Medical Marijuana

If a substance can make someone who is ill feel better, why keep it from him or her? On the surface this sounds right. People who advocate making marijuana legal for medical purposes take this approach. What could it hurt? A closer look reveals that marijuana should not be legalized for medical use, because young people are given mixed signals about drugs, other drugs can be used that are easier to regulate, and there are more harmful side effects. Marijuana is one of the most abused drugs in America today. It is estimated that close to four million Americans regularly use marijuana. It is often one of the first illegal drugs that young people experiment with (Gassett2). Legalization for medical purposes would send a mixed signal to our youth. Young people are taught at a very early age about the harmful effects and the abusive potential of marijuana. If at the same time, they are told that marijuana is medically benevolent, the result could be confusion. Andrea Barthwell, former deputy Director of the office of National Drug Policy said this in 2004, “Children entering drug abuse treatment routinely report that they heard ‘pot is medicine’ and, therefore, believed to be good for them.” (19). At a time when recreational drug use is at an all time high, it would not be wise to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. The war on drugs begins with young people. If they are confused about whether or not a drug like marijuana is harmful, the battle is over before it begins. Proponents of medical marijuana present some arguments that have merit. A few medical conditions that could benefit from marijuana have to come to light in the last few years. A new study recently reported in the journal Neurology found that smoking marijuana is effective in relieving pain of peripheral neuropathy (Grinspoon A9). This pain is normally resistant to treatment with conventional drugs. This research is new and shows potential, but did not use Manitol, the tablet form of THC in the study. No comparison was made to Manitol, so further research using both the cigarette and tablet form is called for. It could be effective as well and is controllable. With no collaborating studies and Manitol research, this information is insufficient to promote medical marijuana. A second medical condition that is treated effectively by smoking marijuana is glaucoma. Intraocular pressure (IOP) is increased when one has glaucoma. IOP is reduced when marijuana is smoked. The pressure may be reduced as much as twenty-five percent, however this IOP reduction last only for 2-3 hours after the drug is inhaled (Medical Marijuana 1). Patients would need to smoke almost constantly for the drug to be effective. Since glaucoma is a chronic disease, the side effects of long-term inhalation make marijuana smoking a poor choice for glaucoma treatment. Additionally, other drugs exist for glaucoma that are both more effective and safer. Others who fight to legalize medical marijuana suggest that it makes economic sense to legalize the drugs. Federal al local governments spend millions of dollars every year to combat illegal drugs use. A large percentage of this money is spent on hindering marijuana usage. Over nine million people have been arrested for marijuana law violations since 1965 (Young 2). Proponents of legalization claim truthfully that money could be saved if these people were not sought after and prosecuted. This is the same argument used to promote legalization of nearly every drug. The problem is in making people’s health only about money. When Prohibition ended, alcohol consumption rose along with alcohol abuse, DUIs and death related to alcohol. If prohibition of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes occurs, marijuana consumption will increase greatly. Saving money is secondary to saving lives. A capitalistic society is great for wealth accumulation, but health trumps money for just about everyone.
Several states have decriminalized marijuana possession in small amounts. Other states have attempted to legalize medical marijuana usage. California passed a law in 1996, which exempted physicians, patients and primary caregivers from criminal prosecution for possessing or cultivating marijuana for medical purposes. The law allowed patients and caregivers to possess and grow marijuana as long as it was prescribed by a healthcare professional. Medical marijuana laws, such as this, coupled with decriminalization would certainly make marijuana more available and would increase the potential for abuse. The Supreme Court used the Commerce Law to override California’s state law because the court felt that marijuana would be sold across state lines if this law was left on the books. The Supreme Court’s argument concerning this case contained these words:
One need not to have a degree in economics to understand why a nationwide exemption for the vast quantity of marijuana locally cultivated for personal use may have a substantial impact on the interstate (Annas 4). A further more reason not to legalize medical marijuana is that it would be nearly impossible to control. Who would grow it? How big would the cigarette be? Would the government control the manufacturing process or would individuals (as in the California law) be able to grow their own? There are prescription drugs that can currently be grown in one’s back yard. Should marijuana be the exception, many problems would surface. The potency of the drug would be impossible to determine. Some marijuana has large amounts of delta-9-tetrahydro-canabinol, THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Other marijuana plants grown in different environments have less THC. Drugs manufactured today meet strict criteria placed upon them by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA. The quantity, size and potency of drugs prescribed by health care professionals meet a standard of the care determined by the medical community in conjunction with the FDA. Smoking marijuana for treatment of health problems would present many control problems and could result in misuse and even overdosing. Would a person high on marijuana know how to stop smoking? What would be the sign? The effects of marijuana vary with the strength and dosage and even on the state of the mind of the user. Since it can be home grown, controlling the use of marijuana for medical purposes is not feasible. The U.S. Controlled Substances Act of 1870, based upon extensive drug research, classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug. Marijuana was placed in the same category as heroin and LSD. Updated in 2006, these regulations controlled the usage of all drugs. Schedule I drugs are those that have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted treatment in the U.S., and lack accepted safety for use under medical supervision (ProCon 1). Legalizing marijuana for medical purposes would essentially disregard the accepted rules of medical research in FDA approval. The FDA (through the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research CDER) promotes and protects the health of Americans by assuring that all prescription drugs are safe and effective. The FDA considers marijuana to have to accepted medical use. The American Medical Association, AMA, recommended in 2001 as a part of their official policy statement, that marijuana remain a Schedule I drug until further studies are performed. The AMA supports the FDA classification. To ignore the FDA and AMA, two associations designed to promote the health of Americans, is certainly bad medicine. Legislation that allows medical use of marijuana largely ignores the harmful effects of the drug. Smoking any material has a number of undesirable effects on the body. Nearly two hundred compounds are created when marijuana is burned and many of these contaminants are inhaled into the lungs. Some if these chemicals alter the body’s ability to fight infection. Nearly four times as much tar as cigarettes are delivered into the lungs as the drug is smoked. Several body organs are adversely affected. The brain, heart, lungs and immune system are damaged (Davidson 2). In the past five years papers published in medical journals have reported major medical problems with heavy marijuana usage. Ischemia (an insufficient blood supply) in smoker’s limbs has led to amputations in four cases. The risk for heart attack in the first hour after smoking marijuana is increased fivefold in another study (Cloud 70). Many other medical problems associated with marijuana use have been documented. These harmful effects cannot be ignored. If marijuana was the only drug available to treat a medical condition, then prescribe it, after consideration of the side effects, might be desirable. However, drugs already exist to treat conditions marijuana is used for. Treatment of nausea, pain, and loss of appetite are commonly mentioned, especially with terminally ill patients. Physicians now prescribe analgesics (for pain relief) and antiemetics (for nausea) that have equally potency and less side effects (Frist 1). Although marijuana may have medicinal benefits, these benefits are already available in drugs that are on the market. The negative side effects of the drug outweigh its benefits. If marijuana makes sick people, especially the chronically ill, feel better, then what is the harm? This is a simple approach to a complex situation. When consideration is given to legalization a drug, common sense should prevail. Making marijuana legal for medical purposes is a complex issue, however close examination shows that the bad easily outweighs the good. Children would be given a confusing signal about drugs. Other drugs that are easier to regulate, with fewer side effects and with proven effectiveness are already available. Legalization would lead to increased recreational drug use. The FDA and AMA have addressed medical marijuana and stand against its validation. Further research might change the tide, but as of now all waves crash against the medical marijuana boat.

Annotated Bibliography

Annas, George J. “Jumping Frogs, Endangered Toads, and California’s Medical- Marijuana Law.” New England Journal of Medicine 24 November 2005: 2291-2296.
George Annas, an attorney, compares the Supreme Court’s overturning the law passed in California to legalize marijuana for medical purposes to Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. The article is fairly complex and gives a detailed account of the Supreme Court’s use of the commerce clause to defeat individual state’s rights to bypass the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic. Although difficult to read, the article is helpful in understanding the government’s fears about state drug regulation that conflict with national laws. I will use this article as a reference to strengthen my topic on why medical marijuana should be legal. I will use the individual state’s rights part of the article saying that every state has the right to do as they please with using marijuana as a medicine. I will also use it as a refutation with the state drug regulations that conflict with the national laws. Cloud, John. “Is Pot Good for You?” Time 4 November 2002: 66-74.
John Cloud uses a series of questions and answers in his attempt to determine what he believes to be the truth about marijuana. Cloud makes his case about why the public has been given (what he believes to be) very little truthful information about marijuana. He does conclude with his belief that the government is now working with research agencies to correctly evaluates marijuana’s usefulness.

Gassett, Gregory. “Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized for Medical Purposes.” Green Haven Press 16 May 2005: A2-4.
Gregory Gassett presents an emotional attack on those who would legalize marijuana for medical purposes. He supports his beliefs with a slippery-slope argument and with evidence that drugs approved by the DEA are already available. He ends with his emphatically stated belief that marijuana is certainly more harmful than good.

Grinspoon, Lester. “Marijuana As Wonder Drug.” The Boston Globe 1 March 2007: A9-A10.
This article, written by Dr. Lester Grinspoon of the Harvard Medical School
Department of Psychiatry, is an article that supports the use of marijuana for various treatments and provides commentary on the need for legalizing marijuana for medical usage. The article is short but emphatic in expressing the need to reevaluate marijuana as a medical aid for patients who are suffering from various ailments. I will use this article as a reference to show the positive elements of the use of marijuana in medicinal purposes. The use of marijuana can help in many ways when used in the right situations and used in the right amounts if you use it legally.

“Marijuana.” The Columbia Encyclopedia. Sixth Edition. 2001-2005. This reference provides an excellent source of specific information about marijuana as a plant and as a drug. The article then tackles the legalization issue and explains the various medical uses of marijuana. It then concludes with a history of marijuana use. This article is a good source of general knowledge about the medical effects of marijuana.

“Marijuana Research: Medical Professionals and Accepted Medical Use of Marijuana.”
DrugScience.org. 2006. .
This article gives information about organizations and health care professionals who currently support marijuana usage for medical purposes. Specific information about the history of the AMA’s and the CMA’s attempts to change legislation is given. The article appears to be unbiased and without any agenda.