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Essay On Medical Marijuana Legalization

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Medical marijuana legalization is a potential way to help fight the opioid epidemic, as it is a safer alternative. As a result of easy accessibility and staggering numbers of opioid-related deaths, The United States has declared itself in an opioid crisis. Over the past 15 years, opioid overdose has risen dramatically, drawing concern among doctors, patients, and patients’ family members. The nation is left searching for solutions and better alternatives and medical marijuana may be the answer, experts suggest. Medical marijuana can offer equal pain relief with a much lower chance of addiction and zero chance of overdose. Opioids have been implicated in over “500,000 deaths since 2000” while there have been “virtually no deaths from marijuana …show more content…

According the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, some people may develop mild marijuana dependence, but unlike opioids, it can be “reversed by abstinence or treated by cognitive-behavioral therapy” (Kogan and Mechoulam 414). Opioid addiction is notoriously difficult to treat, especially in comparison to marijuana dependence. Marijuana dependence is easier to treat and comes with less negative withdrawal symptoms, making it a far safer, less risky option. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that legal access to medical marijuana can reduce the use of opioids as well as opioid-related overdose death. This idea is reflected in a 2014 study, where it found that States with medical marijuana had “24.8% fewer opioid overdose deaths between 1999 and 2010” (Lieber). The rationale for this is simple: medical marijuana can effectively treat chronic pain, which opioids are commonly used for. The effects of medical marijuana on opioid use in pain patients are documented, with data suggesting, “medical [marijuana] treatment may reduce the dose of opioids required for pain relief” (Marijuana Effective as

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1939 Words | 8 Pages

636). Thus, they argue that the legalization of marijuana, should be similar to those of alcohol and tobacco where there are regulations for the sale to minimize any health related problems it may cause (Joffe & Yancy, 2004, p. 636). Additionally, tobacco and alcohol are among the most abused substances used by adolescents; despite having regulations for their sales through enforcing legal ages for purchase, they still find ways to purchase and consume these substances. Moreover, the legalization of marijuana would assist in pain relief as a less toxic, addictive and essentially safer drug in comparison to what some individuals use for chronic pain such as opiates and alcohol. It has been reported that there has been 25% of a decrease in the deaths related to opiate overdose; essentially, marijuana could contribute to the harm reduction that other substances cause (Mitchell 2016, p. 63)

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1229 Words | 5 Pages

Focusing on Legalization of Marijuana: an Rhetorical analysis essay Marijuana and its uses is still a relevant topic discussed among American citizens and officials. As of now, there are 25 states in the United States of America that has legalized marijuana for medical use. That is half of the country; with other states seemingly willing to join those numbers. In the article The Medical Use of Marijuana: Issues and Indication written by Sala Horowitz, PhD, it discusses the use of medical marijuana and how it can assist with medical illnesses. The article is backed up by strenuous research from other doctors and physicians that compare patients using medical marijuana versus the other medical prescriptions that are prescribed for their condition.

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649 Words | 3 Pages

Everyday patients are visiting their doctors in a desperate search for help with their problems, some physical and some psychological. Far too often in today’s troubled society a doctor is quick to hand their patient a prescription for a powerful and potentially harmful substance. The prescriptions could include drugs such as benzodiazepines for psychological problems and epilepsy, or opioids for pain. Both of those substances can have substantially dangerous and adverse effects and could lead to addiction and even death. Marijuana is a much safer and more naturally occurring substance that can be used for all of the previously listed purposes.

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681 Words | 3 Pages

A gateway drug means marijuana use could open the door for potential abuse of more powerful drugs, such as cocaine or heroin. People get addicted to these harder drug easily. If we as Ohioans so choose to pursue the legalization of marijuana, and furthermore extend the law to recreational use, which would be the next step any benefits of medicinal marijuana will be overshadowed by wide spread hard drug use. In this study, patients with various medical problems were treated with THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana, and it was found to treat a wide range of various ailments such as: Tourette-Syndrome, appetite loss, weight loss, nausea, depression, HIV-infection, migraines, asthma, back pain, hepatitis C, sleeping disorders, epilepsy, spasticity, headaches, alcoholism, glaucoma, disk prolapse, spinal cord injury (Grotenhermen, 2002). But this chemical doesn’t fix theses medical issues, it merely masks the user in a temporary state of uforia If medical marijuana is legalized, this will open the floodgates of recreational marijuana use.

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397 Words | 2 Pages

There are many people who argue that marijuana should be legal for medical purposes. In fact, a growing number of states have legalized marijuana for medical use. Marijuana contains delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main ingredient in marijuana that makes people ‘high’, that may help treat a range of illnesses and symptoms such as increasing one’s appetite and reducing nausea. It can also decrease pain, inflammation, and muscle control problems (Abuse, National Institute on Drug). Furthermore, the chemical cannabidiol (CBD), another ingredient in marijuana, but it does not get people ‘high’, could potentially help reduce pain and inflammation, control epileptic seizures, and possibly treat mental illness and

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734 Words | 3 Pages

Back in the early twentieth century, marijuana was mainly used for medical purposes in the US. Now, both it 's recreational and medical use is increasingly being consumed by the population and the tendency is to continue increasing. Much has been said about the use of marijuana as a solution to different health problems, and although not everything that is said is true, it cannot be ignored that marijuana can help in the treatment of some cases of adult patients. CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, was opposed to the medicinal use of cannabis. Based on his knowledge as a neurologist, he was convinced that the drug was dangerous and had dismissed its supposed therapeutic benefits.

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336 Words | 2 Pages

According to the Center for Disease Control, “opioid-related overdose deaths now outnumber overdose deaths involving all illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine combined.” Another study found that people who have access to medical marijuana are less at risk of developing painkiller abuse or dying from prescription drug overdoses. Prescription painkiller abuse and overdose is a rapidly-growing problem in America, and the signs are pointing to medical marijuana as a solution. Statistics show that about 53% of people who become addicted to opioid painkillers obtained them free from a friend or relative. The only way to stop this is to stop prescribing opioid-based narcotics.

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The Costs of Criminalization Over the last 18 years, 23 state governments have legalized marijuana, taxonomically known as cannabis sativa, for medicinal use. Voters in these states have declared that the federal government has scheduled marijuana inaccurately, in that cannabis has many medical uses. Medical professionals in these states prescribe marijuana as a treatment for ailments ranging from insomnia and muscle pain, to post traumatic stress and epilepsy. But recently, we have seen a shift in marijuana reformation movements throughout the country.

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561 Words | 3 Pages

This prescription has left Canada in the midst of a national epidemic due to the drug’s harsh side effects and addictive properties. Marijuana, by contrast, has little to no addictive qualities, and it consistently manages pain without needing constant dosage increases. Overdose from medical cannabis prescriptions is highly unlikely when compared to opioids. More studies showcase patients’ preference for medical cannabis, noting both an improvement in mood and quality of life, among other factors. Patients who don’t want to be prescribed addictive painkillers drugs are turning to a solution with just as many benefits and very little

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961 Words | 4 Pages

In their article called, “We Got into Medical Marijuana to Help People, Now We’re Under Siege”, in the Washington Post they prompt the idea that medical marijuana is needed to help ease pain, but major flaws such as logical fallacies can make it harder for the reader to comprehend

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719 Words | 3 Pages

With more and more people getting hooked on heroin and other drugs because of prescription opiates, cannabis is showing to be beneficial in alleviating one’s dependency on these drugs. Researchers from the University of British Columbia, Florida State University, and the National Center for PTSD and Center for Innovation and Implementation (California) found that marijuana could, in fact, be used to fight addiction. In addition to drug dependency, it turns out cannabis can be used to combat common disorders such as anxiety, PTSD, and

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605 Words | 3 Pages

Opponents, however, contend that the simple act of using an illicit substance in a medical setting is socially unacceptable. Despite strong arguments from opponents of medical marijuana, the potential benefits are for too positive to ignore. Medical marijuana offers both physical and psychological benefits for patients suffering from a wide variety of illnesses. Despite the benefits of legalized medical marijuana, there are considerations that must be taken into account to ensure legalization’s

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1461 Words | 6 Pages

People believe that if marijuana is legalized users will get addicted. Marijuana use disorder become what is known as addiction when “the person cannot stop using the drug even though it interferes with many aspects of his or her life” (“Is Marijuana Addictive”). Although addiction is a problem, out of all the people who use marijuana, only 9% become dependent on it (“Is Marijuana Addictive”). Also, opioids and painkillers are very addictive as well, and they can lead to an overdose resulting in death. The second concern is abuse.

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1455 Words | 6 Pages

[Therefore] the findings by Livingston do not provide compelling evidence of an individual-level substitution effect between marijuana and opioid use. The response letter suggests that Livingston’s study causes readers to make “overly expansive conclusions from research findings” (AJPH, 2017, e12) due to the theory of ecological fallacy. The response letter neither proves nor disproves the association between the legalization of cannabis in Colorado and the reductions in opioid-related deaths between the specific time frame in Livingston’s study, which further supports the idea of marijuana legalization being a positive impact on society.

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853 Words | 4 Pages

Conclusion: Marijuana is not like a cigarette because marijuana have intoxicating effect. And it can cure a disease. Pain is the main reason people ask for prescription (Barth Wilsey, 2013, par.5) it could be from headaches, a disease like cancer, or a long term condition. Like glaucoma or nerve pain.

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