Medical Marijuana Research Paper

Medical Marijuana is a highly controversial topic in America. Twenty-five states have already made laws legalizing the medical use of marijuana (25 Legal Medical Marijuana). With this growing number of states which have the drug legalized already it begs the question whether or not medical marijuana should be legalized in all 50 states. The drug has been proven to be suitable for treating many symptoms of many diseases. Additionally, it has less side effects than many other drugs. Finally, it is not nearly as addictive as many other drugs out there today, and it does not have any risk of a lethal overdose. Medical marijuana should be legalized in all 50 states because it has medical value in treating many conditions, it does not have as many
Medical marijuana is a great drug for treating many symptoms of various diseases. According to Dr. Lester Grinspoon, of Harvard Medical School, “While few such studies have so far been completed, all have lent weight to what medicine already knew but had largely forgotten or ignored: Marijuana is effective at relieving nausea and vomiting, spasticity, appetite loss, certain types of pain, and other debilitating symptoms. And it is extraordinarily safe -- safer than most medicines prescribed every day (Grinspoon).” This is important to recognize because this means that medical marijuana could help many patients suffering from these symptoms. These benefits of marijuana could be particularly useful in helping cancer patients going through chemo treatments. For example, Jeff
However, all current drugs also have the potential to be abused. For instance, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 53 million american age 12 and older have used prescription pills recreationally at least once in their lifetime (Popping Pills: Prescription Drug). Clearly no one thinks that just because some people use these drugs incorrectly that they should not be made available to those who legitimately need them. In fact medical marijuana could be extremely effective in managing pain. According to Donald Abrams, an integrative medicine specialist for cancer patients at the University of California, San Francisco, the human body naturally produces compounds found within marijuana to help regulate pain. So it would follow that by using medical marijuana and increasing these chemicals pain would lessen (Zimmermann). Overall, the evidence for medical marijuana is extremely compelling as marijuana seems to have extraordinarily less serious side effects than many other drugs currently FDA