Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to review published scientific papers regarding the medicinal benefits of marijuana in spite of urging from major national and international health organizations ("Medical Use"). A 2004 American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) survey revealed that a whopping 72% of Americans over the age of 45 believe that "adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician recommends it," and 59% believe that marijuana does indeed have medicinal benefits (Kalata)
Unfortunately, neither American lawmakers nor the voting public learned from the mistakes made with the passing of prohibition laws. Although alcohol consumption in America dropped significantly by 1921, within a few years after the 18th Amendment was passed, per-capita drinking levels rose and a thriving black market permitted the flow of libations around the nation (Thornton)
Archeologists in Taiwan uncovered clay pots from 8000 B.C. that were decorated with strands of hemp (Earleywine 4)
John). Thus, based on the Court's ruling, the federal government can prosecute anyone who possesses marijuana for medicinal purposes, even in states where such use is legal (Henderson)
Drug czar Barry McCaffrey and other federal officials oppose leniency on the question of medical marijuana stating that it "sends the wrong message" and undermines government efforts to suppress marijuana's recreational use (Zimmer). In May 2006, the Washington Post revealed: "The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer" (Kaufman A03)
C., the Chinese Emperor Sheng Nun declared cannabis as a "superior herb"(Merrett)
On June 6, 2005, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision in Gonzales vs. Raich, that it is within the constitutional powers of Congress "to prohibit the local cultivation and use of marijuana in compliance with California law" (St. John)
By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care" (Medical). Opponents to the legalization of medical marijuana generally refer to the fact that the FDA has approved the only psychoactive ingredient of marijuana, THC, that has been found useful for pain relief, as Marinol, in pill form through a prescription (Zimmer)
Specifically, when faced with something like cancer, many people either attempt to avoid the issue or else focus on it excessively, and in both cases the patient's psychological state deteriorates as a result. Marijuana can intervene in this process because the lateral thinking and changes in mood brought on by marijuana can encourage patients to consider their disease in new or different ways outside of their regular patterns of thinking (Cohen, 2006, p
Lastly, marijuana has the potential to decrease anxiety and elevate a patient's mood, something that is extremely important when dealing with something like cancer. It is important to point out that this is not the same as saying that positive thinking and a "fighting spirit" will help someone survive cancer, because these ideas have not been substantiated by the data (Coyne & Tennen, 2010, p
Marijuana's mood altering effects can help patients cope with their cancer psychologically, because it encourages modes of thinking that step outside the usual "repression/blunting vs. sensitization/monitoring" dichotomy that can emerge (Livneh, 2000, p
However, there is also a medical argument against prescribing marijuana that needs to be discussed, but as will be seen, this argument is no more convincing than the legal one. Partially because of the legal classification of marijuana, in-depth studies as to its effectiveness have not been conducted (Martin, 2002, p
Specifically, as medicinal marijuana becomes more popular, physicians that are willing to prescribe it are increasingly being seen as single-issue providers rather than professionals who should be directly engaged in their patient's health. This tendency has been seen in states like Colorado, where just 15 physicians have been responsible for registering 49% of the total number of medical marijuana patients in the state (Nussbaum et
Instead, most studies that have been allowed to proceed focus on the potential negative effects of marijuana use, and particularly the smoking of marijuana. In this regard, smoking marijuana has been found to be associated with increased risks of cancer, lung damage, and pregnancy problems, but this research is itself a kind of smokescreen, because pointing out the dangers of smoking marijuana has little bearing as to the efficacy of marijuana in general (Pies, 2010, p
The most obvious argument against prescribing medical marijuana to a patient is the simple fact that in many areas, marijuana remains illegal. In the United States this situation is compounded by the fact that certain states have legalized marijuana for medicinal and in some cases recreational use even as the federal government continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it is classified in the same way as "heroin, ecstasy, LSD, GHB, and peyote," and is even more restricted than "drugs like cocaine, codeine, Oxycontin, and methamphetamine," which are classified as Schedule II (Thomas, 2010, p
Its physical dangers include possibility for lung damage, or potentially lung cancer. (Anderson, D, M
Hence, the war on drugs is a long, risky, expensive undertaking. (Boylstein, 2003) This spending is considerably high when talking about the drug marijuana, as it is one amongst largely consumed drugs as it does not cause much harm to health like tobacco or nicotine
But increasing taxes to a great extent will motivate its growers to trade on the black market in order to avoid unnecessary taxation. In conclusion, it is true that, while considering marijuana legalization, several fiscal, medical, and communal issues must be considered (Bradford, 2012) but it is largely accepted that there are long-term financial benefits for the government in legalizing marijuana who is already struggling to discover new sources of income to compensate for other significant social objectives like medical facilities and education for local citizens
Legalization of marijuana reduce this risk, that will lead to a rise in its demand. (Register, Charles, and Williams, 1992) Hence, legalizing marijuana is good and bad both at the same time, as an increased usage of marijuana will cause adverse effects on the health of the people and a rise in its sale will increase revenues for the government at the same time
However, it has been estimated that this difference of prices would soon be diminished for the reason that, Entrepreneurs knowing the huge profits to be made through selling marijuana may establish their own cultivating operations, that will lead to a rise in its circulation on the streets, that will eventually cause its street price to drop to a price more or less similar to its cost of production. (Stingl, 2012) Obviously, it is not possible where the drug is still illegal and the fear of punishment discourage a lot of entrepreneurs and time to time drug bust keeps its supply reasonably low