Medicinal Marijuana: Should it be legalized?.
Public opinion on the medical value of marijuana has been sharply divided. Some dismiss medical marijuana as a hoax that exploits our natural compassion for the sick; others claim it is a uniquely soothing medicine that has been withheld from patients through regulations based on false claims (Joy).
For thousands of years, the drug marijuana has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments ("The Need toÉ"). Between 1840 and 1900, European and American medical journals published more than 100 papers on the therapeutic use of the drug known then as Cannabis Indica (or Indian hemp) and now as marijuana. It was recommended from such things as an appetite stimulant to a muscle relaxant ("Marihuana as MedicineÉ"). .
There is a 5,000-year medical history of marijuana. This history has almost been forgotten. The use of medical marijuana declined in the early 20th century partly because alternatives became available. Injectable opiates and later on synthetic drugs such as aspirin and barbiturates were just some of the few. The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was the final blow for the decline of medical use. It was specifically designed to prevent non-medical use of marijuana. This law made cannabis so difficult to obtain for medical purposes that it was removed from the pharmacopoeia. Marijuana is now found under the Controlled Substances Act as a drug that has a high potential for abuse. It is also said to lack medical use, and is unsafe for use under medical supervision (Joy).
The question of whether or not marijuana should be used for medical purposes has emerged once again. For many illnesses, marijuana is considered a medical necessity. Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known ("The Need toÉ"). According to a National Academy of Sciences report released in 1999, "Marijuana's active components are potentially effective in treating pain, nausea, the anorexia of AIDS wasting, and other symptoms.