Medical Marijuana Marijuana is a drug that has been in

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Medical Marijuana Marijuana is a drug that has been in the media for years. There is a constant debate about if it should be used medically. The world is afraid of what they do not know about marijuana; for years we’ve been told, “say nope to dope.†While marijuana can help for medical purposes it can also be of great danger. This is not true however, if it is used correctly. Historically, marijuana has been used to treat a multitude of illnesses such as AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and chronic pain. Currently, the treatment that is promoted most is the use of marijuana for its ability to control nausea in cancer and AIDS patients.

In 1986, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in a pill form, which contained THC, a major component for the treatment of nausea from cancer chemotherapy. It has been determined that the pill, which is called Marinol, acts differently than marijuana that has been smoked and is not effective.

Marijuana also has been found to be useful in the treatment of arthritis. Aspirin, commonly used for arthritis pain is believed to have caused more than 1000 deaths in the US annually. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which are also routinely used for arthritis treatment, have caused more than 7,600 deaths and 70,000 hospitalizations. Even with the numerous deaths these drugs are still used to treat patients everyday. Marijuana, however, can be smoked several times a day without harming the body as Aspirin would. Also, there are no reports of death from the use of marijuana.

Still there are long-term effects from marijuana that can put many people at risk. For example, smoking marijuana is even more damaging to the lungs than tobacco smoking is. Marijuana smoke as 50-70 percent more carcinogens than tobacco smoke does.

Marijuana smokers can be found to have more microscopic damage to the lung’s defense against inhaled contaminants and microbes, and also more pre-cancerous cellular changes. Marijuana smoking, if it occurs on a regular basis, leads to symptoms of acute and chronic bronchitis. Chronic Bronchitis consists of chronic cough for most of the days in a few months out of the year. Marijuana smoke also depresses the body’s immune defenses against infection and probably increases the frequency of acute infectious respiratory illness.

While there are many long-term effects of marijuana, there are also a few short-term effects from the drug. Marijuana causes a temporary disability to carry out tasks, which require multiple operations in the accomplishment of a goal, such as programming a VCR or driving a car. The ability to follow a moving object is greatly impaired by even the smallest doses of marijuana. There have also been people who have experienced what is called a “trailing phenomenon.†This is when one does not see movements in an orderly, smooth fashion that one is accustomed to, but rather seeing that movement broken up into frames. Marijuana also has the ability to suppress one’s inhibitions. Under the influence of marijuana, one may be more willing to do things that they would usually not do. For example, if one really weren’t interested in working, studying, reading a book, or going on a long trip, they would feel more accustomed to do so when they smoke marijuana.

Many states are in favor of the use of medicinal marijuana, however, the federal government is not. In a Congress hearing Mr. Saunders, a representative from Indiana stats that, “ Eight states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws which have the effect of encouraging their citizens to use illegal drugs for medicinal purposes. These initiatives are wholly contrary to Federal statutes, which have explicitly states that by law marijuana, ‘has no current accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.’†Mr.

Saunders was completely wrong in his statement, for years marijuana has been used to treat a series of illnesses.

The Federal Government created laws that enforce certain rules on marijuana, and the fear of the government is that if medicinal marijuana were legal there would be anarchy.

Proposition 215 (which eliminated state penalties for the medicinal use of marijuana) in California already has the government worried. Proposition 215 did not specify how to make medical marijuana work. The only thing that Proposition 215 said was that California laws against marijuana possession and cultivation “shall not apply to a patient, or to a patient’s primary caregiver, who possesses or cultivates marijuana…upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician.†Proposition 215 makes it legal for patients in need of medicinal marijuana to legally grow their own marijuana.

However this has led some Californians to set up “pot shops†throughout California, claiming that they have the authority to possess, grow, and distribute marijuana.

Marijuana laws in New York state give a person a Class B misdemeanor for carrying 2 ounces or less; a class A Misdemeanor for 2-4 ounces; state jail felony for 4 ounces-5 pounds; a felony of the third degree for 5-50 pounds; a felony of the second degree for 50-2000 pounds; and an imprisonment from 5 years to life in prison with a $50,000 fine for 2000 pounds and more. The laws alter in a minor way if the person is under 18, the substance is given to someone under 18, and/or it is done on a school ground. Most laws vary by state, and even county, therefore all penalties aren’t standard and are usually given on a case-by-case basis.

The government has found that by legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, there have been uncertainties with enforcement with both state and local law.

Also, the government thinks that it is unfair for states to make up their own laws just because they do not agree with the federal law. Even patients complying with state laws and following doctor’s orders are in violation of federal law. Even patients complying with state laws and following doctor’s orders are in violation of federal law. The opponents to these propositions have the view that the medicinal use of marijuana laws will lead to the legalization of marijuana. It is also feared by opponents that as the nation struggles to educate teenagers not to use psychoactive drugs, they will be sending a contradictory message that drugs are good by allowing people to use it for medical reasons.