Hailes-1
Brittany Hailes
English 2010-091
Mrs. Bessire
11.21.13
Final
Encouraging Medical Marijuana Usage
(assignment #3)
Thousands of people are using medical marijuana and enjoying the benefits from it for
their medical conditions. The question in society still remains, whether using marijuana actually
helps or do other medications make it unnecessary? Medical marijuana is beneficial to patients
with medical diseases. Smoking marijuana does a lot of justice. It relieves pain and stress of
patients suffering from AIDS, Arthritis, Glaucoma, and Epilepsy. Today, state laws allow people
to have possession and smoke marijuana when prescribed from a physician.
Politicians and government officials consider marijuana a threat to society. They classify
marijuana to be potentially dangerous and harming. Sabrina Richards author of “Is Cannabis
Really That Bad” states, “According to the US Department of Human Health and Services, the
number of people in the United States who admit to smoking pot in the last month climbed from
14.4 million in 2007 to over 18 million in 2011” (The Scientist). They would like to limit the use
of marijuana and control its affects. Some short-term effects of marijuana are memory loss,
trouble thinking, increased appetite, redness of the eyes, and relaxed muscles. Since marijuana is
more potent these days then it was, people who smoke marijuana, their tolerance levels start to
build up. Although, your tolerance from using marijuana might rise, it doesn’t mean it leads to
more powerful drugs or cause addiction. A study by researchers from Duke University found that
Hailes-2
marijuana users in adolescents IQ tests are lower than people who don’t smoke. They linked it to
trouble with memory, learning and concentration skills. Four months later, a re-analysis was
done on the matter at Ragnar Frisch Center of Economic Research which countered Duke’s data.
Socioeconomic factors were the cause of the lower IQ’s and not marijuana. Adolescents that
make smoking marijuana a habit face long term negative effects rather than adults who are
usually not affected by the drug. This is because the prefrontal cortex of teenagers isn’t
completely developed. Marijuana is a difficult drug to characterize because it is dehumanized as
a gateway drug and its benefits of medical values (The Scientist).
Firstly, the findings of Duke University are correct. People smoke medical marijuana
because it helps patients manage their medical conditions a little bit easier. Smoking can relieve
pain from all sorts of diseases like Epilepsy, Cancer, AIDS, Glaucoma, appetite loss and even
nausea. Although it helps with pain relieving, it doesn’t cure the illness. For people who are
stressed out or go through depression while having a particular disease, smoking medical
marijuana makes life easier so they can go about their daily routines and life patterns. Michael
Bostwich a psychiatrist at the Mayo clinic in Rochester states, “Cellular receptors for
marijuana’s active ingredients are present throughout the body. Natural substances called
cannabinoids bind them to influence a wide range of body processes which provides evidence
that patients benefit from marijuana and its ingredients” (qtd. in Brody). So medical marijuana
relieves pain issues and makes patients feel better when using it. For example, my aunt, Sandy
Gabittas has been battling Arthritis for the past seven years. She tried several medications to help
reverse the process and take the pain away. Some of the analgesic drugs included Aspirin, Advil,
and Ibuprofen. The over the counter drugs didn’t work so she was prescribed Oxycodone.
Several of these medications relieved pain temporarily, but didn’t help fully. Her doctor then had
recommended trying medicinal marijuana. She was informed of the
Hailes-3
benefits and what it could to improve with the pain. Later on, Sandy did find that smoking
marijuana helped tremendously. She was able to live and go on with life more comfortably. This
is evidence that marijuana provides health benefits to patients experiencing common disorders. It
is widely known that experts such as doctors and nurses believe patients can do better with the
help of medical marijuana.
Secondly, medicinal marijuana is extremely safe. The safety of marijuana is also
important because it shows patients how it is not toxic or harming to the human body.
Physicians recommend and prescribe to their clients on a regular basis. Medical marijuana can
decrease pain so much that other pharmaceutical drugs aren’t necessarily needed. Joycelyn
Elders, former US General Surgeon says “The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can
relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as
multiple sclerosis, Cancer and AIDS, or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it
can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that
physicians prescribe every day” (qtd. in ProCon.org). Since marijuana is grown as a natural
plant there aren’t any bitter and coarse chemicals in it. It can treat diseases without the risks of
having serious side effects that can be permanent or long lasting caused by damaging chemicals
or medications can have. Given the research and scientific evidence, medical marijuana is a good
optin to patients who have tried other medications that didn’t show a positive reponse. Medical
marijuana makes it easy for patients to lower the neuropathic pain they’re experiencing.
Thirdly, a UCSF study concluded that medical marijuana decreases hospital patients.
Doctors and students did a series of tests to see the effects of the components of marijuana and
show how it can be beneficial to ill diseased patients. A solution doctors have doing, is they are
adding more cannabinoids (an ingredient in marijuana) in the marijuana to provide an increased
pain relief sensation. Medical marijuana has different levels and ingredients to help fight pain.
Hailes-4
Delta-9 (Delta-9 THC), Cannabidiol (CBD), Cannbinol (CBN), and Tetrahydrocannabivarin
(THCV) are all the major components found in marijuana. THCV intensifies the THC effects of
marijuana to end the euphoria pain sooner. CBD is used to treat pains of Arthritis and Epilepsy.
Delta-9 THC relieves pain from Chemotherapy, nausea and boost appetite loss (UCSF.edu).
Donald Abrams, professor of clinical studies and chief of the Hematology Division along with
the Trauma Center states, “What we need to do now is look at pain as the primary endpoint of a
larger trial. Particularly, I would be interested in looking at the effect of different strains of
cannabis” (qtd. in Leland). Different parts of medical marijuana are available to patients so they
are able to have the pain treated without having to be high from the THC levels. With science
improving, studies shown that ingredients in marijuana can be altered to be an effective medicine
to patients. Besides, with lowering the THC levels, it shows medical marijuana is a good outlet
to clients.
Although, medical marijuana is a good way to take the pain away from medical
conditions, people still think other medications are better than marijuana. Smoking marijuana can
be considered as a risk factor because you can’t measure the dose inhaled, different components,
and smoking can be smoked in different ways. The British Lung Foundation says, “Cannabis
smoking is likely to weaken the immune system. Infections of the lung are due to a combination
of smoking-related damage to the cells lining the bronchial passage and impairment of the
principal immune cells in the small air sacs caused by cannabis” (qtd. in ProCon.org). If this
were true, twenty states wouldn’t have passed laws letting prescribed patients to use medical
marijuana. There has been no evidence showing that smoking marijuana leads to lung cancer or a
significant health risk. (ProCon.org). No case reports show someone has died from using
marijuana.
Hailes-5
Lastly, medications can work to the benefits of attacking patients health conditions, but
medicinal marijuana is an alternative way to a healthy, powerful, and positive lifestyle providing
efficient help to those in need. Now that many states are legalizing medical use of marijuana,
several people are supporting the idea. David Osborne, US editor of The Independent states,
“Americans are increasingly recognising that marijuana is less harmful than they've been led to
believe," Mason Tvert, a spokesman for Marijuana Policy Project, said in response to the poll. "I
think it's time to regulate marijuana like alcohol and most Americans appear to agree. We're
seeing support for ending prohibition in states across the country and efforts are being made to
change state laws." With people changing their view’s and most research being done, medical
marijuana is a good medicine people should consider if other medications do not workout for
them. So with that, since people are more likely to support the legalization of marijuana, soon
more states will pass laws making medical marijuana available to people in other states with a
serious health disease.
It is clear that medical marijuana provides sufficient help to clients with a terminal or
serious illness. Medical marijuana is a good outlet to relieve pain and stress factors. Using
marijuana makes other dangerous medications such as Marinol, a synthetic form of THC,
unnecessary, takes the pain away, and is beneficial. People deserve to be happy even when they
are going through a hard time. Prescribed patients deserve a healthy alternative and well working
medicine to help their pain from arousing. If medical marijuana is the answer and does more
good than harm, people should be able to use it to their benefits.
Works Cited
Brody, E., Jane. “Tapping Medical Marijuana’s Potential”. New York Times 4 November 2013.
Leland, Kim. UCSF Study Finds Medical Marijuana Could Help Patients Reduce Pain From
Opiates”. UCSF.edu. 6 December 2011. Web. 21 November 2013.
ProCon.org. Last updated in June 2008.
-
“What Are Physician’s Views”. Procon.org. last updated in June 2008. Web. 10
November 2013.
-
“Should Marijuana Be Reclassified As a Drug Generally Available by Prescription
(Schedule II or III)? . ProCon.org. Last updated June 2008. Web. 10 November 2013.
Richards, Sabrina. “Is Cannabis Really That Bad?”. The Scientist. January 2013: Web.10
November 2013.
Usborne, David. "Support for Legalizing Marijuana in the US Reaches All-Time High." The
Independent. 24 Oct 2013: 29. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Nov 2013.