Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legal?

In the United States today, over half of the population takes prescription drugs on a regular
basis that are monitored by the FDA and are prescribed by trained physicians. This does not
make these medicines less harmful than other forms of medicine. Over the course of this
countrys history, man has seen drugs for medical use come and go. Some of which had harmful
or deadly consequences to their use. We will discuss within this paper the pros and cons of
making marijuana a legal medicine to help those who need to fight against disease.
Medical marijuana has been used since the 1840s for purposes like fighting disease and to
build strength. Some states in our country are years ahead of other states on this subject.
California and Colorado have taken the steps necessary to ensure that a patient can be treated
with the best medicine for their ailment. Although some injuries and illnesses would not be a
candidate for medical marijuana, some illnesses are. Marijuana is a currently illegal psychoactive
drug that many physicians believe to have substantial therapeutic uses. The medical literature
contains a growing number of studies on cannabinoids as well as case studies and anecdotal
reports suggesting therapeutic potential. Fifteen states have passed medical marijuana laws, but
little is known about the growing population of patients who use marijuana medically. This
article reports on a sample of 1,746 patients from a network of nine medical marijuana
evaluation clinics in California. Patients completed a standardized medical history form and
evaluating physicians completed standardized evaluation forms. From this data we describe
patient characteristics, self-reported presenting symptoms, physician evaluations, other
treatments tried, other drug used, and medical marijuana use practices. Pain, insomnia, and
anxiety were the most common conditions for which evaluating physicians recommended
medical marijuana. With more people considering the use of medical marijuana, it is important
that there is more research done about the use of marijuana for medical use. As with prescribed

Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legal?

drugs, the FDA needs to do its own research to make the American government and people who
do not believe marijuana has any medical value to be more comfortable with its use. They also
need to educate how it can eliminate the use of other prescribed drugs that have far worse side
effects. (Reinarman, Nunberg, Lanthier, and Heddleston (2011)).
Marijuana, as a medicine, is unusually safe. The ratio of lethal dose to effective dose is
estimated at around 20,000:1. Marijuana is the safest therapeutically active substance known to
man safer than many foods we commonly eat (Roth, 2001). There are no records of
marijuana being the cause of death because it is nearly impossible to overdose on. If we look at
just a few of FDA approved drugs, one can see the potential of bodily harm coming from the use
of these drugs. Some of the most commonly used drugs to help people with ADHD like Adderall
is a good example of an FDA approved drug that can be harmful and cause death. In 2005, there
were 12 cases of children taking Adderall, and the result was sudden death (DeNoon, 2005).
Another FDA approved drug that has caused death is Wellbutrin. Within a three-year span, there
were reports of 19 deaths from the use of Wellburtin (Wooltorton, 2002). When we compare
information like this, one should easily be able to tell that medical marijuana is not bad. It helps
thousands, if not millions treat themselves in a way that will not result in death. The federal
government should not refuse a treatment for diseases which is safer than the drugs currently
used to treat the same diseases.
Legalizing medical marijuana federally would have positive effects on our economy. In the
United States, there are anywhere from 25 to 60 million people using marijuana. Not all of these
people are using marijuana as medicine so this number would decrease when speaking about
medical marijuana users. It is estimated to raise anywhere from 40 to 100 billion dollars in new
revenue. What this means for the United States economy is that they will be able to tax this

Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legal?

money and close the gap on our huge debt that we have today. It makes no sense that the
government should give up this revenue in the form of taxes and allow this money to get into the
hands of organized crime. So not only would this put money in public purse and take it out of the
hands of organized crime. This seems to be a win-win situation for the people of America and the
government.
The use of marijuana for medical use is very controversial in the United Sates today. Many
people believe that marijuana should not be legalized for any reason including medical use.
Many think that there are other forms of medication to use for the treatment of cancer and other
ailments. Medical marijuana has been proven not to be effective because of the psychatric affect
it has on patients. Many patients who have used marijuana for medical use smoked it for
recreational use before medical use (Harvard Heath Mental Health, 2010). Marijuana is a not a
form of pain reliever that should be legalized to use because it affects brain function and thinking
process of an individual. The controls of pain by other medications are better than smoking
something which is not good for humans or even legal in the United States. Even though there
are 15 states within the United States where it is legal for people to use marijuana as a medicinal
option to treat their illnesses, many people still do not agree with its use as a form of treatment
for any illness. It is still viewed as a harmful drug that has been outlawed.
One of the biggest debates about the legalization of medical marijuana federally is the fact
that adults are worried about the exposure of the drug to children. If medical marijuana was
commonly accepted as a form of medication, children would definitely be more exposed to the
drug. People are in fear that medical marijuana users will take to the streets with their
medication and expose everyone, including children to marijuana. This is an understandable
concern. No responsible adult wants to expose his or her children to drugs. This is why other

Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legal?

drugs are so closely monitored by the government. Alcohol can only be bought by a person at
least 21 and prescription drugs can be used only by the patient prescribed him or her. We all
know this is not a perfect world and regulating drugs of any kind will never stop people from
abusing them or even buying them illegally. The truth is that adults do not want another drug,
especially one that the federal government has classified as a class one narcotic to start being
more available and accepted than it already is.
The potential ethical, moral, or legal issues that may occur with legalization of marijuana for
medical use may seem to make it easier for people to have access to it. Keeping this in mind and
knowing the risk involved may open the eyes of people. Ethically many people may see the use
of marijuana legally for medical use as an easier way of getting access to it. Morally, the use of
marijuana for medical use is a subject that many people question and tend to think that if a drug
is illegal why would a person want to us this drug. Having it made legal would probably cut
down on people wanting to use it because once something is made legal people are more likely
to turn away from it; however it could have the reverse affect and people may try to have their
doctors prescribe them the drug. Legally, many believe keeping the drug illegal would be the
best for everyone. Having marijuana used as a medical treatment is not ethical, moral, or legal in
any way. Keeping the drug illegal would be the best idea to handle the drug problem we have in
America.
As a group, we believe that legalizing medical marijuana federally would be a good way for
our country to go. We have identified that medical marijuana or marijuana in general can have
some side effects on the human body and mind. There is no drug, prescribed or not that does not
have side effects. We believe that the side effects that may come along with smoking marijuana
for medicine do not out-weigh the positive effects it can have for medicine. Marijuana as a

Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legal?

medicine can help people fight disease but is not the only reason it should be legal. The revenue
it could bring in for the U.S. government should say enough. We also see the concern of parents
about legalizing a drug for medical use because that sends a message to children that this drug is
okay to use as a medicine. Parents do not want their children thinking that a drug that has been
outlawed for so long is magically safe. The only problem with that concern is that the
government said it was bad and has no medical value without doing the proper research on the
effects of marijuana. Some choose to argue that it is a Class one narcotic but in almost all cases,
Alcohol is must worse than marijuana and definitely has no medical value. If a drug like this is
will be allowed to be used for recreation, why is the government not allowing the use of a less
harmful drug to be used as medicine? This is a question that we need to ask ourselves.

Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legal?

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Wooltorton, E (2002) Bupropion (Zyban, Wellbutrin SR): reports of deaths, seizures, serum
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