Medicinal Marijuana

Until its ban in 1937, Marijuana was one of the top 3 most prescribed medicines in the U.S…. and it’s currently one of many illegal substances used in Australia, with one of the highest usage rates.
(Pun intended)

Good afternoon/morning Helen and students. Today you’re going to get a run-down of why exactly marijuana should be made legal for medical purposes.   There are many reasons to legalize this wonder drug, some being that it is less harmful than other prescription and legal drugs. The amount of suffering people whose lives would benefit from the legalization of medicinal marijuana is countless. It is already legal in many other countries and helping endless amounts of people, so why are we so slow to catch onto the bandwagon? It’s about time we woke up and smelt the roses, or rather the weed, because medical marijuana is the way of the future and at the moment… that future seems pretty far away. It’s the 21st century, but why do not only the federal government, but also the general public seem to be stuck in such an old frame of mind?

According to health Minister Jill Hennessy, “Children with severe epilepsy will be the first to access medicinal cannabis in early 2017 because their condition can be life threatening and medicinal cannabis may be their last treatment option.”

I understand that trials and testing needs to occur as a way of making the most of this treatment, but 2017, really? What about he children needing relief today? Tomorrow? 2017 seems like a lifetime away for those suffering, don’t you think?

Now of course there are some who are against the legalization of medical marijuana because they are under the impression that this will provide an opportunity for the wrong people to gain easy access to the drug.. But that's not necessarily the case, and I'll tell you why...

First of all, if marijuana is legalized for medical purposes it will in fact only be able to be used for legitimate medical purposes, meaning it will require a prescription and access to a doctor.

Secondly- if marijuana is made medically legal it will only be available in the form of extracts and oils, still strong enough for the patient but barely worth the effort of forging doctor’s certificates and prescriptions for to try and get high. Why are we jumping to conclusions that medicinal marijuana will fall into the wrong hands?

There are endless ranges of prescription drugs sitting on the shelves at the chemist, available to anyone at anytime, that are more harmful than medicinal marijuana. According to recent American statistics, the number of people dying from prescription drug overdose is greater than the number of those who are addicted to marijuana. Tobacco is the deadliest drug in Australia; killing up to 15,000 people a year. Yet it’s legal and readily available to anyone over the age of 18 (but the age restriction doesn’t seem to stop those under the age restriction). Then there’s alcohol, I assume you’ve all heard of it… another drug that certainly does not require a prescription or a national debate at that. There are painkillers on the market such as OxyContin, which has more dangerous side effects and are more hazardous to people than medical marijuana. I’ve witnessed firsthand how dreadful the effects of OxyContin are when my pop had to undergo knee replacements. It turned him into a completely different person and it induced awful side effects such as hot and cold sweats, rashes and extreme nausea. But if the tables were turned and he was prescribed medicinal marijuana as a painkiller, he wouldn’t have experienced such extreme side effects, possibly an increase in appetite, maybe? Some pharmaceutical companies are even fighting the legalization of medical marijuana because it would be a major competition for their painkillers, antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills. It is also much less harmful than other narcotics that people become addicted to, and die as a result.

Victorian mum Cheri O'Connell spoke out about the benefits of liquid marijuana, which she says saved her epileptic daughter who was only given months to live. Eight-year-old Tara was having up to 60 seizures a day but has made a miraculous recovery since her mother, Cheri started giving her liquid cannabis made in Nimbin. Doctors at one of Victoria's leading hospitals have acknowledged the "remarkable improvements" in the girl's condition one year after she started taking the drug. A Sunday Herald Sun investigation has found that up to 10 Victorian children, some as young as three, are taking daily doses of medicinal marijuana - in some cases administered by teachers - as desperate parents turn their back on pharmaceutical drugs. "She was dying, she could barely walk or talk, was unable to toilet herself and slept a similar cycle to a newborn," Ms. O'Connell explained, “We had to break the law or see her die”.  That is one of the many difficulties that parents are faced with because of the fact that this pain relief is yet to be legalized. She is calling on the state government to fund research into the drug, which she claims has saved her daughter's life and is being used by at least 70 children across Australia.