I think that medical marijuana should be a medical option for people with certain medical illnesses.
There is very scarce evidence that marijuana is a major health risk. Marijuana has been smoked for decades in western countries and there have no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana. A day breathing in a city with poor air quality is worse then the daily dose of marijuana, which is usually about 75% of a marijuana cigarette.
Less then 10% of smokers gain a physcological dependence to marijuana. Unlike cigarette smokers, people who smoke usually don’t smoke cannabis everyday and they tend to abandon it when they reach there 20’s and early 30’s. Unlike for nicotine, alcohol and hard drugs, there is no clearly defined withdrawal syndrome, which is the hallmark of a true addiction.
There is a great amount of evidence that marijuana relieve pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms of cancer, AIDS, and other terminal illnesses. Marijuana is also a remarkably safe drug to use. It is less toxic then many of the drugs tat physicians prescribe everyday.
Patients receiving cannabinoids, which is smoked marijuana or cannabis pills, had improved immune functions compared to those receiving placebo. They also gain 4 pounds more on average then patients receiving placebo. Placebo is a substance having no pharmacological effect, but given merely to satisfy a patient who supposes it to be a medicine.
There are no other medications that have the same mechanisms of action as marijuana. Dronabinol (Marinol) is available by prescription in capsules, but has the distinct disadvantage of containing only synthetic THC, which is only one of many therapeutically beneficial cannabinoids in the natural plant.
The marijuana gateway effect is not the best explanation for the link between marijuana use and the use of harder drugs. This is true because cannabis is less expensive and is more available than harder drugs.
"The evidence in this record [9-6-88 ruling] clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record.” Judge Francis L. Young.
Legalizing marijuana would also make the price of it lower, if the price is lowered people will be able to afford it, which means that there is a chance that the percentage of theft would go down. Police and court resources would be freed up for more serious crimes.
Drug busts on teenagers could most likely make them a life long criminal, for example, imagine a teenager who is tired of not having money, who hates living in a poor area or who needs to save money for college. If he is given the chance to be a “drug mule” or transport drugs across town and gets busted, he’s thrown in jail to do his sentence. In there he’s more than likely to make friends with other inmates. He gets meaner in jail since he has to defend himself in a rough crowd. When he gets out of prison, his job and college opportunities are down the drain because of his criminal record. This makes going back to his normal crime-free life more difficult. If he has no money, that could tempt him to partake in some more crimes like robbery.
Medical marijuana she be a medical option. It should be an option because there have been no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana. It’s proven to distress great numbers of ill people, and there is very little evidence that marijuana is a major health risk.