The Safer Alternative
Steven D. Smith
ENG/147
January, 18 2016
Becky Sutton

The Safer Alternative Imagine a medication that treats illnesses that are not more harmful than the illness it is treating. Cannabis was used as a medication for 5000 years by some cultures (Burnett & Reiman, 2014). Despite this fact, President Nixon put cannabis as a schedule one drug. The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) definition of a schedule one is it is dangerous and has no medical use (Americans for Safe Access, n.d.). Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the drug in medical cannabis, is so safe and average sized man can swallow nearly a pound of it before overdosing that is like smoking 700 joints in one sitting at the same time. Also, medical cannabis could cure some illness that has no cure with little side effects. The FDA should approve medical cannabis because; it has low risk and can treat illness effectively without side effects like death. Medical cannabis has low risk. The risks of medical cannabis are much lower than most prescription medications. An opiate-based medication for pain has a much higher risk of overdose (Pickett, 2015). According to research, "Some antipsychotic drugs have serious physical side effects on internal organs like the heart and liver and cannabidiol was well-tolerated and did not significantly affect hepatic or cardiac functions" (Pickett, 2015 p.9). Although medical cannabis can cause lung problems if smoked, for those that are terminally ill it does not matter, it becomes irrelevant (Maule, 2015). In conclusion, medical cannabis has low risk, because it is nearly impossible to overdose on if one reframes from smoking it, and consumes it in another form it can treat illness with very little risk at all and be highly effective. Medical cannabis can treat illness effectively. Medical cannabis is highly effective treating AIDS