Does Marijuana Have Medicinal PurposesEnglish 10408/28/2011Marijuana is an extremely illegal plant, which has recently shown to have increasing medicinal purposes. The use and selling of marijuana in most states will lead to some serious jail time, however now research is finding that by using marijuana there are lots of symptoms that are being alleviated. Some researchers say that there are not enough studies to prove that marijuana is safe enough for legalization; however, the research that has been done proves that there are no adverse side effects of marijuana.There are currently sixteen states and Washington D.C. that have legalized marijuana for medicinal use. Those states al ...view middle of the document...
The use of marijuana has shown positive results in patients suffering with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The patients that had Alzheimer's who took the drug showed an increase in weight and a decrease in disturbed behavior. Parkinson's patients were able to have a decrease in the jerking movements associated with that disease. Glaucoma patients also found that the pressure in their eyes that was related to the disease was decreased.Marijuana was first prescribed legally for cancer patients to quell their symptoms associated to chemotherapy. The nausea that most patients have while undergoing chemo is far less experienced with the addition of marijuana. As recent as April of this year the FDA approved for research to be conducted for the use of marijuana as a potential treatment for post traumatic stress disorder.Marijuana has, for many years, been illegal based solely on the fact of marijuana being a "gateway drug." Basically "gateway drug" means that once a person smokes marijuana they will want to do more dangerous drugs. However, marijuana seems to have too many helpful uses to be considered dangerous. Marijuana, according to researchers, causes a higher chance of heart attack because it increases blood pressure within the first hour of smoking it. Doctors discourage the smoking of marijuana because of the increase of tar and carbon monoxide entering the lungs.Researchers are trying to come up with safer ways for a patient to use marijuana. They have practiced with consuming the marijuana, with the affects not being as well as smoking the plant. However, the researchers also had patients inhale the marijuana in vaporized form with positive results. Marijuana seems to be best when smoked, however, because of the potential health problems associated with smoking; it is not the best when looked at for potential health risks.People against the legalization of marijuana for medicinal uses will argue that by legalizing the drug for that purpose that many people will think that it is alright to use it for personal use. However, in a study conducted it was determined that in another country once marijuana was legalized for medicinal purposes that the rate of use of marijuana did not increase for personal use. In addition, some people state that once started marijuana is very addictive and a very hard habit to break. But, in studies it was determined that while there was a mild withdrawal detected it is nothing as compared to withdrawal from alcohol or heroine.The use of marijuana leads to the feeling of happiness. In addition to happiness, there is also giddiness, hunger, sleepiness, and deep thought. Therefore, the use of marijuana in cancer patients leads to a feeling of hopefulness. Cancer patients tend to experience a vast amount of pain and discomfort related to their cancer treatments. The use of marijuana, in recent studies, has shown to alleviate these unfortunate side effects.Marijuana would appear to be helpful to the person who...
