Medical marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Medical marijuana - Essay Example Even though, FDA has not shown any green signal to marijuana, many people in America believe that marijuana can be used as an effective medicine in the treatment of some of the diseases like nausea, vomiting, glaucoma etc. Moreover, marijuana can stimulate hunger among some patients, and it can also be used a pain reliever. However, marijuana has not achieved the status of a medicine yet and still marijuana use is labeled in the category of substance abuse in most of the countries. Roth (2008) has pointed out that â€Å"To date, marijuana is still classified as an illegal Schedule 1 drug by the Controlled Substances Act. It is defined as having "no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" (Roth). On the other hand, critics of marijuana argue that marijuana should not be used as a medicine because of its side effects. For them, marijuana has the ability to make huge physical and emotional changes in a person which may affect the person in the long run. No American cour ts so far took any favorable stand in administering marijuana as a drug because of the lack of scientific evidences to prove the credentials of marijuana as a drug. This paper briefly analyses the pros and cons argues against using marijuana as a medicine. Some of the early studies in the 1970’s and 80’s shown that light or moderate consumers of marijuana may not develop any physical or psychological problems. In other words, the controlled use of marijuana may not cause many problems to the user. However, it should be note that many of the current generation do not have the ability to control their behaviors. For example, a person who started smoking or drinking just for a joke may become an addict. Same way, marijuana users can also become addicts as time goes on. Moreover, marijuana available in the past and present has lot of differences. Its potency, as measured by the THC content, has greatly increased from as low as one or two per cent to as high as 15% today. S ome medical studies have shown that this change greatly increases the risk, especially for heavy users, to lungs, reproductive and immune systems. It also increases the heart rate and can impair motor skills and the ability to concentrate. These health dangers provide are more support for deterring its availability. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which keeps track of marijuana-related emergency room visits, reports that this statistic has risen steadily in the past three decades (Parker). â€Å"THC is a fat-soluble substance and will accumulate in fatty tissues in the liver, lungs, testes, and other organs. Two days after smoking marijuana, one-quarter of the THC content may still be retained† (Basic facts About Drug Marijuana). Marijuana available at present are enriched with more THC content in order to make the consumers satisfied. Most of the drug addicts and alcohol addicts are using these things to change their moods. However, they may require more doses as time goes on to attain a particular mood. Marijuana sellers enrich the THC content to alarming levels in order satisfy the users. Substance abusers or marijuana users may not bother much about the THC content because of addiction. Thus, their physical and mental health would be severely damaged as a result of marijuana use over a time particular time period. â€Å"While cannabis itself is not physically addictive it can be dangerous for those with mental health issues and is often supplied by dealers who also