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Medical Advancement

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In a CBS News poll, 77% of Americans said they support legalization of
medical marijuana. Medical marijuana and recreational marijuana have
different chemical make-ups, but both come from the cannabis plant.
Marijuana can help with nausea of cancer patients from chemotherapy, and
other affects coming from a wide range of diseases. Marijuana is proven to
be addictive, but really does not have any major dangers. It is a safe
alternative for other medical drugs, which is why it is already legal in 23
states and is planned to be legalized by at least ten others in 2016.The
benefits of medical marijuana far outweigh the dangers and it should be
legal everywhere in the United States.
At first, I really did struggle finding a topic. When I finally settled on
medical marijuana, I hardly knew anything about it. I chose this topic
because I was very interested about the history of marijuana and what it can
do for and to the human body. Another big thing that led me to want to
research marijuana is what laws have we created regarding the legalization
of marijuana. I was extremely surprise about the numbers I had gathered
because I figured medical marijuana was not very popular. What I found out
told a much different story.

Although my overall process went smooth, I hit some bumps in the


road. On the schools network, the word marijuana is blocked making it very
hard to find sources. By the time we had no more days at school to find
sources, most people had ten while I was stuck at about three. I was left to
get my sources at home. After this, evaluating my sources and writing out
my note cards was very easy. By the time I had all of the 50 required cards, I
was only through my 9th source! The outline was also a fly-by, but then came
the interview/poll. Right away I knew I was going to attempt a poll, but it
seemed very hard to do. We had a couple of cold days which set me back,
but I ended up enjoying and taking a lot from the experience.

Poll Results
Following getting sources and writing note cards, our next step was to
perform an interview or poll. I thought a poll would be the better option for
my paper. It would help show what the public thought of medical marijuana.
This is very important because the legalization is for the people. I believe I
ended up with valid evidence that can go well with the writing of my paper.
The main goal of this poll was to see if people thought medical
marijuana was a good solution. I asked three teachers, two of which I do not
have, my brother, sister, mom, dad, and three fellow students. I asked most
of them face to face, except for the two teachers that I contacted through email because I do not happen to see them throughout the day. 60% of the

poll said Medical marijuana should be legal in the United States. Since also
80% of these people thought doctors should be able to prescribe medical
marijuana for their patients, it is clear that the public is on the side of
marijuana being a safe and effective alternative. Though most people do
agree with the legalization of medical marijuana, 60% agree that marijuana
is too dangerous for recreational use. In my opinion, this information will help
prove the point that medical marijuana is more beneficial than it is harmful.

Search Findings
We know medical marijuana works because it has been used for
thousands of years. Medical marijuanas uses can be traced back as early as
2737 B.C., when the emperor of China, Shen Neng, used cannabis tea as a
treatment for gout, rheumatism, malaria, and even poor
memory(Zimmerman). Why would people still use it today, if it were that
harmful? In fact, it is used so much so much that Marijuana is the most
commonly used illicit drug in the United States(Medical Marijuana).
Shifting of attitudes towards drugs in the late 1800s resulted in the forming
of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1906.The most active chemical
in marijuana, THC, has been proven by the FDA safe and effective in
treating nausea and vomiting(Medical Marijuana). The FDA is one of the
most reliable organizations out there, and this is another way to show what
medical marijuana can do for you. Along with the FDA, many other

organizations that have endorsed medical marijuana include the AIDS action
council, American Public Health Association, American Academy of Family
Physicians, American Medical Student Association, Lymphoma Foundation of
America, and many other prestigious groups(Sack 22). There are problems
even today with how people obtain marijuana, likely stemming from the
Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 that placed high taxes on all cannabis products
(Zimmerman). Such consequences include marijuana not being able to be
bought with transactions such as credit cards and the individual must carry
an identification card with them whenever they possess marijuana (Legal
Monitor Worldwide). If the people of America work to support marijuana, soon
patients suffering from a wide range of complications may get the pain
relieving they need where they want when they want. Even though there are
many laws against marijuana, ones such as the Compassionate Care Act,
which created an organization to help support medical marijuana while also
legalizing it in New York(Legal Monitor Worldwide), have done the opposite.
Although the Federal Government does not agree with the medical marijuana
movement, there have been huge steps to make it legal. Medical marijuana
has existed in many forms way back at least since 2737 B.C., and it has
come a long way since then.

Marijuana can help kill pain from so many different diseases, which is
why it is as popular with the public as it is. Overwhelming evidence supports
the benefits of medical marijuana and its removal from the Schedule 1

designation (The Curious Case of Cannabis 1). Also in The Curious Case of
Cannabis, it says, Mounting scientific evidence supports the medical
benefits of diseases such as cancer, HIV, Parkinsons, and Alzheimers(1). Just
this alone shows that medical marijuana has strong evidence on why it
should be legal. Most people know at least three others who have suffered
from cancer alone, and what a big step it would be to get rid of so much of
the pain along with other struggles from a wide range of diseases. Along with
what marijuana can help with, many people think it is very bad for you. While
some experts caution that the effects of medical marijuana on child
development are unknown, others point out the fact that the same is true for
other medications used to fight pain (Rollins 59). Have you ever seen
commercials where they have a medicine with about 50 long-term side
affects? Well, medical marijuana has zero! Along with proven facts that
medical marijuana is helpful not harmful, there is the publics view on the
topic. If 75% of Americans think doctors should be able to prescribe
marijuana if their patients are suffering from a serious medical condition, and
approval rates of medical marijuana rose from 69% in 1997 to 81% in 2009,
do you not agree that it is about time to legalize marijuana (Medical
Marijuana)? If the United States was formed into a democracy where the
people decide, should they not be allowed to choose what they can or cannot
do for their health? It is about time the people are making the decisions for
themselves, not somebody doing it for them. In a placebo-controlled, 2007
study by Donald Abrams, a specialist for cancer patients at the University of

California in San Francisco, and his colleagues confirmed that marijuana is


effective at reducing neuropathic pain in HIV patients (Usheroff 1). Marijuana
is a safe and very affective alternative for many pain medications that are
just as dangerous or maybe even more dangerous along with popular opinion
towards legalization.

Since marijuana is classified as a schedule one substance, it is tightly


regulated and in most states only legal for few serious medical conditions
(Miron). It is also difficult to study marijuana because of some laws, states
Donald Abrams. According to David Sack, We need to fund the muchneeded additional research on medical marijuanas chemical
components(22). This is very important because if there were information
about more uses for medical marijuana, it would definitely make it more
popular so the Federal Government may better consider it. Another problem
that needs to be solved is with banks. Banks policies make it extremely
difficult to pay their employees (Stinson). Stinson also states that Banks will
not do business with growers, processers, retail shops, and dispensaries. This
makes it very difficult to give out medical marijuana prescriptions if there is
no way to transfer the money. This goes along with an earlier statement that
you cannot pay with credit cards either. So, if you cannot get money from a
bank and you do not have any cash already, how is it possible to retrieve the
marijuana? There needs to be some kind of compromise with banks and
suppliers of medical marijuana, so there will be other research that hopefully

will lead the United States to after all these years, finally legalizing medical
marijuana.

In final consideration, medical marijuana can be an exceptional


resource in controlling pain and should be permitted all over the United
States. Imagine if you were suffering from a serious condition, medical
marijuana sometimes is the last resort for treating your pain. It needs to be
allowed so people can get the treatment they deserve, which has been
proven to work for thousands of years. There are too many positive impacts
of medical marijuana to let it be forgotten when it can be allowed to let our
future generations thrive with a great pain killing solution. Everybody should
be able to experience such relief of pain, which is why there must be a
change as soon as possible.

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