Legalizing Marijuana Final

8/12/2019 Legalizing Marijuana Final

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Legalizing

Medical

MarijuanaSotirisPrountzos

Comm-200


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Tobacco kills about 400,000Alcohol kills about 80,000

Workplace accidents kill 60,000Automobiles kill 40,000Cocaine kills about 2,500Heroin kills about 2,000

Aspirin kills about 2,000Marijuana kills 0There has never been a recorded death due to marijuana at any

time in US history.

[National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse-Columbia University]


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What is marijuana?Marijuana or Cannabis, is a flowering plant thathas long been used for its rich medical propertiesand the benefits that provides but also as arecreational drug across many cultures.What is medical marijuana?Medical cannabis refers to the parts of the herbcannabis used as a form of medicine or herbaltherapy, or to synthetic forms of specificcannabinoids such as THC as a form of medicine.


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Thesis:Marijuana (Cannabis) isnowadays regarded as anextremely dangerous plantthat can be harmful or evencause death. What it iswidely unknown is thatmarijuana is very valuablefor its numerous medicalproperties and benefits.Marijuana should then belegalized and used formedical purposes.


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Marijuanas medicaluses in the pastMarijuana is one of the planets oldestmedicine.

Ancient Chinese herbalists were using it formalaria, stomach pain and consumption.

Cannabis is one of the 50 "fundamental" herbsof traditional Chinese medicine

Napoleon in 1804 brought marijuana from

Egypt and introduced it to France as a powerfulmedicine.

Queen Victoria and the high society of Englandwere using marijuana against insomnia and

pain but also for recreation.


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Marijuana in the United States and itsprohibitionMarijuana was brought in America in 1545 by the Spanishcolonists Scott Miller).The use of recreational marijuana began by the Mexicanimmigrants.Marijuanaturned to be illegal mostly because of prejudicesand economic reasons and less because it was connected withcrime murders and generally with violent actions. Muston,Legalizing Marijuana).The issue was less about the dangers of marijuana and moreabout politics.


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The southwest and west states werepressing for a federal law against

marijuana.The Mexican that were leaving there wereseen as dangerous and unnecessary so theact of growing and smoking marijuana was

an excellent excuse to send them back toMexico.

Smoking marijuana was used to stigmatizeMexicans.

They used fancy slogans such as theassassinofyouth.

The propaganda against marijuana led tothe first law against it in the 1937.


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A campaignstarted against marijuana using educational films.

As David F. Musto, professor of psychiatry at Yale and an expert onU.S drug policy states these campaigns were based on words ratherthan factsbecause they did not have and sources to devote to.In 1938, a group of medical professionals from the New YorkAcademy of Medicine studies the problem of marijuana in the city.After 4 years of study the reported the following conclusions:1. Smoking marijuana does not lead to addiction.2. Marijuana smoking is notwidespread among school children3. Marijuana is not a determining factor in major crimes. The situation will not change in New York, since the scientific

report was avoided and marijuana remained illegal.


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The medical value and benefits ofmedical marijuana1. AlzheimerIn contrast to previous studies aimed at utilizing cannabinoids inAlzheimer's disease therapy, our results provide a mechanismwhereby the THC molecule can directly impact Alzheimer's diseasepathology... It is noteworthy that THC is a considerably moreeffective inhibitor... than the approved drugs for Alzheimer'sdisease treatment, donepezil and tacrine, which reduced [proteindeposits in the brain] by only 22% and 7%, respectively, at twicethe concentration used in our studies... THC and its analogues mayprovide an improved therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease [by]simultaneously treating both the symptoms and progression of

Alzheimer's disease.

(Lisa Eubanks, PhD in A Molecular Link Between the Active Component ofMarijuana and AlzheimersDisease Pathology)


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2 Crohns Disease"[Crohn's] patients described marked improvements with the use ofcannabis.Beneficial effects were reported for appetite, pain, nausea, vomiting,fatigue, activity, and depression. Patients also reported that cannabisuse resulted in weight gain, fewer stools per day and fewer flare-ups of

less severity...Cannabis-using Crohn's patients not only report significant relief oftheir symptoms, they are also able to reduce the amount ofimmunosuppressive medications that have been a mainstay ofconventional treatment...

(Jeff Hergenrather, MD, President of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians in CannabisAlleviates Symptoms of Crohn's Disease)


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3. AIDS/ HIV"When appropriately prescribed and monitored,

marijuana/cannabis can provide immeasurable benefits for thehealth and well-being of our patients.

(American Academy of HIV Medicine)

"From working with AIDS and cancer patients, I repeatedly sawhow marijuana could ameliorate a patient's debilitating fatigue,restore appetite, diminish pain, remedy nausea, cure vomitingand curtail down-to-the-bone weight loss.

(Kate Scannell, MD, Co-Director of the Kaiser-Permanente Northern CaliforniaEthics Department in the San Francisco Chronicle )

"Consumer Reports believes that, for patients with advancedAIDS and terminal cancer, the apparent benefits some derivefrom smoking marijuana outweigh any substantiated or evensuspected risks.

(Consumer Reports Magazine)


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4. Epilepsy"There is scientific evidence to suggest that cannabis may be beneficialin treating a number of conditions, including epilepsy.... Some reportssuggest that it can reduce seizures. Other reports point to an increasein seizures.

(The British Epilepsy Association)

"Although more data are needed, animal studies and clinical

experience suggest that marijuana or its active constituents mayhave a place in the treatment of partial epilepsy. [In the study]we present the case of a 45-year-old man with cerebral palsyand epilepsy who showed marked improvement with the use ofmarijuana. This case supports other anecdotal data suggesting

that marijuana use may be a beneficial adjunctive treatment insome patients with epilepsy.

(Katherine Mortati, MD, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at SUNY Downstate MedicalCenter in Marijuana: An Effective Antiepileptic Treatment in Partial Epilepsy? A Case Reportand Review of the Literature)


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5. Hepatitis C/ Chemotherapy"Marijuana can improve the effectiveness of drug therapy forhepatitis C, a potentially deadly viral infection that affects morethan 3 million Americans, a study has found. The work adds to a

growing literature supporting the notion that in somecircumstances pot can offer medical benefits.

(Rick Weiss in Marijuana Aids Therapy)

"It is established that marijuana does ease the pain of cancer andthe nausea of cancer chemotherapy. So, to directly address yourquestion: It is a medically sound treatment.

(Continuing Medical Education)


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Conclusion

Marijuana has been one of the oldest medicinesused from the ancient years across many cultures.

The value of this herb and the benefits that canprovide to medicine were put aside because ofpolitical reasons. In the United States a law waspassed in 1937, turning marijuana out of law.

The real problem was not marijuana but the

Mexican immigrants that were growing andsmoking it.


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It was then proved that marijuana is notan addictive drug but on the contrary it

can be very helpful in the treatment ofmany diseases.

Marijuana is among the plants thatthanks to their chemical substance cansooth pain and inspire euphoria.

Along with cocaine and opium,marijuana was once perfectly legal but

today a whole war has started against

them. Did these plants changeor did we?


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Documents

Legalizing Marijuana Final