients. Physicians are given more scrutiny as to
why they prescribe this drug to patients. The law would give physicians a right to
consider marijuana as an option without being criminally prosecuted. Another strong
supporting statement is that if doctors are allowed to prescribe morphine and codeine,
why can't they prescribe marijuana as well. 
Opponents of enacting legislation claim that prescribing marijuana does not require a
written prescription. It also does not have an age limit for utilizing the drug. Another
argument is that the Federal Drug Agency did not approve of this drug and that will
provide no protection for consumers. The main argument from opponents to this law is that
the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is already available prescription in the form of
Marinol. Therefore, they feel that there is no need for marijuana to be legalized.
Opponents also believe that legalizing the drug will mislead children into thinking that
smoking marijuana is safe and healthy. They maintain that passing this law allows the
cultivation of marijuana anywhere and that it is not a responsible medication. Another
major factor for opposing this law is that they feel it will create a loophole for drug
users and growers who will not face criminal prosecution.
After researching all of the topics covered in this paper, I have come to the personal
conclusion that marijuana has been shown to be a safe and effective medicine. Marijuana
should be legalized in order to help people who suffer from terminal diseases such as
AIDS and cancer. It should also be readily supplied for glaucoma patients. The
prohibition of marijuana over the past few decades hasn't diminished the demand of the
drug in the United States. I am very surprised that in a country as advanced as the
United States, people who are deathly ill cannot legally obtain the medicine that will
provide them with some relief from their suffering. Marijuana is the only drug that can
actually be given to patients and not cause serious side effects. It is also a less
expensive means of treatment. In my point of view, if the United States government
regulated the use of marijuana, it would be a very successful step. If the doctors
prescribed marijuana for certain patients, and if the rules for usage of the drug were
very strict, there would not be any misuse of the drug. Marijuana is also very cheap to
produce, and more people could afford this drug instead of being subjected to high-tech
treatments that don't always work. It is easier to administer, and the results are often
much faster. It would be a tremendous advantage if patients were allowed to smoke
marijuana. Marijuana should not be an illicit drug; it should be legalized for medical
purposes only.