Marijuana: Useful Medicine or Dangerous Drug?

            Anyone can go into their bathroom and open their cabinet to find many common drugs to take when they are feeling sick. Even though drugs are all around us, they are both useful and harmful. While drugs such as penicillin and aspirin have few side effects and are very useful, there are other drugs like marijuana, which can destroy your mind and body. Despite marijuana's psychological and physical effects, Daniel Levine, in High on a Lie, states that "the legalization of marijuana. . . has been debated for more than 30 years, with a vast majority of Americans standing in opposition." Levine continues to point out that "marijuana in its smoked form has never been shown in scientific studies to be safe or effective." In Help From My Friends, Andrew Curry declares the status quo on the situation saying that eight states presently have laws making medical marijuana legal for people with disease related nausea, pain, or muscle spasms, and to increase appetite. The federal law however remains unchanged stating that marijuana falls under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. This basically concludes that marijuana has no current accepted use and has a high risk for abuse (40-41). Marijuana should not be legalized for medical use because it causes health problems to users, sends children the wrong message, and causes patients to abuse the drug.
             In refutation of opposing arguments, many people think marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes because its active ingredient, THC, can aid or cure health problems. Many doctors and scientists have discovered that smoking marijuana can relieve Glaucoma in the eyes. They have also discovered many other medical uses for marijuana that can benefit certain patients. The problem with this argument is that marijuana can cause multiple health problems beyond what patients are using marijuana to help ease. Levine presents a good point by explaining the effect of marijuana smoke that contains over 200 chemicals includes: psychoactive reactions, lung damage, disruption of short-term memory, and leads to changes in the brain similar to those caused by other highly addictive drugs.