Is medical marijuana (cannabis) a safe and effective medical
option?
Studies have shown that marijuana’s active components are
somewhat effective in treating pain, nausea, and disease that cause a loss of
appetite (for example cancer or HIV/AIDS). There are many benefits of using
marijuana medically but you have to remember that you are still inhaling the
smoke which can be a health risk. But there are more benefits than risk. An
advantage of using marijuana is that the effect is rapid and immediate and felt
within minutes of smoking which is the ideal treatment because no one enjoys
being in pain or nauseated. Doctors have witnessed that for many patients
cannabis is more useful than prescription drugs because it is less toxic and
less expensive than the prescriptions for many syndromes and symptoms needed
medical assistance. The following symptoms and conditions are able to get
medical marijuana prescribed depending on the state laws: Alzheimer’s Disease,
Anorexia, AIDS, Arthritis, Cachexia, Cancer, Crohn’s Disease, Epilepsy,
Glaucoma, HIV, Migraine, Multiple Sclerosis, Nausea, Pain, and Spasticity.
There are no proven cases that show marijuana as the cause
of death unlike many drugs that are prescribed to patients. Some doctors say marijuana
“is too impure to use as a medicine and the side effects (dysphoria,
tachycardia, motor and coordination impairment, and introduction of
contaminants) are too great for the potential benefits for the maladies it is
to be used to treat.” (Eric Voth, 2001)
I think that medical marijuana is like any other prescribed
medicine, the doctors never know if it is going to be able to cure a patient
but they hope whatever is given to the patient helps them. It seems obvious
that not everyone is agreeing to legalize medical marijuana along with agreeing
or proving that it is effective enough to have everyone agree to prescribe it
to all their patients.
Karla K.
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