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Documentary

Argumentative Essay

Medical Marijuana; a Natural Alternative

I have always wanted to work with medicine, which is why I want to be a pharmacist. Whenever I heard about going into the “medical field”, I never thought about studying health and the human body. I thought more about the medicine and chemicals needed to help make the sick feel better. However, being around all of those substances can be quite dangerous. One bump on the table or one too many drops of a certain substance, and it could be all over for the patient and for me. I do not want to risk my patient’s life in order to make them feel better; they might as well stay sick. Then it hit me; I could have my own medical marijuana dispensary.

Marijuana does not need to be concocted in a lab, because nature is a science of its own. There is almost nothing that mankind can do with the science that we have today that can even come close to it. Marijuana can be taken care of just like any other plant: with water, sunlight, and time, and there are no health risks or dangers. For those who do not like the harsh taste of the smoke, there are also ways to cook and ingest marijuana with breads, cakes, brownies, tea, and even lip balm. There have been sixteen states, along with Washington DC, that have legalized the use of medical marijuana. It is still illegal in the Federal government’s eyes though, and they will do whatever they can do shut them down because their power prevails over the states. Medical marijuana should be available to those who are able to access it, and they should not be punished, especially if they are following their state laws.

Medical marijuana can help with a number of different conditions and diseases. The states that have legalized the use of it only find the use appropriate for chronic or serious medical conditions, such as pain, decrease of nausea and increase of appetites. It is known to be a mood stabilizer and a saliva reducer. “Furthermore, marijuana is used to reduce anxiety and improve sleep, and has reportedly been used in the treatment on intractable hiccups.” (Seamon et al 1040). There have been two big experiments on the idea that marijuana smoking can kill; the first HMO took place in California with over 65,000 men and women from the age of 15-49. Ten years later, the marijuana users died no sooner than non-marijuana users. The other study was with over 45,000 Swedish army conscripts. They were eighteen to twenty years old when asked about it, and fifteen years later, they are still able to live as long as non-smokers of marijuana. These were both conducted by Stephen Sidney, MD, an associate director for research in Oakland, California in the British Medical Journal.

How can marijuana be illegal when alcohol is perfectly endorsed and obviously causes more problems? You can see by this chart, that there have been zero deaths from smoking and overdosing on marijuana. You can also see on this chart, four columns above, that alcohol induced deaths are around twenty-three thousand people, and alcohol is a legal drug! It is considered a drug, because a drug is defined as any article, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or other animals. Alcohol affects your brain, your liver, and other vital organs in your body, so it is a legal drug. There are also motor vehicle accidents a few columns above alcohol induced deaths, and they are around thirty-six thousand a year. A lot of the time, motor accidents and drunk driving go hand in hand, so it would be no surprise if alcohol would play a big role in a majority of these motor accidents. This graph is self-explanatory showing the fact that marijuana smoking does not kill.  

There are many ways the state rules can get around the federal government rules, and vice versa. Obviously, when the federal law is up against the state law, the former will always prevail. “A 2005 Supreme Court decision (Gonzales v Raich) made clear that regardless of states laws, federal law enforcement has the authority under the CSA to arrest and prosecute physicians who prescribe, or dispense marijuana and patients who possess or cultivate it.”  (The New England Journal of Medicine) This gives the government the right to stomp into any medical marijuana dispensary, and look for whatever they wish as well, because marijuana is still illegal in the federal government’s eyes. However, if the patients are following the state laws, do they really need to be punished for it?

This is a touchy subject in itself, which could be the reason why there are still many questions left to ask, and to answer. It would be hard to find out what would happen if medical marijuana was legal throughout the country, and it is also still hard to understand why the government still disregards the benefits this medicine can have. It can help with all of the major and chronic diseases we have today such as AIDS and cancer, and can even help us financially, with it being the top cash crop in the country because of the dispensaries present in the states. It is almost pointless for the federal government to give the state’s power if they are just going to look over them like an overprotective parent, and be a stickler for detail. We should be more worried about the safety and health of our people, and if medical marijuana is what works for them, then that is what SHOULD work for them.