Medical Marijuana

2 Pages 620 Words

Should Marijuana be legalized for medical purposes?

“I just smoke to ease the pain.” This has been heard many times on television interviews of people giving a reason why they smoke marijuana. To some people this may seem like a justified medical cause. This excuse, however, has no medical support at all. There has been no factual evidence to date supporting the fact that marijuana alone helps cure any disease. The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is, however, currently available from pharmacies, there are many studies disproving the positive effects of smoking marijuana, and ingesting a “medicine” by smoke inhalation is not good for the body. These statements back up the fact that smoking marijuana has no health benefits.
To begin with, the active ingredient in marijuana (THC) is already available in pharmaceutical capsule form by prescription from medical doctors, so why not just get a medication legally if it helps to ease the pain? The pill form of the drug also does not contain all of the combinations of drugs and other ingredients found in a marijuana cigarette; one should be able to reap the benefits just as plentifully if it truly does help ease the pain. The other drug found in marijuana, marinol is removed from the pill form because of the adverse effects it has on patients. Also, physicians should be able to monitor the side effects, if any, that could be linked to other medications. So, in the long term, doctors may develop a form of the active ingredient that could allow maximum comfort for all patients.
Secondly, there are many studies showing the harmful effects that prolonged exposure from marijuana can have. Some people may counter by saying that these people are going to die anyway, but why complicate their disease even more by introducing new side effects? A physician employed at the local hospital accounted for a case of an adverse side effect. A woman was smoking marijuana without her d...