There is a belief that marijuana has both short- and long-term adverse effects on the "brain, the heart, the lungs, the immune system, and on learning and social behavior." (Hyatt, 2006) The FDA -- Food and Drug Administration has no role in the manufacture, composition, labeling, or purity of the final product
And five percent still were users at that time. (Joy, 2002) There has been no systematic study of the benefits of the drug and even about its alleged problems and nature of its use
State laws and citizen groups have recently challenged the federal policy and have come out in support of legalizing marijuana. (Khatapoush; Hallfors, 2004) The problem is compounded with the fact that there are other drugs that can also be used in palliative care but are dangerous to the society as a whole
For unknown political reasons, the American government has clung to its anti-drug campaign to the point of excluding and suppressing reliable scientific studies regarding the benefits of using marijuana therapeutically. Claims that marijuana is too dangerous are spurious; no known overdoses have ever been recorded and although the drug can be habit-forming, "few marijuana users develop dependence," and withdrawal symptoms are "mild and short-lived," (Joy, Watson, et al
4 billion per year if marijuana were taxed like ordinary consumer goods to $6.2 billion if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco," (Miron 2005)
The main side-effects associated with the administering of the marijuana included sedation and dry mouth; 13% of the participants reported no side-effects at all. The authors conclude that "inhalation marijuana is active in controlling nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy," (Vinciguerra at al 1988, n/p)
They believe that restrictions can be placed on the practice that will allow those with verifiable medical conditions to be given certification, while still providing room for the arrest and prosecution of those who take advantage of the system to further their drug dealing enterprise. DEA agents have stormed and raided Hospice centers that use medical marijuana on their terminally ill patients while proponents of its use waged war in the way of protests and lawsuits (Kreit, 2003)
Scientific studies have shown that the use of THC can and does reduce symptoms including chronic pain, loss of appetite and nausea that can occur through certain medical issues. In addition the evidence from the studies shows that the use of marijuana can relieve and reduce the symptoms that accompany glaucoma as well (Flynn, 2000)
Whereas the general public tends to think that the topic of medical marijuana is of little importance to society as a whole, matters are actually different. Medical marijuana has generated a lot of tension in the last few years, as doctors and patients have virtually come to be harassed as a result of their choices in regard to medicine (Barkacs, and Barkacs)
There are presently sixteen states in the United States that have legalized medicinal marijuana, this leading to a national debated concerning the substance effects and its potential to serve as medicine. Numerous people in the country are still reluctant to ignore proven facts most probably because of institutions like the Food and Drug Administration, which lobby against the use of medical marijuana for the reason that people presumably become vulnerable to abuse when using medical marijuana (Bock 63)
There are numerous people who bend the law by claiming that they need medical marijuana for their pains even though they are not in pain. This makes it difficult for those who actually use medical marijuana with the purpose of suffering to a lesser degree (Dresser)
Also, they believe that traditional medicine is more indicated in cases of extreme pain because it does not put people at risk. Medical marijuana's opponents are in most cases inclined to believe that the terms medical and marijuana should not be put together in the same sentence, since there is nothing therapeutic about the latter (Earleywine 167)
When neither Marinol nor Demerol helped, Nofziger and his family found that ?marijuana best helped reduce the effects of the chemotherapy to the point where she regained her appetite and actually began putting on weight. According to Nofziger, taking medical pot ?made her life more bearable to her and to her family?" (Gerber 133)
During the first years consequent to its legalization, medical marijuana has been the cause of numerous raids meant to catch and penalize individuals who dealt with prescribing and using medical marijuana. This mainly happened because legislation was somewhat faulty in the beginning and authorities had trouble understanding if the people they confronted had committed illegal acts or if they simply did what numerous other people did, only that a difficult medicine was involved in their case (Kreit)
It would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance." ((Demmer 35)
The 1960s was also a time of drug experimentation with hallucinogens, and though these were never legal, their use increased during this period. The market for drugs grew so large that a huge worldwide network of growers, manufacturers, and distributors came into being (Gold 29-30)
Even many on the political right have joined in the battle for medical marijuana and often for legalizing marijuana across-the-board. As one writer, notes, "it makes little sense to send people to jail for using a drug that, in terms of its harmfulness, should be categorized somewhere between alcohol and tobacco on one hand and caffeine on the other" (Lowery para
Two of every five Americans -- according to a 2003 Zogby poll -- say "the government should treat marijuana more or less the same way it treats alcohol: It should regulate it, control it, tax it, and only make it illegal for children." (Nadelmann 28) speaking of marijuana use in general, Nadelmann states, "Marijuana prohibition is unique among American criminal laws
There's too much money and too many jobs in the drug war, and being 'tough' on drugs is politically safer than the uncertain ground of moderation. And so federal resistance to reform remains as adamant as ever" (Schrag 28)
States like California passed the bill allowing the physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients who may find this medication appropriate and applicable to their situations. Some of the conditions that medicinal marijuana is said to be able to treat are cancer, AIDs wasting syndrome, relief of muscle spasm and tremors among victims of multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries, in treating glaucoma as well as handling chronic pain (Carol Eustice, 2011)