It was said that for many years, marijuana has been used to treat many physical disorders or illnesses. Although the U.S. Government refuses to see its medical potential so they “educate” the Americans that marijuana is bad and they classify it as a Schedule 1 type of drugs. The estimated deaths from marijuana are lower than from those attributed from alcohol and aspirins. Of course marijuana cannot “cure” any illnesses or diseases, but it can surely relieve the patient from pain. Which patient would not like to feel some sort of relief after feeling so sick for so long, especially those with constant nausea, loss of appetite and those with chronic pain? Other patients have also reported that “marijuana is useful for treating arthritis, migraine, menstrual cramps, alcohol and opiate addiction, and depression and other debilitating mood disorders.”
Some say that using marijuana leads the users to use harder drugs or is a “getaway” for other drugs but “this is largely because the supply network for illegal marijuana is often part of the supply network for other, more dangerous, illicit drugs. Marijuana buyers, forced to purchase from illegal distributors, are led to meet drug dealers who have an interest in selling more profitable substances to their customers.”
Also, the support for legalizing medical marijuana is strong from both the public and the medical community. Here the statistics show that:
• Since 1996, a majority of voters in Alaska, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington state have voted in favor of ballot initiatives to remove criminal penalties for seriously ill people who grow or possess medical marijuana. Polls have shown that public approval of these laws has increased since they went into effect.
• A CNN/Time poll published November 4, 2002, found that 80% of Americans believe that "adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it...." Over the last decade, polls have consistently shown between 60% and 80% support for legal access to medical marijuana. Both a statewide Alabama poll commissioned by the Mobile Register, published in July 2004, and a November 2004 Scripps Howard Texas poll reported 75% support.
• Organizations supporting some form of physician-supervised access to medical marijuana include the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, and many others.
• A 1990 scientific survey of oncologists (cancer specialists) found that 54% of those with an opinion favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana and 44% had already suggested at least once that a patient obtain marijuana illegally.
The support is strong for legalizing the use of medical marijuana and fourteen states have already legalized the use of medical marijuana (with proof of residency).
In addition,this graph according to SaferChoice.Org shows that Marijuana has the least dependency as withdrawal out of all the other drugs.
Ford, Adam, and Walter Andrew. "Points: Marijuana should be Legalized." Point of View Reference Center EBSCOhost, 2009. EBSCO. Web. 8 Feb. 2010.
Jack E. Henningfield, PhD for NIDA, Reported by Philip J. Hilts, New York Times, Aug. 2, 1994 "Is Nicotine Addictive? It Depends on Whose Criteria You Use.
Marijuana Policy Project. "Medical Marijuana Should Be Legalized." Opposing Viewpoints: Marijuana. Ed. Jamuna Carroll. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Century College Library. 8 Feb. 2010
ProCon.org. "14 Legal Medical Marijuana States." MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org. ProCon.org, 26 Jan. 2010. Web.
08 Feb. 2010.
Project, Marijuana Policy. "Medical Marijuana Should Be Legalized." At Issue: Legalizing Drugs. Ed. Stuart A. Kallen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Century College Library. 8 Feb. 2010
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