Conflicting Viewpoints Essay: Synthesizing and Writing

Conflicting Viewpoints Essay: Synthesizing and Writing

Introduction

In writing and searching for information about a particular topic, it is essential to resist biases so that the reader, on the other end does not feel neglected from their thinking point of view in the discussion. In this assignment, the topic chosen is ‘The Use of Medical Marijuana’ in treating some of the chronic diseases affecting the human race. The Congress of the USA has placed marijuana as a controlled substance which should not be allowed in medical treatment from the early 70s. However, several states are legalizing it after realizing the benefits it carries in treating AIDS symptoms, cancer, epilepsy, sclerosis, pain-reliever, amongst other illnesses. The position of this paper is to ultimately allow for the use of marijuana in medical treatment in all the states in the US.

Reasons from the procon.org website

The three reasons for selecting this particular topic of legalizing marijuana in all states for medical use include pain-relieving or using marijuana as an analgesic. According to Emily Earlenbaugh, PhD, Director of Mindful Cannabis Consulting, gave a statement in Nov 28, 2017 article headed “Here’s the science behind Cannabis Therapies for Pain Inflammation”, where a clear explanation is provided on the way marijuana is acting as a pain reliever in animal trials, the cell, and human experiments done and reported by patients who used it. The second reason is that marijuana could be efficient in treating for minimizing nausea and frequent vomiting arising from chemotherapy.  It helps in stimulating the appetite of the patient undergoing chemotherapy, and the cannabinoids are usually more effective compared to other previous medications that have ever been administered. The data is found at www.ccsa.ca: website, in the 2012 report, by Harold Kalant, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus, the University of Toronto, and Amy J. Porath-Waller, PhD, Director of Research &Policy at the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. The other reason for allowing marijuana for medication is the ability to help patients suffering from epilepsy by controlling the seizures as reviewed in a 1997 research report by the British Medical Association.

Answers on the ‘believing questions’

Marijuana is believed to be not addictive amongst many people, especially adolescents. The results are astonishing because nearly ten percent of marijuana users are addicted, making the question of believing a wrong perception. Also, marijuana being associated with treating vomiting patients undergoing chemotherapy could not be accurate as stated, because users always end up losing appetite, feeling dizzy, increased heartbeat rates, and slow digestion. The patient could experience intense vomiting accompanied with more side effects. The belief question is not answered entirely from that explanation.

Biases likely to experience

The types of biases one could likely experience in legalizing marijuana for medical use include the lack of evidence showing therapeutic advantages of using marijuana. There is little information explaining the safety or efficiency of marijuana in patients with epilepsy or the reducing of vomiting on patients undergoing chemotherapy. There are no procedures showing a clear picture of the trials done in the supporting of the benefits of marijuana. Another bias is that the cannabinoids in marijuana have not been studied comprehensively to ascertain their chemical composition during growth periods in the farms or storage locations. The poisonous fungus could grow on the plants, or the chemical composition altered to suit a special condition. As a result, the patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer, or epilepsy could be affected by that contaminations leading top further complications. The other type of bias for the position of legalizing marijuana is the criterion used in selecting states where it will be produced medical use. Some states will want to control the production, distribution, and selling, denying other states equal rights of production.

Effects of enculturation

Some of the effects that culture influences the biases of the position in this study paper include; a need to control the rising number of patients suffering from the diseases as mentioned earlier, that are challenging to treat. Marijuana should be tried to treat cancer patients and see whether they will respond positively to medication rather than leaving them to succumb to death by relying on non-effective medication. Culture has made many people to believe that marijuana is an illegal substance banned in many countries. But research has not been done openly to prove its beneficial advantages and help in solving the dilemma surrounding marijuana. There is also a belief that marijuana is contaminated by different environmental components which might affect the patients using it severely. However, specialized doses could be designed to allow different patients to use specific dose amounts depending on their health, cell-strength, and extent of the disease.

Thinking about the topic has not changed despite playing the “believing game” because extensive studies need to be conducted to ensure that marijuana is allowed in treating various illnesses among patients. There is no reason to categorize it as an illegal substance entirely generally, and more trials are required to make it embraced and allowed for treating patients. It is good to try several treatment methods to counter the chronic diseases which are proving difficult for doctors in many countries. The answer could be lying somewhere within our reach, but the regulations and laws are against it.