Austin Resing

Mrs.Jankowski
English 12H
2/14/16

Legalization of Medical Cannabis Should be in Process

Medical Marijuana has been an under researched topic for decades, but in recent years,
it has grown to been a positive health topic. The growing topic, with more propaganda than
facts, is struggling to become a new safe alternative because it has always been seen as a
gateway drug. In small, newly discovered research, with cancer and aids patients going through
trials of using this as an alternative, have shown promise. Even with new positive results of
research, there are still the negatives to come with.
Medical Cannabis, in research, has helped people for centuries and could benefit
many with cancer symptoms today. Cancer patients go through treatments that subdue
them to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, pain, and loss of appetite. According to
The National Cancer Institute, Cannabinoid receptors located in brain cells have a role in
controlling nausea and vomiting(Nausea & Vomiting p6). Also, Studies performed on
animals have concluded that delta-9-THC, the psychoactive chemical found in Cannabis,
act on cannabinoid receptors to help prevent nausea and vomiting caused by certain
types of chemotherapy(p6).

Aids patients benefit sufficiently with Medical Cannabis by decreasing their

symptoms. Common symptoms are nausea, pain, loss of appetite, and anxiety. Much

like the symptoms with cancer patients, aids patients can help ease these symptoms in a
more safe manner than the use of prescription drugs. With the chemical THC found to
increase appetite, Aids patients can use this treatment to help gain body weight and
muscle mass back. This way of gaining muscle back is simpler, but also less of risk than
taking pills for every symptom.
Marijuana has not only been seen to have helped cancer and aids patients, it has
been known to increase sleep, and decrease anxiety as well. People who suffer from
insomnia have a case of sleep deprivation, this due to anxiety distress during the day
which in return keeps them awake at night. From there on, the less sleep, the more
anxiety comes the next, which could lead to suicidal thoughts, anger, or small loss of
functionality in motor skills. Medical cannabis can help people with insomnia syndrome
dramatically. In several animal testing, the chemical cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown
to have anti-anxiety effects(Anxiety & Sleep p6). With mentioning cannabinoid receptors
that control appetite and pain, they also control mood and anxiety. CBD helps relax
these receptors and decrease anxiety, relieving patients to get a better night's rest.

Medical Marijuana can be a safer alternative from prescription pills. The average
everday death rate for prescription pill users are 44 per day. On the other hand,
Cannabis still has no deaths ever recorded from its use. This is a head raiser for people
all over the world who use prescription drugs that they fear may kill them one day. A

person cannot overdose from the consumption of marijuana even at large doses. If it
were possible, a person would have to induce themselves to a whole kilo of marijuana in
one sitting to even come close to an overdose. Although, a person would die from
carbon monoxide poisoning from simply inhaling too much smoke at once, which can
come with any other case involving smoke.
Marijuana does not have to be ingested only by smoking. Edibles, drinks, tongue
drops, and countless other ways can be used to consume Cannabis. Majority of people
create recipes for adding cannabis to tasty meal dishes. Desserts, pastas, even salsa,
has been modified with the safe cannabis alternative. The effects from THC and CBD
are heard to increase at a quicker time compared to inhaling cannabis. This gives the
advantage to people with pain issues to help relieve the pain either before it happens or
before it worsens. Other advantages of using edibles, is in cases of non smoking areas,
or the fact of not being able to inhale smoke at all. Many cancer patients with lung
cancer cannot use the smoking option, so they can simply use edible products to get
what they need.

With pros there are always cons, especially with Cannabis and its history. In
1970, with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana was classified by
Congress as a Schedule I drug(National Cancer Institute-History). Drugs in Schedule I
are distinguished as having no currently accepted medicinal use in the United
States(history of use p3). Schedule I drugs also include heroin, LSD, mescaline, and

methaqualone(History of use p3). Although the word of Marijuana in medical use has
been dismissed, researchers still wanted to pick at it. In 1978, Cannabis research was
reawakened by the Compassionate Use Investigational New Drug program( History of
us p3). This opened the door to more open minded scientists who would then try
everything to figure out the true benefits hidden within Cannabis.
With all the research and proven documents of Marijuana helping patients, some
people are still skeptical of how this drug will be in real society. Some people may say
that this legalization will enable children to gain more access to this drug and abuse it.
Marijuana is already a common drug found to be used by teens, allowing this drug to be
medicinal will most likely give more access to teens. This will cause a definite backfire
on the legalization process, plunging it back into the schedule I list forever. Teens do not
need any more exposure or access to this drug, so why make it partially legal?
Medicinal Cannabis smoking can cause Aids patients to worsen their immune
systems(Kraus,Mark p3 of cons). Smoking of any kind can lower ones immune system,
or simply make it vulnerable to bacteria growth in a persons cicilia lining of the throat.
This bacteria growth can cause aids patients serious life threatening issues. Cannabis
smoking cannot be a positive for everything in the medical field and needs to be put
back into the illegal drug list.

Although legalization may enable teens more access, there are still ways to keep
the medicine locked up for patients use only. Doctors could prescribe a certain amount
to patients with a requirement of documents signed by the doctor, plus a specially
designed bottle only obtainable by a hospital visit/ acceptance. This will make it more
difficult for simple teens to get their hands on the medicine, and keep it more for patients
who really need the cannabis for medicinal purposes. Patients must also have to be 21

or older, or if the patient is a minor, the patient must have a parent obtain the medicine
from a local pharmacy with said documents and bottle.
With Aids patients, it is important to realize that smoking is out of the question
period. Although this maybe true, the only way to ingest cannabis by smoking, is not
true. There are many different varieties of options to ingest medical cannabis other than
smoking. Mentioned earlier, Cannabis is said to be used in food recipes, drinks, and also
in oil extracts that can be placed on the tongue. These options are best recommended
for non smoking patients, especially the food recipe option!
Medical Cannabis, with its newly discovered research, should be introduced to
more patients nationwide. Cancer/Aids patients especially, due to cannabiss ability to
reduce chemo and aids disease symptoms to a minimum, should be able to use this
medicinal option for the sake of their long term health. Mental health patients should also
be in with the action of cannabis, as well as people who suffer from taking too many pill
prescriptions. It is a shame to see so many people going through the same routined
process of chemo and or everyday aids symptoms, and not have any sort of natural
relief. If you (the audience) knew someone going through any of these hardships, would
you recommend this natural alternative?

In the future, I would love to see this medicinal alternative develop into a
revolutionary drug that will help dramatically reduce the death rates caused by
prescription pills. In my opinion, prescription pills are the scariest thing to people who
depend on them. I for one have only depended on one type for post surgery pain, but
reading all the danger labels on the back of the bottle made me scared of even taking
them! Cannabis may not be an ultimate key in medical research, but it can be a leap in
the right direction for a more healthier change for patients worldwide.

Work Cited
N/A. Questions and answers about Cannabis. National Cancer Institute. 6 January 2016
web. 16 Feb 2016.
N/A Can Marijuana help AIDS/HIV Patients? ProCon. 20 Oct 2006 web. 16 Feb 2016.