Marijuana and its Medical Uses; A Call for De-Criminalization.

Essay by meyerrUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, December 2003

download word file, 9 pages 4.0

Downloaded 123 times

"George McMahon knows he hasn't got much time to live. On this fall day he sits in his truck beside an empty windswept beach and opens a shiny metal canister filled with tightly rolled marijuana cigarettes. McMahon presses a large joint between his wrinkled lips, then lights it. He inhales deeply, holds his breath for a few moments, and the exhales. He grins and mutters, 'Seize the day.'" Without marijuana George would have to go back to his 19 pain pills per day and risk more drug induced comas or complications. (Largen) Because of people like George, Marijuana needs to be legalized for its hundreds of known medical uses. The background information will show that it is not a dangerous drug but a useful medicine. The case studies, scientific reports and experiments show that it is probably the most useful and versatile medicine available today. Finally, our country's laws and the government's stance on marijuana legalization are discussed and addressed.

Despite bogus and ridiculous claims by the federal government, marijuana is a very safe and effective medicine. The government wants the general public to believe that use will lead to harder drugs, cause cancer, emphysema, high blood pressure, sterility, birth defects, cell damage, and even death. (Stitching) Nothing could be farther from the truth. According to a mathematical model of illegal teenage drug use developed by RAND corp. and commissioned by the White House, "Marijuana use among adolescents does not appear to lead to the use of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin." The only link the study could produce was that marijuana users were likely to know drug dealers that would push the harder drugs. (Mitchell) With legalization many patients would not need to contact a "dealer". In fact, in cannabis-using cultures such as; the Netherlands, British...