Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a plant that contains psychotropic ingredients that is most commonly used for recreational purposes. For many years this plant has been used medically by different cultures around the world for the treatment of chronic pain, asthma, migraines, and various other illnesses. Yet, the World Health Organization has listed marijuana as one of the most rigorously controlled drugs. The most common medications prescribed today for chronic pain come from the poppy plant, including morphine, oxycodone and dilaudid. The problem with those medications are most of these prescriptions don 't work very well for this kind of pain, and built up tolerance is a real issue. In the United States every 19 minutes someone dies from a prescription drug overdose. Yet there is no documented case of death from marijuana overdose. Medical …show more content…
There are no harmful effects of medical marijuana. The amount of cannabis normally used for medicinal purposes is not thought to cause any permanent intellectual impairment in adults, though long-term treatment in adolescents should be looked at carefully as they are more vulnerable to these impairments. Withdrawal symptoms are hardly a problem with controlled medical administration of cannabis. According to norml.org, “Currently, more than 60 U.S. and international health organizations support granting patient’s immediate legal access to medicinal marijuana under a physician 's supervision”. Medical marijuana isn’t easy to obtain. Since it is listed as a schedule I substance, the government is skeptical about giving it to just anyone. Opponents of medical marijuana argue that it is too dangerous to use, it isn’t approved by the FDA and that various legal drugs make marijuana use unnecessary. They state that marijuana is addictive, leads to harder drug use, interferes with fertility, and injures the lungs, immune system, and brain. They say that medical marijuana is a front for drug legalization and recreational