Medical Marijuana Should Be Legalized - Controversial Essay Sample

Introduction

Medical marijuana is a term that refers to the unprocessed plant of marijuana, or its basic extracts which are used to treat many health conditions like symptoms of illness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still does not recognize the significance of the pant in the field of medicine; the FDA is not willing to approve the plant to be used for any medicinal purpose. However, reports on scientific studies reveal that marijuana contains a chemical substance referred to as cannabinoids, which is most likely associated with health benefits. The discovery of the chemical content in the plant has influenced the FDA to make steps towards approving medications containing the cannabinoid chemicals in the form of pills. It, therefore, follows that continued research can be a great opportunity to discover more aspects of medications concerning the marijuana plant. Many states and countries are currently realizing its medicinal value. Since the plant chemicals which may be used to treat many illnesses and symptoms, medical marijuana should be made legal for medical purposes.

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Medicinal marijuana is used to help patients recover fully after treatment of critical health conditions. Medicinal marijuana is emerging to be one of the most effective substances used for the relief of anorexia and nausea associated with AIDS/HIV and cancer treatments. Cancer patients not only go through the unimaginable discomforts and pains of the disease as well as the almost unbearable process of treatment through chemotherapy. Healthcare professionals suggest the option of the use of marijuana may help the patients be relieved of the symptoms. Research also shows that working with cancer and AIDS patients, reveals how marijuana could help in restoring a patient's appetite, diminishing pain ameliorating debilitating fatigue, remedy nausea, the cure for vomiting and reduce the extent of the bone weight loss. According to Skalski, Towe, Sikkema and Meade (2017, p. 2), "Some HIV-infected individuals report smoking marijuana to alleviate HIV related symptoms by stimulating appetite and reducing nausea, but many also use for recreational purposes." Almost every sick and dying patient who has been exposed to the use of medical marijuana are believed to experience a kinder death. These examples demonstrate the worth for the free and unrestricted prescription medical marijuana by the patients, as long as the user follows the approval by a physician. It, therefore, follows that medical marijuana has a great medicinal value by relieving patients from their pain and suffering, therefore, legalization of marijuana can be a great move.

Besides, medical marijuana has quite a number of uses in the industrial world. The substance has been recently connected with the potential of the manufacture of approximately twenty-five thousand different types of goods including safe drugs. On this note, the plant can be used to support the economy since can serve as the largest cash crop should it be made legal. It can be worth a fortune of many millions of dollars per year. Besides, the medicinal products, the industrial results of its processing include paper, plastics, cosmetics, paints, ropes, textiles, clothing, food products, animal feed, insulation, oils, and many other industrial goods (Andre, Hausman & Guerriero, 2016. P. 2). The narcotics can also be taxed; the government can establish regulatory bodies which tax farmers and any individual trading in medical marijuana. As a result, the government will earn revenues; therefore, it is a great advantage for a country which accepts the legalization of the use of medicinal marijuana. These activities and exercises have a direct positive impact on the economic development of the country. Since the government itself will experience the benefits, and it has authority over the fate of the use of the plant, it should consider making it legal in the country.

Moreover, the side effects of medical marijuana are far less significant relative to the cases of other addictive drugs like tobacco and alcohol. Marijuana is one of the most popular drugs in the United States after the drugs most abused. It has been considered illegal for many years however people have been using it in spite of the legal restriction; however, it has never been reported to be associated with any toxic result in the health of the users Skalski, Towe, Sikkema and Meade (2017, p. 15). Tobacco and alcohol abuse have proven to present worse medical effects compared to marijuana. The two contribute approximately 50,000 and 400,000 deaths by alcohol and tobacco poisoning respectively on yearly. The government should consider that these cases have never resulted from the use of medical marijuana which is therefore non-toxic. Unlike tobacco and alcohol, it is non-addictive; it does not make the body of the user to become dependent on the drug. The only form of addiction it causes is based on the psychological existence of human beings. Consequently, just like any other activities like drinking alcohol, skydiving, getting married, motorcycle riding or smoking tobacco, adults can use marijuana maturely and responsibly. Therefore, legalizing marijuana limits the opportunity for people could otherwise use addictive drugs. Based on the insignificant drug based effects, medicinal marijuana should be made legal in the country.

The government presents weak evidence to support their needs to prohibit the use of medical marijuana. The government of America currently emphasizes on the negative side of it use as had already experienced and the potential should it be legalized in the country. Morris, TenEyck, Barnes and Kovandzic (2014, p. 7) argued that the government claims that those who use the drug irresponsible are the individuals who are further associated with criminal activities. However, the claim has been for long only allegedly reported by the government with a lack of adequate evidence to support this position. Quite a number of the states have reached the consensus of legalizing the drug and only the positive side has been experienced with limited undesirable effects. It is, therefore, a challenge to the central government to learn from the case of these individual states which shoe that they embrace the use of the drug. The government seems to lack a proper reason to restrict the use of the drug and rather present baseless claims. Now that the government has no evidence against the legalization of medical marijuana there is a need to remove all the associated restrictions associated with its production and use. This will give the citizens and the government at large the opportunity to deploy the potential benefits for which the drug has demonstrated positive effects.

The legalization of the drug is most likely to a controlled prescription of drugs. The use of the drug can be used as a safer option and preferred to the other know drugs whose side effect outweigh their importance in the body of the users. Deshpande and Mailis (2017, pp. 3-4) revealed that medical cannabis leads to fewer side effects compared to the popularly used painkillers. On the same note, the patients who used marijuana instead of painkillers for medical purposes have been reported to feel better overall. The commonly prescribed opioids like Oxycodone or Morphine are painkillers which are usually habit forming and are normally dangerous should an individual misuse them. It, therefore, follows the patients have to use them in a condition that they comply with the directions approved by one's doctor or the packaging; these serve as the best ways to emerge safely from overdose or even death. However, for the case of medical cannabis, the aspect of overdose almost does not exist hence it is deemed a safe alternative to the prescriptions drugs. Because of the risk factors of the opioids, the national health leaders are suggesting the need to reduce the use of the traditionally known and used painkillers. This implies that any step towards the legalization of marijuana will contribute to a safe and healthy nation.

Conclusion

The need to legalize marijuana legalization has remained one of the most controversial discussion topics in the US in contemporary society. The use of cannabis is purely natural and presents thousands of uses. There are quite a number of positive things resulting from cannabis and many organizations and individuals feel it should be legal. Some of the benefits have been recently connected with health contexts, industrial significance and limited effects of the chemical in the body of the users. The negative aspects of its use appear to be outweighed by the desirable qualities that its users experience. Considering these facts, there is a need to legalize the medical use of marijuana to solve many health issues. This further serves as democracy move by the government besides helping the government to strategize on economic grounds by saving millions of dollars which could have been spent.

References

Andre, C., Hausman, J., & Guerriero, G. (2016). Cannabis sativa: The Plant of the Thousand and One Molecules. Frontiers In Plant Science, 7. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00019

Deshpande, A., & Mailis, A. (2017). Medical Cannabis and Pain Management: How Might the Role of Cannabis Be Defined in Pain Medicine?. The Journal Of Applied Laboratory Medicine: An AACC Publication, 2(4), 485-488. DOI: 10.1373/jalm.2017.023184

Morris, R., TenEyck, M., Barnes, J., & Kovandzic, T. (2014). The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006. Plos ONE, 9(3), e92816. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092816

Skalski, L., Towe, S., Sikkema, K., & Meade, C. (2017). The Impact of Marijuana Use on Memory in HIV-Infected Patients: A Comprehensive Review of the HIV and Marijuana Literatures. Current Drug Abuse Reviews, 9(2), 126-141. DOI: 10.2174/1874473709666160502124503