Why Medical Marijuana Should be Legal. Medical marijuana has been a controversial topic for the entire nation for decades. People

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1 Frias 1 Ariana Frias Ms. Dasher AP English Literature and Composition 1 October 2017 Why Medical Marijuana Should be Legal Medical marijuana has been a controversial topic for the entire nation for decades. People have been very undecisive, and so has the federal government. Medical marijuana, luckily, has been given a small chance to see its results. Medical cannabis proves to be more efficient than some prescription drugs for these medical illnesses: cancer, epilepsy, and AIDS patients all have seen the beneficial outcomes to this category one drug. Medical marijuana has had a bad reputation for no righteous reason. It should have fewer restrictions and should have easier access to medical patients such as: home cultivation, easier attainable with less expenses, and to limit punishment for possession. Marijuana is given to cancer patients and other medically ill people as a substitute for prescription drugs such as: epoetin and dronabinol. These drugs lessen the cancer patient s ability to fight infections and decrease their immune system. Epoetin treated for cancer patients: This medicine may cause seizures (convulsions), especially in people with a history of seizures. Anyone who takes these drugs should not drive, use machines or do anything else that might be dangerous if they have had a seizure (Ross-Flanigan). Epoetin also is very selective in effectiveness: People with certain medical conditions may have problems if they take this medicine. For example, the chance of side effects may be greater in people with high blood pressure, heart or blood vessel disease, or a history of blood clots. Epoetin may not work properly in people who have bone problems or sickle cell anemia (Ross-Flanigan). As research

2 Frias 2 for this prescription drug increases it also proves to be ineffective for sickle-cell anemia. The other commonly used prescription drug, Dronabinol, has sesame oil which is one of the active ingredients in marijuana. The side defects of prescription drugs are: Side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion and clumsiness or unsteadiness usually do not need medical attention unless they are long-lasting, or they interfere with normal activities. Other side effects or signs of overdose should have immediate medical attention. These include fast or pounding heartbeat and constipation. Constipation helps with the ongoing diarrhea that cancer patients suffer, however with the prescription drugs proves to be too severe of a constipation. With the use of marijuana, patients with diarrhea can have a balanced constipation. Medical marijuana, unlike prescription drugs treats the pain the patients go through chemo- therapy. Cancer is an epidemic swiping the entire nation. The people who have this terminal illness often must go through immense amount of pain. Whether if it is through chemotherapy or if they choose to not go through that process; they need pain management. Medical marijuana has given these cancer patients a pain relieving and natural sensation. Moroso, a 70- year-old, now cancer- free tried medical marijuana as an alternative for the dozen prescription drugs that his oncologist prescribed him (Finger). Continuing chemo-therapy Moroso noted: By the seventh round of chemotherapy, Moroso had dumped his prescription pills. "I would get blasted on the stuff and be happy as a clam, no problems," he says. Dr. Donald Abrams has noticed, A day doesn't go by where I don't see a cancer patient who has nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, pain, depression and insomnia. Marijuana helps relieve at least most of these symptoms because has an anti-nauseating and helps increase appetite. Not only does it help with the digestive system, but also your nerve system. Marijuana proves to elevate the patient s mood and increase their happiness levels. Medical marijuana. Finger proved the statistic. A 2014 poll

3 Frias 3 conducted by Medscape and WebMD found that more than three-quarters of U.S. physicians think cannabis provides real therapeutic benefits. And those working with cancer patients were the strongest supporters: 82 percent of oncologists agreed that cannabis should be offered as a treatment option. This being stated cannabis if recommended by those who study cancer, it should become an accessible alternative. In the bodies, there are cannabinoid receptors that cannabis can stimulate in the brain, liver and immune system. To further explain cannabinoid receptors: Basic research conducted over the past 20 years provides us with many answers. In the early 1990s, researchers identified the cannabinoid receptor system. This system is found in some of the most primitive animal forms on earth it is also the most widespread receptor system in the human body. The cannabinoid receptor system has two types of receptors: CB1 receptors are found primarily in the brain, spinal cord, and periphery. CB2 receptors are on the immune tissues. Specific molecules (called endocannabinoids) are produced by the body that interact with these CB1 and CB2 receptors, much like endorphins interact with the body's opioid receptor system. These findings initiated a new era of scientific interest and research in cannabinoids. Numerous studies have now established that cannabinoids help lessen pain and affect a wide range of symptoms and bodily functions. Such research has also demonstrated that cannabinoids may work together with opioids to enhance their effectiveness and reduce tolerance. This body of research has allowed cannabinoids to be informally classified into three types: endocannabinoids (produced by the body), Phyto cannabinoids (produced by the cannabis plant), synthetic cannabinoids (produced in the laboratory). (McCarberg)

4 Frias 4 Cannabinoids orally have given patients psychological unwanted effects; therefore, cannabis needs to be smoked to give a positive effect. Cannabinoids have a bright future to improve the medications for cancer patients. Marijuana along with fewer side effects has also caused a beneficial alternative treatment for patients with epilepsy. People who suffer with this mental illness go through a series of seizure fits. Epilepsy is still an uncontrollable and unpredictable with medication. An epilepsy patient in Canada, where cannabis is legal for medical patients, even struggles to have access to the drug. Fisher, relied on marijuana as a last resort, Despite an endless series of pills, I suffered from regular seizures for eight years. In 1997, I put my skull under a neurosurgeon's knife. The removal of a brain lobe the size of a thimble was supposed to improve life. But I am among the few whose condition worsened. I began to have more seizures -- sometimes three a day. They happened in places like buses and subway trains and the press gallery of the House of Commons. Now Fisher smokes regularly of this cannabis and has less seizures. Not only is marijuana beneficial for humans with epilepsy, but also pets such as: dogs. Carella, who sold edibles for humans, started Treatables. They are gluten-free, vegan dog biscuits that contain cannabidiol but not THC. That means the treats can have calming effects and relieve pain without getting dogs high (Butcher). Marijuana causes a decrease in seizures for epileptic patients, which is more beneficial than the prescription drugs recommended. Marijuana with epileptic remedies also benefits patients that have AIDS who subject to weight loss,and marijuana helps relieve this side effect. Capaldina stated the patient care results, a Schedule II (prescription only) controlled substance, affects receptors in the brain and the spinal cord. It is labeled for use in the treatment of anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS. AIDS symptoms include; prolonged fevers, night sweats, swollen lymph

5 Frias 5 nodes, chills, weakness, and unintended weight loss. Medical cannabis can help solve a partial amount of these symptoms to help the patient just like cancer patients. However, with AIDS there are complications: Inhaling smoke, which irritates the throat and lungs, can lead to respiratory problems. Marijuana use by patients with AIDS is discouraged since it is not known to what extent marijuana may further compromise the lungs' immune defenses and predispose the patient to opportunistic pulmonary infections (Capaldina). Marijuana has also been a costly drug for the troubling patients: Proponents of smoked marijuana for medical use believe that government-approved marijuana would be less expensive than dronabinol or the new antiemetics. For example, ondansetron costs $120-$160 for oral administration, but because of nausea and vomiting, especially in AIDS patients, IV administration is often required at a cost of about $600 (Capaldina). Marijuana is a beneficial drug just like other prescription drugs given, but its more expensive just because of its categorical drug rank. Marijuana has been naturally grown on this earth longer than our country has probably been called the United States, and the therapeutic enhances to the human body help control pain to multiple illnesses. Cancer, epilepsy, and HIV/ AIDs are all common medical disorders where marijuana proves to be effective to ease the symptoms. There are Sixteen states and the District of Columbia legalizing this schedule 1 drug, but the public acceptance is faltering. Marijuana being a schedule 1 drug has interfered with the process to regulate it through local pharmacies and research laboratories. A growing number of states have passed legalization laws for this drug, but there is still not a federal act to confirm legalization. As people who sovereign this nation, should take into account the legalization of medical marijuana, to stop arrests to those who largely cultivate for their medical purposes.

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