Cocaine, heroin, LSD, methanphetamines, and topping the list, marijuana. The United States alone is riddled with these illegal drugs. Marijuana is the most common recreational drug used today. Recently, a huge debate has arisen: the legalization of marijuana. Why could anyone possibly consider legalizing the most common illegal drug on the market? The main argument for its legalization is that it has newly discovered medicinal uses. There have been some trial cases that have yielded positive results when marijuana was prescribed. Despite some of the dangerous side effects, marijuana should be considered for legalization for use by seriously ill people. .
Doctors have been struggling to find cures to diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis. A diagnosis of any of the three is like a death sentence since there is no cure. Many of the treatments used today are just to suppress the disease or make the patients more comfortable. Cancer patients for example have to undergo chemotherapy. The side effects of chemotherapy treatments are nausea and vomiting. One could not imagine that these treatments would make a patient comfortable. Most AIDS patients experience the wasting syndrome that is associated with the disease. Once again, not a very appealing side effect. This is where the treatments for comfort come into play. Medical marijuana falls into this category. Marijuana has five recognized therapeutic effects. The first is its analgesic properties. Cannabinoids have been shown to "block pain signals at their origin- rather than at the brain and spinal cord. (Glick 1998) Glick states that this could lead to a new class of analgesic compounds. (1998) The second therapeutic effect that Glick refers to is the anti emetic properties. He states that a synthetic THC has already been approved by the FDA and used to treat many cancer patients. (1998) The "active ingredient- in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, also known as dronabinol.
There are stores set up so that people with the right kind of permission card and perscription can get as much as a pound out at a time, for personal use only. ... There will always be an uphill battle for pot smokers, to be understood and to be accepted by those who do not necessarily get what is so great to them. ...