Legalize Medical Marijuana - Essay Example

Legalize Medical Marijuana Marijuana is one of the most common substances that are consumed all over the planet and despite its being illegal in many places, it has still remained popular. While this may be the case, it has been found that marijuana also has some very critical medicinal properties which are believed might revolutionize the treatment of some diseases. The fact that marijuana is one of the illegal substances which have medicinal properties should automatically make it legalized for the purpose of ensuring that it is used by doctors in a manner which is beneficial to their patients. However, this has not happened and this is because of the fact that many governments still believe that marijuana is a harmful substance which cannot have any valuable properties. Indeed, there are some who have come to speculate that the legalization of this substance for medical use would mean that it would become more accessible to the public, making it counterproductive in the war on drugs (Strang, Witton & Hall, 2000). Despite these arguments, it has been found that the best means of ensuring that the very valuable medical properties of marijuana are put into use without any fear of legal repercussions is to legalize its use in medicine and while doing so provide strict guidelines on how it can be used so that only doctors and patients can be able to access it. This would ensure that the law enforcement agencies continue with their war in marijuana unhindered while at the same time leaving doctors and patients who need to use it in peace without fear of arrest and prosecution. Scientific and medical texts over many centuries and even millennia have been found to show that marijuana has many medicinal properties which can be used to treat a number of medical conditions. Over these years, it can be argued that before governments chose to make this substance illegal, it was used mainly for this purpose and not for pleasure as many people have speculated. The use of this substance over the centuries ensured that quite a number of medical conditions were successfully treated and this helped in the prolonging of the life of those patients who were treated with it. The fact that the use of marijuana in medicine is widely attested to, especially in many non-western countries, which were more medically advanced than the west for many centuries can be considered to be a testament to the effectiveness of this substance. This aspect of marijuana use has led to its study in a scientific manner in the modern world and it has been found that its medicinal attributed are indeed true. This is mainly because of the fact that among many other properties, marijuana has the ability to reduce nausea as well as pain among those patients who are allowed to use it by their doctors. The latter properties have been especially evident among those patients undergoing chemotherapy in treating cancer as well as those who have been diagnosed with glaucoma (Nussbaum, Boyer & Kondrad, 2011). Thus, one would suggest that marijuana has more beneficial medical properties than harmful ones and this is the main reason why it should be legalized for this use. One of the arguments which can be made for the use of marijuana is that it has been used by thousands of patients for medicinal purposes and this only through prescriptions from their doctors. These patients have come to experience and witness the medical benefits of this substance and it is for this reason, especially in the United States, that many have been willing to participate in public hearings concerning whether medical marijuana can be legalized or not (Josefson, 2001). The popularity of medical marijuana use has continued to develop mainly because many of the patients who have used it in treatment successfully have told others about it and this has encouraged the latter to look upon this substance as a viable means of treatment. In addition, those who have used medical marijuana have also been willing to appear in mass media in a bid to promote its use through giving testimonies about its numerous benefits. Moreover, doctors and patients who prescribe and use medical marijuana respectively have come to make contributions concerning the diverse medicinal attributes of marijuana not only in books but also in research studies. This has created a situation where there has developed a lot of positive evidence about the use of medical marijuana which have made it clear that its illegal status is not justified. The ability of these individuals to attest to its medicinal properties has sparked widespread debate concerning its legalization and it is only a matter of time before this vision comes true. It can be argued that those individuals who declare that the evidence presented concerning medical marijuana is not enough miss the point that marijuana can be used just like any prescription drug. This is mainly because of the fact that medical marijuana can only be handled by doctors and patients and can only be used to ensure that patients are provided with the appropriate treatment. In addition, medical marijuana can only be used under prescription so that no other person in the society can have access to it except for those who have prescriptions from their doctors (Kleber & Dupont, 2012). Thus, one will find that doctors will only prescribe marijuana to those patients who really need it and will keep it off the hands of those individuals who only wish to use it for pleasure. Doctors are the ones who know what is good for their patients and not the politicians and agencies which set the rules making the use of medical marijuana illegal. Therefore, in this matter, it should be left to the doctors concerning whether marijuana can be administered to their patients or not and since it will be a controlled substance, there will be no risk of its becoming generally accessed by the public. It can further be argued that there is no need to subject those patients who use marijuana for legitimate medicinal purposes to such legal procedures as arrests, and fines because to do so would be infringing on their right to health (Strang, Witton & Hall, 2000). It is therefore imperative for the legislature to ensure that all of the restrictions to the use of medical marijuana are removed so that individuals can have access to it in treating relevant conditions. It is important to ensure that there are changes and reviews to the laws which have been put in place concerning the illegalization of the use of marijuana, both for medical and pleasure purposes. This is especially true of medical marijuana because these laws have come to categorize its use as being at the same level as that of using it for pleasure (Bostwick, 2012). It is a fact that medical marijuana is used for the purpose of developing relief from pain for patients especially those who are undergoing chemotherapy and to criminalize its use means that these individuals are being denied their basic rights. The argument that the initiative to legalize medical marijuana will only increase access to marijuana to the young generations who will be damaged by its use is absolutely false. This is mainly because of the fact that the use of this drug will be tightly controlled so that it will only be made available for use by medical patients who actually need it. In this manner, the government will have more control over the substance and will be able to monitor its quality so that only the best is provided for medical use. The legalization of medical marijuana is very important because it will help in the development of better checks on its distribution and use by the government so that it does not end up in the hands of people who are undeserving of it. As has been seen above, marijuana is one of the most common substances that are consumed all over the planet and despite its being illegal in many places, it has still remained popular. However, while this may be the case, it has been found that marijuana also has some very critical medicinal properties which are believed might revolutionize the treatment of some diseases. Moreover, it has been found that scientific and medical texts over many centuries and even millennia have been found to show that marijuana has many medicinal properties which can be used to treat a number of medical conditions. In addition, among the arguments which can be made for the use of marijuana is that it has been used by thousands of patients for medicinal purposes and this only through prescriptions from their doctors. Furthermore, it can be argued that those individuals who declare that the evidence presented concerning medical marijuana is not enough miss the point that marijuana can be used just like any prescription drug. Finally, it is important to ensure that there are changes and reviews to the laws which have been put in place concerning the illegalization of the use of marijuana, both for medical and pleasure purposes. This will provide medical practitioners and patients a wide range of options in the use of medical marijuana in the treatment process of various diseases and this will help many patients to get better without being considered to be criminals before the law. References Bostwick, J. M. (2012). Blurred boundaries: The therapeutics and politics of medical marijuana. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 87(2), 172-86. Josefson, D. (2001). US considers medical role for marijuana. British Medical Journal, 322(7290), 817. Kleber, H. D., & Dupont, R. L. (2012). Physicians and medical marijuana. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 169(6), 564-8. Nussbaum, A. M., Boyer, J. A., & Kondrad, E. C. (2011). "But my doctor recommended pot": Medical marijuana and the patient-physician relationship. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26(11), 1364-7. Strang, J., Witton, J., & Hall, W. (2000). Improving the quality of the cannabis debate: Defining the different domains. British Medical Journal, 320(7227), 108-10. Read More