Medical Marijuana
Running head: MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN OREGON, THE OTHER GREEN CARD
Medical Marijuana in Oregon, the other green card
Dwight Panton
SJVC
ENG 121 D1
Benjamin Andrews
December 11, 2011
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Medical Marijuana in Oregon, the other green card
Oregon is one of several states that allow the use of medical marijuana to treat certain
medical conditions. When a patient is prescribed marijuana by a physician, they have acquired
what is known as a medical marijuana card. In the pot smoking culture, this is sometimes called
a “green card”. This is likely a spoof on the real green card, and obviously refers to the color of
marijuana buds. This method of treatment has raised concerns for some and is welcomed by
others. One determining factor can be whether or not a person suffers from a chronic illness.
What is marijuana and how does it work?
Marijuana is a plant. The scientific name is cannabis sativa, and the chemical property
that makes this plant useful is tetrahydrocanniabinol (THC). The buds of the plant are dried and
placed in a marijuana cigarette, known as a joint or placed in a pipe to be smoked. The plant can
also be ingested by mixing in a tea or placed in a food item, most usually in baked goods.
Once the marijuana is smoked or ingested the chemical THC enters the blood stream
causing a high effect. When smoked the chemical enters through the lungs by small sacks called
alveoli. The alveoli cover the entire surface of the lungs, giving a large area for the chemical to
enter the blood stream causing a euphoric effect within a short period of time. This effect is said
to be helpful when it comes to the treatment of certain illness (How Marijuana Works, n.d. ).
Often times one of the side effects for treating cancer is nausea. This can cause eating to
be very uncomfortable causing additional appetite loss. Over a long period of time, chronic
nausea can cause weight loss and depression. A person suffering from cancer already has other
concerns associated with their condition. It is important for them to maintain an appetite, so that
they can sustain their weight and eat healthy foods to assure proper nutrition. The drug THC has
an effect that increases a person’s appetite and lowers or remedies the nausea feeling long
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enough for a person to eat. The drug THC can be found in the synthetic form in the
pharmaceutical drug Marinol. This sounds like a good option, as opposed to smoking or
ingesting the marijuana, but the drug comes at a high price. A one month treatment can cost as
much as $800 (Fayed, 2010). Treating nausea is not the only use for medical marijuana.
Medical marijuana has been found to be useful in the treatment of glaucoma. There are
several different types of glaucoma, which can be found in children and adults. All types have
been found to be controlled to some degree with the use of medical marijuana. “Glaucoma is
among the leading causes of blindness, affecting more than 60 million individuals worldwide”
(MMGTS, n.d.). Glaucoma is the degeneration of the optic nerve causing vision loss and
eventual blindness. The degeneration of the optic nerve is caused by pressure knows as
intraocular pressure (IOP). It is important for everyone to have regular eye exams because the
beginning stages of glaucoma usually go unnoticed. “In one study, more than 80% of patients
who smoked marijuana using an ice cooled water pipe experienced a reduction in IOP of 1645%” (MMGTS, n.d.). This significant reduction can be useful in maintaining and in some
cases, even reversing glaucoma. Glaucoma appears to be an inherited disease, not seen often in
children but more so in adults starting at the age of 45 (MMGTS, n.d.). Not only does glaucoma
causes blindness if not treated in time, but also cause headaches due to the IOP. Medical
marijuana not only treats glaucoma but it has been found to be very useful when treating chronic
pain.
Medical marijuana has been found to be very effective when treating chronic pain suffers.
Scientific studies conducted in 1999 by the Institute of Medicine concluded their findings
revealed that the unique property cannaflavin found in cannabis, is thirty times more powerful
then taking an aspirin at relieving inflammation (CPMC, n.d.). Often times where there is
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inflammation there is pain. This is the case with people who are suffering with arthritis
inflammation of the joints.
People who have been treated with conventional means of pain management and not had
good success will do anything to get themselves out of pain. Trying to manage pain when a
person has tried just about everything can cause a person to become frustrated and depressed.
Myself, I have experienced significant back pain from time to time, quite fortunately the
pain was relieved with convention medicine and the time I needed to be on the medication was
not more than a couple of weeks. It is difficult for some to imagine having to live with pain on a
daily basis, and for those people their quality of life has been altered in a way that can make day
to day living extremely challenging. The quality of life for a person who is suffering with
chronic pain can be downright unbearable. This has led many people who are desperate to seek
other alternatives to improve their quality of life. Even those who have never used marijuana
recreationally before, have become users of medical marijuana because of how well the
alternative has worked for them. This method of treatment has been proven to be successful, but
the use of medical marijuana is not allowed in all states, and is considered a crime in some. At
the Federal level, marijuana is still a class 1 narcotic, and felony to posses.
Marijuana is also used as a recreational drug. This is where the controversy begins. For
those who oppose the legalization of marijuana in any form, generally feel that without real
regulation, there is no way to prevent an almost guaranteed abuse of the system. Opponents of
medical marijuana say that it is just too easy to get a card, and because there is no way to track
the numbers of cards prescribed, there is no real way to tell who is growing for personal use and
care giving, and who is growing with the intent to sell for a profit. All states with medical
marijuana laws have set regulation and limits for the amount of processed marijuana a card
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holder can posses, along with the number of plants that can be growing. The problem is; in most
cases there is no system in place for verifying conformance. The question may be, if medical
marijuana was regulated by a government agency such as the Food and Drug Administration,
would it make marijuana a more acceptable means for of medical treatment and remove the
stigma that goes along with it?
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References:
Chronic Pain and Medical Cannabis. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2011, from Americans for Safe
Access website: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/pain_brochure.pdf
Fayed, L. (2010, November 14). Medical Marijuana and Cancer Treatment. Retrieved from
About.com website: http://cancer.about.com/od/chemotherapysideeffects/a/marijuana.htm
Headaches-Eyes, Glaucoma, and Sinus. (n.d.). Retrieved from After 50 Health website:
http://www.after50health.com/headaches-eye-glaucoma-and-sinus.html
How Marijuana Works. (n.d.). Retrieved from How Stuff Works, Inc website:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/marijuana2.htm
McCarberg, B. (2011). Marijuana and Pain Management. Retrieved from National Pain
Foundation website: http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org/articles/112/marijuana-and-painManagement
Medical Marijuana Glaucoma Treatment, Symptoms. (n.d.). Retrieved from Pain Management of
America website: http://www.medicalmarijuana.net/uses-and-treatments/glaucoma/
16 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC. (n.d.). Retrieved from ProCon.org website:
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881
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