Medical Marijuana As Medicine

Marijuana has brought so much controversy. From people being imprisoned by the government to now where the government is selling it. Although all the people that still remain behind bars to this day for possession of marijuana. Marijuana is simply just a natural plant that grows from our own Earth’s soil, no manufacturing needed (unlike tobacco). Can marijuana really be used as a medicine to treat post-traumatic, stress disorder, pain, ADHD, depression, inflammation, AIDS, cancer, and many other compounds? How does it affect the human body? According to a Medical Director, MD, Pedro Oliveros, at the Physical Medicine and Rehab Center of Orlando, he stated

‘As a physician, I have constantly searched for treatment options for my patients’ chronic pain. And until the Florida medical marijuana initiative passed with an The very long history of marijuana. From the earliest evidence of cannabis drug use dates all the way back to ca. 600 BCE in China. Around 1850 and 1942 is when cannabis appeared in the United States Pharmacopeia. The three commonly recognized strains which are sativa, hybrid, and indica. Rather than having a community addicted to opioids, a much safer option would be marijuana. Thirty three states out of fifty legalized medical marijuana and ten of those states allowed recreational use as well. That is more than half the country. astonishing 71.3 percent majority in 2016, I realized I had many misconceptions about the drug. With research, though, I learned that marijuana not only has multiple potential medical uses, but it also has fewer side effects compared to other medications… “

How could marijuana, also known as weed or cannabis be used as a medicine? Although The U.S Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) has not recognized or approved marijuana plant as a medicine, marijuana contains chemicals, known as cannabinoids is known to help treat and possibly cure certain types of illnesses and symptoms. The marijuana plant contains more than 100 cannabinoids but the two main cannabinoids that are interest for use of medical reasons are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and (CBD). THC reduces nausea, inflammation, muscle control problems, and increase your appetite. It is very useful for controlling epileptic seizures. On June 25, 2018, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved of CBD oral solution treatment for seizures connected with two epilepsy syndromes.

Kelly Hauf, after a CAT scan, a 3 cm tumor was discovered in the left frontal lobe of her brain. After having surgery and removing the tumor, she had to visit the MRI every 3 months to check for regrowth of the tumor. 10 years later when she did her MRI, it was showing regrowth of the tumor. The brain surgeon was recommending 4-6 months of chemotherapy, or another brain surgery but Kelly Hauf was introduced to cannabis and decided to try that as a treatment after doing her research. After eight months of using cannabis as a treatment, she went to her MRI and it was concluded that the only remainings of the tumor was just scar tissue.

However, no matter how much science reveals the benefits and cures of marijuana, there are always going to be those hard-headed people that were born in the 50’s that believe marijuana is a horrible thing. For example, here we have Mary Haag, President and CEO of PreventionFIRST! She had this to say about medical marijuana.

‘We can’t really call marijuana medicine. It’s not a legitimate medicine. The brain is not fully developed until we’re about 25. That’s just the way it is, and using any kind of mind-altering substance impacts that development. It needs to go through the FDA process. There is no drug that can or should be smoked, but when we get to potential components of marijuana that might have medicinal benefits, then let’s find out what that is. Most of our medicines have come from plants.

They’re plant-based, but they’ve gone through that rigorous process. Because, let’s face it, any medicine is a toxin. I don’t care if it’s penicillin or aspirin or a narcotic. Any of those are toxins to our bodies. And that’s why we have the FDA process.’

Here she states how marijuana can not be used for medical reasons because it is mind – altering that impacts the development of the brain but she also says how most of our medicine have already came from plants or plants based except they have gone through a “ rigorous “ process. Basically saying that medical marijuana and the government’s medicine have the same cure since they both come from plants except their medicine in just chemicalized and manufactured as opposed to marijuana where it grows from the earth’s ground. Michael Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York City had this to say

“ … And number two, drug dealers have families to feed. If they can’t sell marijuana, they’ll sell something else. And the something else is gonna be worse.”

Marijuana is already legal in thirty three states, ten of those states allow the recreational use of marijuana. Medical Marijuana should be legalized worldwide to help cure diseases and symptoms to the people in need. Also allows the government to put a tax on weed sales which gives them money. Another thing that the government needs to do is free all the imprisoned people that have served and are still serving years behind bars for having possession. Something I do not understand is about our government is how they legalize and want the people to buy tobacco products when tobacco is a drug that is manufactured. Tobacco has many chemicals, some of them known to be poisonous. Tobacco causes diseases and lung cancer yet the U.S. would rather have a drug that kills us rather than a drug that saves lives.