If your every waking minute was consumed by hurting and sickness, wouldn ’ T you ask for medicine? What if the lone medicine lawfully available would go forth you unconscious or make nil at all? If you were the one agony, would you resort to the lone intervention that allowed you to populate usually even though it was illegal?
Thousands of people across the state are forced to interrupt the jurisprudence to ease their hurting. They have chosen marihuana over anything lawfully available because it has assorted medicative belongingss that can non be found anyplace else. Due to these many alone medicative utilizations, marihuanas should be reclassified as a valid, legal signifier of intervention. Marijuana has many alone utilizations as a signifier of intervention.
It has been used efficaciously to battle the sickness caused by chemotherapy, to cut down the internal force per unit area of the eyes of glaucoma patients, and to forestall the? blowing syndrome? in AIDS and malignant neoplastic disease patients ( Marijuana for the Sick A10 ) . As an option to utilizing existent marihuana, modern scientific discipline has developed a man-made signifier of THC, the active chemical in marihuana.
However, this man-made drug, called Marinol, is useless for most mundane intervention because it has the unpleasant side consequence of being a powerful ataractic. A member of Milwaukee ’ s AIDS community, said that a friend of his was taking Marinol to increase his appetency: He spends the whole twenty-four hours express joying and watching films … He can ’ t even drive a auto because he ’ s so out of it. ? ( 3/25/97 )
In add-on to that, Marinol merely comes in pill signifier, which makes it useless for patients taking it for sickness. Marijuana has neither of those drawbacks. Because it is normally smoked, even the most nauseating patient can utilize it every bit good as easy modulate their consumption ( Medical Marijuana 23 ) . No prescription drug offers the benefits and potency of marihuana. Many people have testified to marijuana ’ s cogency as a alone signifier of intervention.
One of these, Robert Randall, one of merely eight patients supplied with marihuanas by the federal authorities, was diagnosed with acute glaucoma and told that he would be blinded within five old ages ( Brazaitis 1C ) . Randall discovered by accident that smoking marihuana? relieved the internal force per unit area of his eyes ( 1C ) . After more than twenty old ages of smoking marihuana, Randall still has his vision, withstanding the anticipations of his physicians ( 2C ) . Richard Brookhiser, a senior editor of the conservative National Review who has admitted to utilizing marihuana to handle the sickness caused by chemotherapy, claims that if that minute comes to you, you will turn to marijuana. ( Brookhiser 28 )
Rita Zweig farther illustrates marijuana ’ s effectivity: If anything that is prescribed worked every bit good for me, she said, I wouldn ’ t utilize marijuana. ( Snider A1 ) These three people represent 1000s of sick persons across the state who use marihuana as a signifier of intervention. Marijuana as a signifier of intervention has gained support from the medical community. Such esteemed medical publications as the New England Medical Journal have come out in support of medicative utilizations for marihuana ( Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 1/30/97 3A ) .
In add-on to that, a Harvard survey showed that about 44 % of physicians who treat malignant neoplastic disease patients in the American Medical Association, a group officially opposed to marijuana, hold really recommended marihuana to ease the hurting of their patients ( Medical Marijuana 22 ) .
Even with this support, the federal authorities has refused any kind of clinical proving or reclassifying. Because of its medicative value and the deficiency of an effectual replacement, marihuana should be reclassified as a Schedule II drug alternatively of a Agenda I drug, which would let it for certain medical usage s. Other illegal drugs such as cocaine and diacetylmorphine are classified as Schedule II, even though they are considered wont organizing and unsafe, where marihuana, classified as a Agenda I, has ne’er caused a decease or overdose and is non considered habit-forming.
The federal authorities garbages to reclassify marihuana because there? is no cogent evidence that smoked marihuana is the most effectual available intervention for anything. ( McCaffrey 27 ) There can be no cogent evidence until marihuana has been tested in a series of clinical tests. There can be no clinical testing of marihuana because the federal authorities will non let them ( Conant 26 ) . Anyone who has read the book Catch-22 will happen this state of affairs familiar.
The authorities oppositions of medicative marihuanas are against it for political instead than practical grounds. Clinton, who suffered in the polls after he admitted to smoking pot, has taken a strong anti-drug stance to follow in the popular vena of Reagan and Bush ’ s war on drugs. Congress has taken a strong anti-drug stance, which could be viewed as another illustration of Congress ’ withdrawal from the people they represent, since 35 provinces have Torahs that allow marihuana for medicative usage in certain fortunes.
The freshly passed referendums in Arizona and California demonstrate popular support of these Torahs, and that they couldn ’ t be passed through California ’ s legislative assembly besides demonstrates the representative ’ s isolation from the electors. Federal jurisprudence, which prohibitions marijuana for all utilizations, makes all these province Torahs illegal. This issue represents the power battle between the province authoritiess and the federal authorities.
The federal authorities has no constitutional right to censor drugs, particularly non if it overrides a province jurisprudence. This issue has become more than merely marihuana for intervention of the sick, it has grown to include the federal authorities ’ s want to keep its laterality over the province authoritiess. Unfortunately, people whose morality and nationalism prevent them from utilizing marihuana to handle their malignant neoplastic disease, AIDS, glaucoma, or other illness pay the monetary value.
The other oppositions of marihuana as a signifier of medical intervention have presented several unlogical statements against it. Many oppositions argue that marihuana is a gateway drug that frequently leads to harder drugs. This statement is easy disproved by the fact that usage of difficult drugs in the Netherlands has decreased significantly since marihuana was legalized ( Medical Marijuana23 ) U. Parents are frequently disquieted that prescription marihuana will intend that more of it will acquire into the custodies of childs. Some of these parents have prescriptions for Morphine, Prozac, Zoloft, Dexedrine, or countless other mood-altering drugs which they successfully keep out of their kids ’ s custodies.
Marijuana should reclassified so its alone medicative value can be lawfully utilized to handle patients. How long would the loudest opposition of medicative marihuanas live incapacitated by sickness or Marinol before he would turn to marijuana Possibly oppositions should pass a month or two in chemotherapy before they deny patients the most effectual agencies of alleviation.
Plants Cited
- Brazaitis, Tom. “ The Illegal Wonder Drug. ” Plain Dealer 2 July. 1995: 1C-2C.
- “ Journal backs medicative usage of marijuana. ” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 30 Jan. 1997: 3A.
- “ Marijuana for the Sick. ” New York Times 30 Dec. 1996: A10. Conant, Marcus. “ This Is Smart Medicine. ” Newsweek 3 Feb. 1997: 26.
- McCaffrey, Barry. “ We ’ re on a Perilous Path. ” Newsweek 3 Feb. 1997: 27.
- Medical Marijuana. ” Issues and Controversies on File 10 Jan. 1997: 22-23.
- Brookhiser, Richard. “ Pot Luck. ” National Review 11 Nov. 1996: 27-28.
- Snider, Burr. “ Inside a Marijuana Pharmacy. ” San Francisco Examiner 3 July. 1994: A1-A2.
