What do you think about the medicinal value of marijuana? Do you agree with 16 states and the District of Columbia that marijuana should be legal for medicinal purposes?
Again, what is your opinion on this issue right now? Think about your response to the previous question before reading farther.
Here is a very important fact – the American Medical Association (AMA) has yet to conclude that marijuana is helpful for even one medical purpose. Does that change your opinion?
Cannabis is such a popular drug in the United States today that many people don’t realize what a long and rich history it has a healing and medical treatment. Long before Californians were bending the rules to obtain medical marijuana cards to enter dispensaries, physicians were prescribing different types of cannabis as treatment to their patients.
Medical cannabis, specifically, refers to the parts of the cannabis plant which are used as a physician-recommended form of medicine or alternative therapy. It also refers to the synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids like THC as a form of medicine recommended by a physician. Medical cannabis has been used for so long that there is actually historical evidence that dates all the way back to 2737 BCE. In Chinese medicine, cannabis is one of the 50 fundamental herbs and is prescribed as treatment for a large variety of indications.
The term medical cannabis has a much different place in society today, so it’s important to remember where it came from and why so many people for its right to be legalized. There are still a lot of different reasons that people smoke marijuana today and a large number of them are people with medical conditions. Marijuana offers them different levels of relief, but certain populations are so quick to disregard that. They don’t believe that marijuana has any redeeming qualities or healing powers and merely see it as yet another illicit substance.
There have been a number of studies conducted that have proven very well-documented beneficial effects of medical cannabis. Some of these are:
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The relief of reduction of nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy and AIDS patients
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The stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and AIDS patients
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Lowered intraocular eye pressure, which has proven to be extremely effective for treating glaucoma
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Relief of gastrointestinal illnesses
There is also a concern for the risks of marijuana use among groups opposed to its legalization. There are actually no confirmed cases worldwide that are published anywhere, which show there have been any human deaths from cannabis poisoning. There has been documentation and medical reports that show occasional strokes and cardiovascular effects, but none of these effects have been associated with serious health problems for any users. It is unlikely that either side will cross over and change their beliefs about medical cannabis, but history and scientific research still remain and so it continues to be a battle at the federal level.