Legalization of Medical Marijuana

Legalization of Medical Marijuana

Introduction

Marijuana is an illegal drug in most countries around the world because of the negative effect it has on the brain. However, over the past few years, medical marijuana has been legalized in over ten states. There are several ways in which marijuana can be used for treatment and since most governments have a key agenda as healthcare for people, medicinal marijuana has been legalized. One popular use of medicinal marijuana is in preventing nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, there are several parties who believe that marijuana is harmful and it should not be legalized whether for recreational or medical purposes. This paper is going to give elaborate reasons as to why medicinal marijuana should be legalized

Discussion

Marijuana has many beneficial health impacts among them being relieving chronic pain. Pain is the body’s natural way of responding to an injury or illness and it is supposed to fade away when the body recovers. However, when the pain persists long after the injury is healed, it is known as chronic pain and it could lead to disability. According to Kelvin, medicinal marijuana can be used to get rid of chronic pain (2). Naturally, marijuana has the effect of numbing pain and it does the same to the persistent chronic pain. Where the patient has tried several medications to no avail, the physician should recommend medicinal marijuana. On the other hand, marijuana has several side effects that include paranoia, panic attacks and memory loss. Prolonged use of marijuana may also increase the chances of addiction not only to marijuana but also to other drugs. Therefore, it is recommended that the physician educates the patient about the proper use of medicinal marijuana and arrange regular follow-ups to ensure that the medicinal marijuana is being used correctly (Kelvin 7). With proper guidance form physicians, medicinal marijuana is an effective cure for chronic pain.

One indisputable fact is that marijuana has played a large part in crime. Where marijuana is illegal, there are cartels that make sure that the drug is in constant supply for the users. There are high risks involved when fighting for “territories” to peddle the drug. Gangs get money through peddling marijuana and because it is illegal and dangerous, they are always armed and ready to fight in order to avoid getting arrested. This gives rise to the question; will crime rate reduce upon legalization of marijuana? In line with Dan, the pleasure of using drugs comes from the violence, the overdose and the thrill of criminality (2).

Therefore, the war on marijuana will never be effective as long as the government continues to provide that thrill or illegality. By introducing legalizing marijuana, either for medicinal or recreation, i the thrill that comes with the violence and criminality will be ended, making many people stop abusing it. there is a limitation for this method because people tend to imagine that with the legalization of marijuana, many people will be attracted to use it. however, this is not the case because, there will be well laid-up plans for standardization, inspecting, distributing and taxing the drug. This will prevent abuse because of the order introduced. This will also prevent the peddling of contaminated and unrefined marijuana which leads to health hazards. This tactic can also be used for other drugs but with precise and well-thought plans to avoid a public-health disaster.

Another reason to legalize medicinal marijuana is the reduction of marijuana abuse among teens.  The legalization of marijuana created a heated debate in society over the argument that teens would now access marijuana easily and freely. In states where marijuana is legal, there are many outlets where anyone can buy the drug and this raises the concerns of many people because teens can walk in and buy marijuana. However, this is not the case because of the elaborate laws run the marijuana outlets. According to Mark, Benjamin and Daniel, there is little evidence that marijuana use in schools is related to the legalization of medicinal marijuana (21). This is because in all those outlets are licensed and medicinal marijuana is only sold after one provides a doctor’s prescription. Also, the outlets are prohibited from selling medicinal or recreational marijuana to minors who are not accompanied by adults. Even when accompanied by an adult, they have to produce a prescription from the doctor. This measure prevents teens from accessing marijuana without following the proper channel. Since the procedure of accessing marijuana in tedious and long compared to before, teenagers are discouraged for looking for it.

Conclusion

Marijuana is still illegal in many parts of the world despite its medicinal value. This is mostly because of lack of proper laws that can govern the usage of marijuana. If a government comes up with a well-thought plan for the usage of marijuana, the people would benefit greatly because when used correctly, marijuana can be of great medicinal value.

 

Works cited

Baum, Dan. “Legalize it all.” Harper’s magazine 24 (2016).

Hill, Kevin P. “Medical marijuana for treatment of chronic pain and other medical and psychiatric problems: a clinical review.” Jama 313.24 (2015): 2474-2483.

Mark Anderson, D., Benjamin Hansen, and Daniel I. Rees. “Medical marijuana laws and teen marijuana use.” American Law and Economics Review 17.2 (2015): 495-528.