Legalize medicinal mariuana

Páginas: 5 (1007 palabras) Publicado: 11 de diciembre de 2011
Gaby Adame Paredes.
Speech 11B
Mr. Helman
12/Dic/11
Final Persuasive Speech.

Some people ask 'why should medicinal marihuana be legalized?" but we should ask "Why should medicinal marijuana be illegal?" Many people believe that marijuana can be used as medicine to treat certain illnesses. Canada and several states in the U.S. have passed laws in recent years to specifically allow sickpeople to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. The only major federal report on the the subject of medicinal use of marijuana concluded that there was evidence that marijuana could be useful for "pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."(2)

The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by suchillnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them(1) and it can do so with remarkable safety. In fact, marihuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day.

There is very little evidence that smoking marijuana as a means of taking it represents a significant health risk. Although cannabis has been smoked widely inWestern countries for more than four decades, there have been no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marihuana. "it is suspect that a day's breathing in any city with poor air quality have more of a threat than inhaling a day's dose which for many ailments is just a portion of a joint of marijuana."(3)

Another pro point of why should medicinal marihuana be legalized isthat Patients receiving cannabinoids had improved immune function compared with those receiving placebo. They also gained about 4 pounds more on average than those patients receiving placebo. Also there are really no other medications that have the same mechanisms of action as marijuana. Dronabinol (Marinol) is available by prescription in capsules, but has the distinct disadvantage of containingonly synthetic delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is only one of many therapeutically beneficial cannabinoids in the natural plant.(4)

Shortly after the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, a UCLA reseacher discovered the first medical use of marijuana.(3) While researching methods which the police could use to tell if someone had been smoking marijuana, he inadvertantly discovered thatthe use of marijuana helps reduce pressure in the eye which helps people who are suffering from Glaucoma, a group of diseases which are the second leading cause of blindness in the world. These findings were able to help save many glaucoma patients from blindness..
This development also allowed for more research to be done, which led to even more discoveries about the medical benefits ofmarijuana. Soon afterwards, when Chemotherapy was just starting to be used, some patients, who were also marijuana smokers realized that its use helped reduce the nausea that is often caused by Chemotherapy, and even though modern science has created better drugs to help combat the nausea, it is still one of the many positive uses of marijuana.(5)
Marijuana has also been known to help decrease chronicpain, specifically that caused by cancer. Studies have shown that for chronic pain a small dose of marijuana has comparable results to that of a medium dose of codeine (a relatively weak painkiller). The patients using marijuana however, also showed improved mood, increased well-being, and less anxiety.
One unexpected benefit of marijuana use is the increase of appetite. Many AIDS patients developsomething called Wasting Syndrome which is the loss of over 10% body weight due to fever and other effects. For these people, the loss of as little as 5% body weight is associated with reduced survival.(4) Many cancer patients lose a lot of weight as well, this can be caused by the tumor itself or as a side effect of chemotherapy. The use of marijuana causes appetite stimulation, and can help...
Leer documento completo

Regístrate para leer el documento completo.

Estos documentos también te pueden resultar útiles

  • Legaliza
  • Legalize
  • ¿LEGALIZARLA O NO?
  • Legalizarla
  • Legaliza
  • Legalizaciones
  • Medicinales
  • Medicinal

Conviértase en miembro formal de Buenas Tareas

INSCRÍBETE - ES GRATIS