Legalizing MarijuanaEssay Preview: Legalizing MarijuanaReport this essayThe battle to legalize marijuana has been fought for almost seven decades, rendering one of natures most useful substances useless. The governments campaign against marijuana has created cultural factors that make the use of marijuana socially unacceptable. Although extensive scientific research has proven that marijuana treats many illnesses, legislation has not allowed the drug to be legalized. If this drug were made legal, it would open a “gateway” of medical marvels nation wide. Therefore, marijuana should be legalized for medicinal use.
Tens of thousands of patients are using marijuana illegally to treat their suffering. Opponents of medical marijuana believe that the drug has no medical value and no place in the medical field for fear that the steps to legalization would set a standard to legalize all drugs, as well as addiction, violence, and a path to use other more harmful drugs. However, several studies have proven marijuana to be an effective medicine to help alleviate the suffering patients must endure from such aliments as glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, and even chronic pain to name a few. Over the past two decades, hundreds of researched articles on medical marijuana have been published informing the government and the public of the possible greatness this drug could do if only it were made available to the patients who so desperately need it. Nonetheless, medical marijuana is still deemed to have no medical value at all and as a result, millions of individuals who could benefit from this drug are left to either take their chance with the law, or make the best of their illness with medications that are found to be not as effective as marijuana. It should not be this way, we as Americans have the right to proper health care and the right to medications that are proven to be safe and effective. Medical marijuana should be legalized for all patients who prove to need the drug on the basis of its proven effectiveness over other legalized medications and the overabundance of scientific evidence of marijuanas medical value.
As of today, marijuana is placed in Schedule I deeming it abusive with no medical value what so ever. Proponents of medical marijuana were outraged at this decision and as a result, they took action in the courtroom to overturn the scheduling of marijuana to a Schedule II drug. Trials continued until March of 1992 with no success for the reclassification of medical marijuana. However, the Food and Drug Administration had begun a program commonly known as Compassionate IND, in the mid-1970s, which allowed patients to obtain medical marijuana. A breakthrough for the proponents until the program closed in 1989 because of an enormous increase in applicants. Today, only eight people continue to use marijuana legally through the program.
For these eight individuals a victory has been won but what of the many millions of anguished patients who could benefit from this drug? The government has led us to believe that marijuana is a very dangerous substance that causes addiction, violence, and has no medical value at all. However, throughout history in many cultures and civilizations marijuana has been reported to be an effective medicine for many different illnesses. According to Dr. Lester Grinspoon in his book, “Marijuana the Forbidden Medicine”, the drug originated in Asia around the time of 8000BC and has long been used as a medicine in India, China, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Africa, and South America for aliments such as venereal diseases, headaches, fevers, stimulation of appetite, pain, bronchitis, and asthma. In the late 1800s many different physicians after much study and research believed marijuana to be a drug of medical value that should be recommended to patients.
In more recent years, marijuana has been proven to alleviate such illnesses as nausea, caused by chemotherapy that can become so intense it has been reported that patients may break bones or rupture the esophagus while vomiting, glaucoma, by maintaining what sight is left and by reducing the pressure on the eyeball, and even pain. Hundreds of studies state the many benefits marijuana has to offer with an incredible success for example, according to the American Prospect in 1997, “Results from studiesfound that smokable marijuana and THC out preformed the best available prescription drugs, reporting success rates close to ninety percent”.
Though proponents of medical marijuana have seen victory for the eight states that have legalized medical marijuana, the laws today still have a long way to go. As of today in Arizona for example, physicians are allowed to recommend marijuana but not able to prescribe it. After evaluation to determine if the patient qualifies for the drug, the patient is given an identification card to protect him or her from prosecution. Laws are being passed to supposedly help patients by legalizing medical marijuana in certain states, yet the physicians are not allowed to prescribe the marijuana which leaves the patient which no other alternative then to venture out into the war zone of drug dealers to obtain their own medical marijuana. Since “marijuana cannot be prescribed because it is a Schedule I drug, a patient may get
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In the meantime, a series of studies are proving that the medical marijuana law has saved lives and brought new knowledge to a nation. In the US Congress and a handful of states like California and Washington that have legalized medical marijuana in recent years but have yet to use laws similar to the ones that exist in the US to regulate the drug, and in Colorado it is a state within its own jurisdiction, only a few months away from legalization. In the state of Hawaii in the US in a matter of two weeks, a group of state legislators was recently introduced to a bill that would, among other things, require medical marijuana for all Hawaiians. “While it is difficult to know what some of the proposed regulations are from Hawaii, we will do our best to keep our community informed of things to come,” said the state’s Attorney General, Jeff M. Kaule.
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“As the Governor said, if they don’t pass on a bill to you so that we can get a better understanding of what those regulations are, you know we owe a great deal of gratitude,” Kaule added.
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While the California proposal came to the rescue last year and passed with 97.6 percent of the votes, it passed the California legislature and was introduced earlier this month in the California Senate.
This infographic shows the impact medical marijuana laws on the population of the states they govern.
I am no expert on how the US government uses medical marijuana and will have no control over the medical use of it. I doubt that any person is going to agree that they are going to be given medical marijuana by a state. The FDA has declared the drug an “indefinite safe and effective medication” which does not exist in the United States. In other words, even though the US government has granted and approved medical marijuana in these states in every case, there is no way to give people a medical marijuana card from a state.
The DEA has been working overtime to get a clear and concise definition of what medical marijuana is and do we intend to ever have to use it to treat illnesses or even to protect our citizens from harm. In order to find the true definition of “medicinal marijuana”, the DEA requires us to keep it in California unless it has been proven to contain any kind of medical or other illegal substance.
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As of now, medical marijuana is only allowed for use in states where the legal status of legal marijuana is not recognized by the government or has not been officially legalized. The same medical marijuana law that was adopted in California in 1999 will now be the only one allowing patients to legally use marijuana in California for medicinal purposes. If a state doesn’t permit physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients, then as of now only the state that