Legalization Of Marijuana For Medical Purposes 2

Legalization Of Marijuana For Medical Purposes 2 Essay, Research Paper

Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Purposes

Currently, drugs remain high on the lists of concerns of Americans and are considered one of the major problems facing our country today. We see stories on the news about people being killed on the street everyday over drugs. What about the people who need marijuana to help them perhaps live longer and healthier. I believe that the federal government should legalize marijuana for medical purposes. There are millions of people nationwide who suffer with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis and are already using marijuana to treat their symptoms. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, Patients can be arrested and sent to prison for using marijuana-even those who have their doctors consent and approval (Marijuana Policy Project, November 1999).

For possessing one joint, the federal penalty is up to one year in prison (MPP, November 1999).

Recreational use of marijuana became associated primarily with Mexican-American immigrant workers and the African-American jazz musician community decades ago (Stroup, 1999). The potential problems of marijuana were brought to public eye by HarryJ. Anslinger, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930 (Stroup, 1999). These problems brought about the Marijuana Tax of 1937. The law was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help reduce the use of marijuana. It also made the use and sale a federal offense (Stroup, 1999). Since then many people have been fighting for

the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. According to the National

Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws [NORML], In March 1999, Gallup Pole News Service reported that 73% of the respondents said they would vote for making marijuana legally available for a doctor to prescribe (Armentano, 1999).

Most recently, a federally commissioned report by the National Academy of Sciences [NAS] determined that, marijuana s active components arepotentially effective in treating pain, nausea, the anorexia of AIDS wasting, and other symptoms (Armentano,1999). As found on the CNN website, Weed Wars, there are other medical benefits of marijuana for cancer patients and many others. For cancer victims, marijuana s active ingredient, THC, reduces vomiting and nausea caused by the chemotherapy and alleviates pre-treatment anxiety. Marijuana also improves the appetite and forestalls the loss of lean muscle mass in AIDS-related wasting patients. People who suffer from multiple sclerosis

can smoke marijuana to reduce the muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease. It may also help some patients with bladder control and relieve tremors. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. It is caused by increased pressure inside the eyeball. Marijuana, when smoked, reduces the pressure within the eye. For people with epilepsy, marijuana may prevent seizures (CNN, 1997). The New England Journal of Medicine is in favor of doctors being allowed to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes.

The journal s editor, Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer, said that marijuana is safer than drugs used legally for some of the same conditions, such as morphine. If it relieves suffering, even from one patient, why not allow physicians to prescribe it. (Holtz, January 30, 1997).

Several people throughout the nation believe that if we legalized marijuana for medical purposes only, it would lead to an increase of marijuana use in the general population. However, the Institute of Medicine s 1999 report on medical marijuana stated, At this point there is no convincing data to support this concern. The existing data are consistent with the idea that this would not be a problem if the medical use of marijuana were as closely regulated as other medications with abuse potential. This question is beyond the issues normally considered for medical uses of drugs, and should not be a factor in evaluating the therapeutic potential of marijuana (Joy, Watson &

Benson, 1999). In spite of the established medical value of marijuana, doctors are presently permitted to prescribe cocaine and morphine–but not marijuana.

Many other organizations that have endorsed the medical access to marijuana and have publicly supported the legalization of marijuana. The notable organizations include the American Academy of Family Physicians; American Bar Association; The American Cancer Society; Federation of American Scientists; American Public Health Association;National Association of Attorneys General; Consumer Reports Magazine; Boston Globe; Chicago Tribune; New York Times; and USA Today (Wright & Lewin November 1999).

A statement urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to modify its guidelines against using marijuana for medical uses was signed by actors Susan Sarandon, Richard Pryor, Woody Harrelson, comedian Bill Maher, author Tim Robbins, and musicians Hootie & The Blowfish. Other signatories included scientist Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D. and former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders (MPP, December 3, 1999). A similar statement was also signed by 35 members of Congress. The Society of Neurosciences also pronounced that, substances similar to or derived from marijuana, could benefit the more than 97 million Americans who experience some form of pain