Legalization Of Medical Marijuana

Many people around the world question marijuana. Is it safe? Is it helpful? Can it change people? Is it addictive? So on and so forth. Marijuana is scientifically proven to be helpful and harmless. If someone is going through pain, physically or mentally, and the medicine provided for them is not working, or they have nothing to calm the nerves or ease the pain that they are feeling, marijuana is said to help with that. As it says in the Herald Editorial Board editorial, “Medical marijuana shows considerable promise in reducing chronic pain from a widespread number of causes, including cancer, spinal cord injury and disease, severe spasms, post-traumatic stress disorder, nausea, glaucoma, Parkinson’s and other debilitating ailments” (Herald Editorial Board). Marijuana has fewer side effects compared to other medication and can still help people with the problems that they have. Doctors have since found that marijuana has helped their patients with chronic and or physical pain when other medication could not. Medical marijuana is more than just smoking to get high, it’s a medication used to help many people with problems that many other medications could not help with, and for those reasons, should it not be legalized?

Many people are afraid of using marijuana as a medication because it has been considered a drug for many years, but if it truly were harmful, why is it becoming medicalized all over the world? The United States has been against the process for years amongst years, yet it is now being put into action. Thirtythree states and the district of Columbia have now legalized marijuana in the United States, including recreational use as well as medical. Why would this be happening if it was harmful or did not help? For example, Pedro Oliveros mentioned in his article that medical marijuana is proven to reduce pain and does not have nearly as many, or as bad, side effects. As well as the side effects being lessened and pain being reduced, it is also proven to be very little, or not at all, addictive. Oliveros also stated that, “With medical marijuana, the pharmacological management for chronic pain can be simplified with lesser need to also prescribe medications for anxiety, depression, and insomnia… The addictive effect of marijuana is slight, and there is no risk of death with marijuana withdrawal” (Oliveros). Many people have listened to rumors about marijuana being extremely harmful and dangerous, yet it is being used to help cure people all over the world. There have been multiple accusations of marijuana being harmful and unacceptable, but there are also doctors and patients all over the world that are saying otherwise. Patients all over the world are telling their stories of how medical marijuana changed their lives for the better, not abused or hurt them.

Although marijuana has been illegal for many years in some places, those places are now legalizing either medical use, recreational use or both. Why? Because people all over the world are starting to realize that medical marijuana does help, whether it be from personal experience or stories from patients. Medical marijuana being legalized is happening all over the world now, so why try to stop it? Elvy Musikka was a patient who received medical marijuana treatment to help with her pain and suffering. As Musikka said, “By 1991, I am aware of at least 50 patients who through extensive medical records, reputable doctors, and sometimes through courts — such as in my case — were able to convince all three drug-related agencies, FDA, DEA, and NIDA, that for us, marijuana isn’t just a medicine, it is the most efficient, reliable and safest part of our treatment and sometimes it is our only treatment” (Musikka). This shows that multiple people were able to convince the drug agencies that it isn’t an addictive drug, it is a medicine that has helped over 2,000,000 medical marijuana patients all over the world and they needed it to help them. Why would they be allowed to consume marijuana into their body if it were to harm them? They wouldn’t. They are being allowed to because it helps them and it is proven that it does.

Although medical marijuana is now being legalized all over the world, there are still numerous people who disagree with the process. Some of those people disagree with it because a person’s brain is not fully developed until they are in their twenties and they believe that marijuana could affect the way the brain develops, which is correct. However, so do most of things that happen to us and occur in our lives. For example, getting stressed can slow, possibly even stop, brain development and even physical growth. Although marijuana could possibly affect the way the brain develops, it isn’t changing a lot, much less anything, because brain development is affected every day of our lives already by stress, alcohol, depression etc. Jay Cavanaugh mentions that multiple people have found “relief” from their suffering, all because of medical marijuana, and the evidence that medical cannabis truly does work is outstanding and “overwhelming”. As Cavanaugh had said, “The anecdotal evidence is overwhelming. Folks with spinal injuries able to give up their walker, AIDS patients able to gain weight and keep their medications down, cancer patients finding relief from the terrible nausea of chemotherapy, chronic pain patients once again funcional with their consciousness restored from narcotic lethargy, and folks once disabled from crippling psychiatric disorders and addictions, returned to sanity and society with the assistance of a nontoxic herb with remarkable healing powers” (Cavanaugh). Therefore, despite how it could affect brain development, medical cannabis is more helpful than considered harmful. As well as Dr. Gupta mentioning in his article over the pros and cons of medical marijuana, marijuana is effective and has fewer side effects. “Every 19 minutes someone in the United States dies from from a prescription overdose, usually narcotics. I couldn’t find one documented fatality from a marijuana overdose” (Gupta). There are multiple medications for children and adults that everyone can access and overdose on within a few hours, yet it takes fifteen-hundred pounds of marijuana consumed within fifteen minutes to overdose, which is impossible for any human being to do.

As you can see, medical marijuana should be legalized for many reasons. If it weren’t for cannabis being legal in some states, a lot of the people who have used medical marijuana for help may not be here, or still suffering. There have been multiple stories told over the world by ordinary people who have used medical marijuana to help, so why look down on them? Yes, they may be regular people just like everyone else, but they are also millions of people who are telling their story. Marijuana is not about doing drugs or smoking to get high and have fun, it’s saving people’s lives and helping people, just like us, all over the world.