Not only does this help in making it more easily available, but it also increases its qualities and sellers have to compete and deliver better product, especially in places like Colorado where marijuana is legal. "Given its widespread availability throughout the United States and expanded use for medical conditions, it is reasonable to anticipate increasing number of adolescents turning to marijuana to treat chronic pain" (Harrison, Bruce, Weiss, Rummans, & Bostwick, 2013, p
In fact, in the past people used marijuana for a myriad of things, some of which were pain and loss of appetite. "During the mid- to late 1800's and early 1099s, cannabis was also used to treat symptoms of dysmenorrhea, insomnia, gonorrhea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, migraines, and typhoid fever" (Johnson, 2013, p
Analysis of issues Many see the positive effects of marijuana, however they do not believe in the delivery system. "Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation; smoked marijuana, however, is a crude THC delivery system that also delivers harmful substances" (Nunberg, Kilmer, Pacula, & Burgdorf, 2013, p
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
"I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol. (Christensen & Wilson, 2014)" Yet there remain many opposing views on the subject of decriminalizing the drug and these views have manifested to new levels over the course of the last few decades
S. Supreme Court has established Congress's constitutional authority to enact the existing federal prohibition on marijuana, principles of federalism prevent the federal government from mandating that the states actively support or participate in enforcing the federal law (Garvey, 2012)
Obviously this contradiction cannot be perpetuated forever and some resolution must enact to make a coherent set of standards for the regulation of marijuana for both medical and recreational use in the states that support these practices. From a federalism perspective, the unpredictable enforcement by federal authorities in states that have legalized medical marijuana not only threatens state drug policy, but also the efficacy of federal enforcement; the argument is based on the premise that the federal drug ban exists as a cooperation between the states and the federal government (Grabarsky, 2013)
In the last few decades the criminalization of drugs has escalated to all-out "war" on drugs. Today in the United States, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 55% of federal prisoners and 21% of state-level prisoners are incarcerated on the basis of drug-related offenses which represents an incarcerated population greater than the population of Wyoming; the federal government is spending over twenty-two billion dollars alone on a so-called war that 76% of the population view as a failure (Head, Key Facts About the War on Drugs, N