Medical Marijuana Research Paper

Legalization of Medical Marijuana
A. I researched the social trend of legalizing medical Marijuana. In the 1800's, physicians in the United States gave their patients marijuana to treat anything from excessive menstrual bleeding to tetanus. Now days there are other ways to treat and prevent both issues, but what about the horrid disease, cancer. Marijuana went from being a very common "prescription" to illegal. My view on this is that it should not be legal in regards to recreational use, but it should be available for cancer patients and patients who have serious/rare illnesses. With that being said though, I do believe that there should still be laws and regulations for the patients who are involved with the drug. One social change that
From my two sources, I learned that marijuana usage by adolescents can cause mental disorders, unintentional injuries, and academic problems. Also, I learned that marijuana is used medically and can decrease the rate of chronic pain significantly. The methods the source “Effects of State Medical Marijuana Laws on Adolescent Marijuana Use” used were data from Youth Risk Behavior Survey and a difference-in-differences design to evaluate the effects of passage of state MMLs on adolescent marijuana use. The hypothesis was that MMLs (Medical Marijuana Laws) have been a cause for the rise of marijuana usage is adolescents. The source concluded that the MMLs passed have not significantly impacted or affected the usage of marijuana in adolescents within the first few years after enactment. My second source’s, “Medical Marijuana for Pain: What the Evidence Shows”, method was to evaluate the effectiveness of cannabinoids in twenty-eight cases of people with chronic pain, the Visual Analogue Scale was used for the results of changing pain. Although the research question was not clearly stated, I believe that it was, is the effectiveness of medical marijuana significant enough to make it legal for patients with specific health problems. The conclusion of this source was that the FDA would need to reveal more tangible evidence supporting the effects of medical marijuana. The source also concluded with the belief that it is unfair to keep such important information/evidence from
The symbolic- interaction theory explains the effects of the issue to legalize medical marijuana. Medical marijuana has been clinically proven as being effective/efficient in providing pain relief for patients who experience cancer, HIV/AIDs, and countless other illnesses. So the question is why not allow all fifty states to be able to provide this type of medical treatment that has been proven to aid in the symptoms of many medical conditions? The labeling theory is a concept that falls under the category of the symbolic-interaction approach. It is defined as the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those actions. Legalizing marijuana medically could result in those patients being labeled and categorized as participating in deviant acts. Also, the concept medicalization of deviance relates perfectly with this topic. It is the transformation of moral and legal deviance into a medical condition. This concept sets aside the moral and legal aspects of society and views the issue as helping the patient be more comfortable. The legalization of medical marijuana goes against some cultures social norms, which could result in controversy if it were to be the “law of the land” medically. However, since there is proof that marijuana is effective in treating patients with chronic pain and even nausea due to chemotherapy, I believe that it should be made an option for patients who experience those specific health