Marijuana for Missouri Combat Veterans - Coursework Example

English Marijuana for Missouri Combat Veterans In the recent past, there has been a controversy whether to legalize Marijuana asa medical option for Combat Veterans who suffer from serious psychological disorders after traumatizing missions. Up to now, the doctors have used various anti-psychotic drugs for to treat combat veterans who suffer from depression and other stress disorders. However, it is evident that these antipsychotic drugs such as Seroquel are ineffective and some have even resulted to the death of the subjects. On this note, there has been a wakeup call requesting that Marijuana, which has better results in treating psychological disorders, be legalized for this group of people. In Missouri, over 70% of the combat veterans are on anti-psychotic drugs, despite the proof that these drugs are inefficient. Those who have been under medication have seen little changes in the disorders even after a whole year of use of the drugs. Evidently, Marijuana is better versed in treating psychological disorders and Missouri should pass a bill to legalize medical marijuana for combat veterans. Missouri is one of the states in the US that has for long used anti-psychotic drugs such as Seroquel for treatment of psychological disorders for their combat veterans (Duff Para. 1-3). When combat veterans visit various missions, some succumb to psychological stress due to the traumatizing nature of war. Some suffer permanent injuries that even change their lives completely due to both physical and mental suffering. The anti-psychotic drugs have proved to be ineffective and sometimes dangerous to the life of the veterans. For instance, those veterans who have used the drugs for over a period of one year have reported no positive results. Additionally, there have been cases of veterans who have died after using anti-psychotic drugs such as Seroquel, which raises question of the healthiness of these drugs for human use (Fontaine 277-288). While veterans are people who took part in important missions in their life, it is clear that they have not received adequate medical attention to stabilize them from the impacts of their role in maintaining order across the nations. On this note, there has been a great need for the search of a more effective approach in providing psychological care for the combat veterans in Missouri. A wide range of research shows that the antipsychotic drugs that are given to the combat veterans do not resolve their stress. About a fifth of the combat veterans receive these form of drugs and the larger percentage of those who receive this treatment live with trauma for a long time. Additionally, these drugs have long-term side effects that those who receive this form of treatment have to live with. One of the side effects is excessive weight gain, which ends up being unhealthy condition for this group of people. Fatigue is another side effect that returning officers have reported after receive antidepressants in the course of treating their trauma. As a result, many researchers have come to the idea that it is time the government provided alternative cure for the mental illness that affects this category of people. However, the use of Marijuana in Missouri it is prohibited not only in the public but also for public purposes. The reason for this prohibition is that Marijuana is a dangerous drug that has negative impacts on the society and the government should prevent the public from it access to ensure the wellbeing of the public. Just like other states, Missouri has been entangled in the controversy that surrounds the use of marijuana in public. First, there is a wide range of research pointing out that Marijuana is a depressant especially in its use in large quantities. Scientific research proves that the users of Marijuana are likely to suffer from psychological stress (Karp 337). Apart from that, Marijuana is addictive and makes it for any user to withdraw from its use. In addition, Marijuana has long-term impacts on the human beings, making them more violent and likely to engage in crime. On this ground, the government of Missouri has seen it worth to prohibit its use in the public. This is similar to the situation in other countries where the government has prohibited the use of Marijuana in the public and categorized it as one of the illegal drugs in their countries. In medical use, there has been heated debate as scholars weigh out the possibility of using Marijuana as an anti-depressant. While researchers agree that Marijuana is a depressant, they have explored the possibility of using Marijuana as anti-depressant. In a scientific test that tested if Marijuana can work as anti-depressant showed that when used in small quantities, the drug could be used to treat victims of psychological disorders. The mice that were subjected to marijuana tests showed that they were more susceptible to stress under heavy doses of Marijuana. The results of this research show that the drug can be used to treat combat veterans who often suffer from traumatic stress to save them from such disorders. In additionally, medical experts have used Marijuana as anti-pain in various operations such as surgery. This drug has worked as efficiently as other drugs such as cocaine that surgeons use during minor operations. Since the combat veterans suffer from such injuries, it would be realistic to use Marijuana not only for psychotherapy but also for use in treating their injuries (Meyers 31-36). Their multiple benefits would be crucial in providing medical care for such individuals and in eliminating the negative impacts of anti-psychotic drugs, which have for affected this group of people. The critics of the idea that Marijuana is an anti-depressant refer to the idea that these drugs have adverse long-term effects on the drugs users, and this may interfere with its purpose as a medical substance. The fact that the army combats subjected to its use may end up being addicts may lead to them abusing the drug (Crean, Natania and Barbara 1). This may affect them, making them to suffer from the long-term consequences of substance abuse. Most of them may turn to be violent, which may be risky due to the nature of their jobs. This will affect the way they relate with others and the way the handle their daily duties. However, it is clear that the negative impacts of these drugs may not be severe than those of the anti-psychotic drugs. Anti-psychotic drugs are sedative and may even lead to death of the veteran combats. Using Marijuana would help to reduce the negative impact of these drugs by being efficient and having less negative consequences. From this point of view, legalizing marijuana for the combat veterans would be a worthwhile decision that the government should consider developing. This would not only help to eliminate the inefficiency of the anti-psychotic drugs that have proved inefficient. However, the government must be wary of the negative consequences of these drugs. First, the bill should provide strict limits of the use of these drugs to ensure that it is used in the right quantities in providing treatment of psychological health disorders among this group. Secondly, the government should impose strict laws for the combats who abuse the drugs after treatment to ensure that they have low chances of accessing the drugs. The bill should also cover the issues of Marijuana peddling comprehensively to ensure that this drug is only available for medical use and not for public use (Kiernan and Alborz 273). This way it would be possible for the bill legalizing marijuana to support treatment for Missouri combat veterans and to prevent the negative impacts of its abuse within the public. In conclusion, Missouri should legalize Marijuana for treatment of combat veterans who have psychological disorders. Over the past, the use of anti-psychotic drugs has proven to be inefficient and sometimes a threat to the life of the victims. Experts have reported little changes in the patients, while they have evidenced cases of death associated with use of these drugs. On the other hand, there is scientific proof that Marijuana is anti-depressant if used in small quantities. This shows that it would be worthwhile for Missouri to design a bill that would legalize its use for treatment of this category of people. However, it would be crucial to note the negative impacts of Marijuana on the public due to its addictive nature and the long-term effects associated with its abuse. Therefore, it would be crucial that the bill imposes more strict rules for public use of marijuana and more severe punishments for abusers to avoid possible negative impacts. Works Cited Crean, Rebecca D., Natania A. Crane, and Barbara J. Mason. "An evidence based review of acute and long-term effects of cannabis use on executive cognitive functions." Journal of addiction medicine 5.1 (2011): 1. Duff, Gordon. 70% of US Combat Vets On Anti-Psychiatric Drugs. 2014. Veterans today. Fontaine, Kevin R., et al. "Estimating the consequences of anti-psychotic induced weight gain on health and mortality rate." Psychiatry research 101.3 (2007): 277-288. Karp, David A. "Taking anti-depressant medications: Resistance, trial commitment, conversion, disenchantment." Qualitative Sociology 16.4 (2013): 337-359. Kiernan, Reeves, and A. Alborz. "The use of anti‐psychotic drugs with adults with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour." Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 39.4 (2012): 263-274. Meyers, Frederick H. "Pharmacologic effects of marijuana." Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2.1 (2010): 31-36. Read More