The U.S. government has been discretely conducting medical marijuana research since 1968 on the campus of the University of Mississippi. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) oversees this federal program which has uncovered several positive medical applications for marijuana, all while medical marijuana has been illegal in most states. In fact, this program currently provides medical marijuana to a small number of patients through its Compassionate Use Investigational New Drug (IND) program. Every month, these patients receive over 300 joints grown from laboratories at the University of Mississippi. This program came about in 1978 in response to a lawsuit against the government. Bob Randall had glaucoma and he proved in court that he …show more content…
Lester Grinspoon, the aforementioned retired professor at the Harvard Medical School. However, medical marijuana is hardly a new discovery. As early as 2737 BC, cannabis was a part of ancient Chinese medicine for a number of different ailments. Glaucoma is probably the most recognized disease which can be directly treated by marijuana because it dramatically alleviates the pressure in the eye. Marijuana is also helpful with a wide range of conditions, including the common headache, migraines, menstrual cramps, insomnia, arthritis, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Oddly enough, marijuana, in the edible form or through a vaporizer, can even benefit people with asthma. Furthermore, inflammation, which is linked with most every major disease, can be reduced with …show more content…
For example, an AARP poll, with people age 45 and over, found that seventy-two percent of the respondents supported the legalization of medical marijuana. That means that even the most passionate drug war supporters understand the difference between recreational use and medical use. Then why don’t our politicians have more compassion with this matter? After all, it takes a special kind of ego to deny the choice of medicine for a person in pain with a terminal