**Disclaimer, this is not in typical blog format, but is something I feel passionate about. It is SA style cited MLA format.
Medical marijuana is the term in which various forms of the cannabis plant are used in a variety of ways as therapeutic or prescription drugs. Due to its high recreational use in parts of the world where it is both legal and otherwise, the use of marijuana for any reason has become a very contentious subject (Medical marijuana-Definition). As a result of the controversial status of this substance, research towards, and FDA-approval of marijuana for medicinal use has stalled over the past several decades. Proponents of medical marijuana claim that it can be a safe and effective treatment for a wide spectrum of medical ailments including, but not limited to, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and epilepsy. Opponents argue that it is too dangerous, lacking FDA- approval and having a high risk of dependency amongst other health hazards (Should Medical Marijuana). Despite the opponents’ arguments, the evidence in favor of medical marijuana is so overwhelming that the idea of FDA-approval, legalization on a federal level, and further research in medicinal use seems like the most logical course of action.
The idea and use of medical marijuana is hardly a new concept. As far back as ancient China, the Emperor Fu His referenced marijuana as a popular medicine in 2900 BC. The marijuana plant was brought to North America in 1611 AD by Jamestown Settlers and even many of our well known forefathers enjoyed the use of marijuana for various reasons including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. In the 1840’s marijuana became mainstream medicine in the west when Jacques-Joseph Moreau, a French psychiatrist, found that it suppressed headaches, increased appetite and aided people to sleep.
Use of medicinal marijuana started to go downhill in the United States in early 19th century. It started with the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 and the Harrison Act of 1915, which put greater restrictions on prescription drugs. Despite the opposition of medical professionals like Dr. William Woodward, who recognized the possible medicinal use of marijuana, the Marihuana Tax Act was signed into law in 1937. Along with fantastic stories of the drugs harmful effects, this led to further decline of marijuana prescriptions and in1942 marijuana was removed from the US Pharmacopeia making it lose the last of its therapeutic legitimacy. The final blow was in 1970 when under the Controlled Substance Act marijuana was categorized as a Schedule 1 substance, classifying it as a drug with high potential for abuse and that had no accepted medical use in treatment (Historic Timeline). Today marijuana is still regulated as a Schedule 1 substance under federal law and doctors may not prescribe it for medicinal use. Though still federally illegal, seventeen states have legalized medical marijuana in the United States, but laws vary from state to state and often are hard to comprehend and understand (Federal Marijuana Laws).
Despite marijuana still being a Schedule 1 substance, and supposedly not having any accepted medical use, it has been known to treat a wide spectrum of ailments and success stories of its use keep being heard around the world. The THC component of the cannabis plant, the part that gets you high, acts as a pain reliever, nausea suppressant and appetite stimulus often used to treat cancer patients amongst other things. Another component of the cannabis plant, CBD, is believed to have an even wider scope for medical application including treating epilepsy and schizophrenia (Complete List). One medical marijuana success story is that of Charlotte Figi, a five year old girl that suffers from a rare genetic disorder known as Dravet’s syndrome. She once had as many as 300 grand mal seizures a week, could barely speak, was confined to a wheelchair and went into repeated cardiac arrest. Two years later, after her mother began administering oil infused with a high CBD to THC ratio medical marijuana, Charlotte is now largely without seizures, can walk, talk and even feed herself. This is just one of the many success stories attributed to the medicinal use of marijuana (Riccardi).
In spite of these success stories, there is still a great deal of opposition towards medical marijuana, and it continues to be rated as a Schedule 1 substance, despite multiple recommendations from established medical organizations to have it reclassified. Many doctors often argue that, because of the lack of clinical evidence, the success stories do not outweigh the potential health risks. Such risks include cardiopulmonary ailments and mental health as well as risk of dependency they believe medical marijuana can cause (DrugFacts: Marijuana). However many of the suspected health risks have an equally, if not larger, lack in clinical evidence supporting them. As far as the risks of dependency, according to Dr. Jann Gumbiner, for a Psychology Today website report, many people who have used marijuana recreationally have not experienced addiction (Marijuana Dependence). Even doctors that fear its addictive components say it is not physically addictive in the same ways as drugs such as heroin or cocaine (Martinson). Statistics show that marijuana use in adults leads to dependency in around 9-10%. Compare this to cocaine, a Schedule 2 substance rated as having less abuse potential as marijuana, which has a 20% rate of dependency, heroin with 25%, and tobacco with 30% (Gupta).
The growing understanding of medical marijuana has changed the views of several medical professionals, such as Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, who recently changed his position to pro medical marijuana use. As Dr. Gupta writes in reference to marijuana’s classification in his article, ‘Why I Changed my Mind on Weed’, “We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that” (Gupta). In conclusion, medical marijuana has no place being classified as a Schedule 1 substance, and has far too many medical applications not to legalize it at the federal level, gain FDA approval, and increase research of the subject.
Work Cited
• Complete List of Conditions Treatable With Marijuana. MedicalMarijuana.com. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://medicalmarijuana.com/treatments-with-medical-marijuana-cannabis>.
• DrugFacts: Marijuana. National Institute of Drug Abuse, Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana>.
• Federal Marijuana Laws. MedicalMarijuana.com. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://medicalmarijuana.com/laws/Federal-Marijuana-Laws>.
• Gupta, Sanjay. “Why I Changed My Mind On Weed”. CNN.com, 8 Aug. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/index.html>.
• Historical Timeline. Medical Marijuana. ProCon.org. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026>.
• Marijuana Dependence – Signs of Marijuana Use Vs. Abuse, Tolerance. Dependency.net. Web. 17 Feb. 2014
<http://www.dependency.net/learn/marijuana/>.
• Martinson, Stanley. Does Medical Marijuana Increase Marijuana Dependence? American Healthcare Reform. 5 March 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.americanhealthcarereform.org/2013/03/05/does-medical-marijuana-increase-marijuana-dependence/>.
• Medical Marijuana-Definition. WordiQ.com, 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Medical_marijuana>.
• Riccardi, Nicholas. “Colo. Pot Aids Kids With Seizures, Worries Doctors”. ABC News. 18 Feb. 2014. ABCNews.com. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
<http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/colo-pot-aids-kids-seizures-worries-doctors-22558835>.
• Should Medical Marijuana be a Medical Option? Medical Marijuana. ProCon.org. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/>.
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