The War on Weed

Medical Marijuana has great medical benefits; however Marijuana is currently a Schedule One drug making it illegal for any Doctor to prescribe it to their patients. This leaves the patients with two options: to continue suffering or to illegally obtain marijuana and face jail time, fines, and probation. However, the opponents against Medical Marijuana are trying to stop these patients from receiving medical care because they want to be politically correct.

Despite what my opponents say, Marijuana has medical value. The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine reported in 1999 that Marijuana helps "reduce nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety" (Cannon). It also helps provide pain relief for serious illnesses like AIDS, Hepatitis C, Glaucoma, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, and Chronic Pain (Cannon).

In fact, in 1988, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Chief administrative law judge, Francis Young, said that:

Marijuana in it's natural form, is one of the safest, therapeutically active substances known....It would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capracious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance..(Cannon).

Other governmental reports have came out and stated that Marijuana should be treated as a medicine; however, the Federal government needs to fund research projects for Marijuana (because it is a Schedule One drug) and, on the most part, they refuse too.

My opponents say that Marijuana should not be used unless it is the most effective drug for the illness. However, no other drugs are required to be the most effective before they are available to the public (Armentano). If you take a look at all the cough syrup available you do not just pick the best one and throw all the others away. Plus, what is effective for one patient is generally different for everyone else.

My opponents wonder why Medical Marijuana wants to be made available when the THC pill is already available. However, the THC takes an hour to take effect, and many of the patients say that the dosage is either "to low, or to high" ("Facts and Stats"). The pill is also ten to twenty times more expensive than Medical Marijuana and when it is given to people who are severely ill it can be thrown up (Cannon). It is estimated that over three thousand ill people illegally obtain Marijuana even though the THC pill is readily available to them (Cannon).

My opponents say that Marijuana is too dangerous to administer as medicine. However, Doctors can prescribe Cocaine, Morphine, and Methamphetamines-all drugs which are highly addictive and more dangerous than Marijuana (Cannon). New Marijuana Surveys report that the risks associated with Marijuana are relatively minor. Besides, all medicines have negative side effects. The question you need to ask is: "Do the benefits outweigh the risk for the individual patient" (Romano)?

My opponents say that if the states make Medical Marijuana legal it would be in violation of the FDA and Federal Law. However, the State Marijuana laws have nothing to do with the FDA. The FDA does not arrest people for using unapproved treatments-the state does. As for the Federal Law, the State Governments can not give Marijuana directly to their patients but they can refuse to arrest patients.

If the states refused to arrest patients than Barbera and Kenny Jenkins would not have gotten arrested for six months for smoking Marijuana to help alleviate the pain of AIDS. Hazel Rogers would not have been arrested for a month for possessing Marijuana for her Glaucoma. Rodgers was supposed to go blind three years ago, but she believes that smoking Marijuana has helped her keep her eyesight. Cheryl Miller and Renee Emery were both arrested for smoking Marijuana to help elevate Multiple Sclerosis-an illness there is no cure for and the most effective medicine out on the market right now is injected into the body and has horrible side effects. All these people are victims-they have not hurt anyone-all they wanted to do was end their suffering. Instead, our government puts them in prison.

My opponents say that Doctors can not prescribe Marijuana; all the Doctors are doing is merely suggesting it. However, because Marijuana is a Schedule One drug the doctors can not prescribe it. Instead, they write a letter, with a letterhead, and sign it and give it to the patient. It's a long, dangerous process that can exile the Doctor-yet still Doctors are still recommending Marijuana to their patients. The Doblin/Kleiman study at Harvard University, reported that fifty five percent of Oncologists surveyed said they supported controlled Medical Marijuana and forty four percent had admitted to recommending a patient to obtain Marijuana illegally (Cannon).

Essentially, the question to be asked is what is best for these sufferers: Marijuana or prison? My opponents have shown their ignorance through their half-hearted arguments and have shown themselves to be politically correct. However, thousands of patients are suffering from varied illnesses everyday and Marijuana could help alleviate the pain-why are we denying them this substance in their dying days? The government is giving these patients jail time when their time is numbered; these people are prisoners of conscience.