Medical Marijuana

A weak, bald man holds a joint in one hand. He takes a deep breath and inhales the smoke. He exhales and starts to cough. Although this man is technically a criminal, he is also a cancer patient. Thousands of people are in the same situation as this man. Because marijuana is illegal, people who suffer from illnesses, such as cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis, have to choose between breaking the law and aiding their illnesses. Many are aware of the harmful effects caused by marijuana. However, few are aware of the benefits marijuana has on patients with terminal diseases.

Marijuana should be legalized in the United States. Marijuana has already been legalized in some states for medicinal purposes. Proposition 215 or the Compassionate Use Act allows patients to “grow, possess, and use medical marijuana when approved by physician, permits assistance of a caregiver who is authorized to help patient grow, acquire, or consume medical marijuana, and immunizes physicians from liability for discussing or recommending medical use of marijuana” (Cockburn) (Demmer 35). The states that passed this law were Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington (Demmer 35). Maryland is attempting to pass laws like the Compassionate Use Act in the future. “In the past six years, nineteen different state initiatives to ease regulations on marijuana (for recreational use) have become law,” (Paul 18). However, “the federal government continues to enforce federal marijuana laws against medical marijuana users even in states which have enacted legislation specifically allowing such use,” (Demmer 35). Without the legalization of marijuana through the federal government, state laws are basically ineffective.

It seems unfair that the federal government can over rule the laws that the states have made legal. In Byron Demmer’s article, “Arrest Suffering, Not Medical Marijuana Patients,” Roger Pilon, Ph.D., J.D states,

The Constitution does not establish a national government of general power, rather, it establishes a government of enumerated powers only... There is no federal police power…The police power resides in the individual statesвЂ"the general governments under our system of dual sovereignty. Thus, regulations to secure rights in the areas of health, safety, and medical practice are the doctrinal and historic province of the states, not the federal government,” (Demmer 36).

Denying patients use of marijuana in states where it has been legalized conflicts with Americans Constitutional rights.

It can be argued that the government should not allow doctors to prescribe harmful medications such as marijuana. Marijuana does cause harms to the body. Some of these harms include: “being carcinogenic, lowering the immune system, damaging the central nervous system, and being intoxicant” (Demmer 35). “Using marijuana damages the lungs slightly worse than smoking cigarettes,” states Dr. James Patel, a physician who specializes in cancer treatment in Oak Lawn, Illinois.

In terms of costs to society, both financial and health-related, alcohol and tobacco cause far more harm than does marijuana. For instance, every eight seconds one person dies from a tobacco related death. Drunken drivers kill thousands of people each year. Marijuana is also not physically addictive like alcohol or tobacco. Unlike alcohol and tobacco, marijuana has many therapeutic uses. Some of these include: relieving chronic pain such as migraines, relieving nausea, reducing muscle spasms and spasticity, reducing intraocular eye pressure, stopping the deterioration of the eyes, and increasing appetite. Some of the diseases marijuana aides are cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy. Doctor James Patel of Oak Lawn, Illinois states, ““It is evident in many cases that marijuana does actually aide people who suffer from terminal illnesses.”

Many argue that marijuana is a “gate-way drug.” It is believed that experimenting with marijuana will lead people to experiment with other “harder” drugs. After repeatedly using marijuana some people will tire of its effects. It is assumed that people will look for a newer and better “high.” People can reach such “highs” by using drugs such as cocaine, or heroin.

Although this may be true in some cases, the majority of the people who have tried marijuana have not continued to use marijuana or even gone on to do other drugs. “According to an October 2002 Time/CNN poll, nearly half of Americans (47 percent) have smoked pot at least once,” (Paul 19) If experimenting with marijuana leads to use of other drugs, half of the United States population would be drug addicts. Most people who experiment with marijuana are doing just that: experimenting.

Because marijuana is considered a harmful and illegal drug, many steps are made to stop its use. There is a war on drugs that has been going on for numerous years. The government has spent millions trying to control the use of illegal drugs such as marijuana.

The legalization of marijuana would save the government and taxpayers from spending extremely large amounts of money on enforcement, trials, and incarceration. If marijuana was legalized, less people would be arrested and imprisoned saving millions of dollars that would be spent on law enforcement, trying those convicted of using and distributing in courts, and incarceration. “The Dutch data suggest that, by itself, removing criminal penalties against users has little effect of cannabis consumption,” (MacCoun 27). If marijuana were legalized, statistically, the number of users would not dramatically increase; however, millions of dollars would be saved. Those who use any sort of drug may become a danger to those around them, and thus it is a moral act for the government to regulate and enforce laws that will ensure public safety. However the government already pays police officers to make sure the public is in good hands. The Denver Post states,

“The Post supports ending the 70-year-old federal ban on marijuana and instead strictly regulating and taxing its sale. We think scarce public resources could be put to better use fighting violent crime or treating substance abuse. But that can't happen unless federal laws are relaxed to allow states to regulate marijuana as they see fit,” (Denver Post).

In Denver, marijuana has recently been legalized for recreational use in small quantities.

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