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Aneet Sidhu
Mrs. Morris
English IV-F
3 March 2016
Marijuana: A Compassionate Drug
Haleigh, a five year old girl, was given a time of three months to live. However, a dose of
cannabis oil four times a day and once at night not only made her smile in three years, but also
allowed her to survive. Advocates for the medical use of marijuana continue to identify
beneficial effects of the drug and Americans overwhelmingly support it in national polls. Despite
the ongoing political debate regarding the legality of medical marijuana, clinical investigations
of therapeutic use of cannabinoids is on the rise. An increasing number of Americans believe that
people suffering from debilitating and chronic conditions should not be persecuted for or
prohibited from using marijuana to treat their symptoms. Medical marijuana is the only remedy
for certain patients with chronic illnesses because of its medicinal benefits and it improves the
overall quality of life for these patients; consequently, these patients need access to any
medication, even if it is a controlled drug like marijuana, that may help them live a longer, pain
free, and a more comfortable life.
Marijuana has been used for centuries as a medicine to relieve specific symptoms of pain
and not as a recreational drug. The first written account of cannabis cultivation was found in the
Chinese records that are around 28 B.C. (Kuhn 144). Since 1500, cannabis has been used by
laborers because the drug strengthens the ability of workers to endure exposure to infectious
diseases, poor nutrition, and physically and mentally demanding tasks (Duvall 91). However, the
globalization of cannabis started when Portuguese sailors traveled to India and came across

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bhang. Bhang was mostly used by Indian servants to forget about their labor and to have a
craving for food (Duvall 92). Before 1900, cannabis was used often as a pain reliever, appetite
stimulant, and muscle relaxant. Hence, marijuana is not a modern medicine.
Cannabis is a highly versatile plant. There are more than 400 chemicals found in a
cannabis plant and several of these chemicals are psychoactive (Kuhn 163). Raphael
Mechoulam, an Israeli biochemist, isolated and identified cannabis in his lab. He discovered
THC, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, as being cannabis's main psychoactive ingredient.
Cannabinoids are important components of the cannabis plant. He found that THC is the only
cannabinoid that produces the psychoactive response marijuana is known for, but CBD also
produces other variety of medical benefits (Barcott 156-157). In modern times, these studies
have laid the foundation for marijuana to be considered as a medicine. Cannabinoids contain
qualities that decrease pain, therefore the ingredients that make up the cannabis plant contain
important medicinal value.
When used consistently, marijuana reduces patients' pain levels to an extent that is as
good as or even better than currently available medicines. Smoked marijuana has been found to
be a muscle relaxant and is able to provide relief to patients with multiple sclerosis. Other
disorders with seizures, chronic pain, impaired muscle control, and migraines have responded
positively to the use of marijuana as a relief system (Kuhn 165). It has also been found by the
National Institute of Health (NIH) that marijuana extracts may help to kill certain cancer cells
and reduce the size of others. Marijuana extracts have been found to have an extremely positive
reaction on the cancer cells from one of the most serious types of brain tumors. Scientists are
also conducting research to find the impact of marijuana on autoimmune diseases (diseases that
weaken the immune system), on HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis (MS), which causes gradual loss

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of muscle control, and Alzheimer's disease (Is Marijuana Medicine?). Marijuana is making a
greater impact in providing pain relief to chronically ill patients. Researchers have also found
that cannabinoids do influence movement in a human brain and thus they are hopeful that
marijuana could be used as a source of new medicines to treat movement disorders (Armentano
68). Among the many illnesses treated by marijuana, researchers have found the effectiveness of
smoked marijuana as a treatment for epilepsy. These reports show that epilepsy patients who stop
smoking marijuana start to have seizures again. Marijuana has positive effects on several types of
illnesses.
Sometimes pills might not relieve a patient from pain, while marijuana does. A pill's
effect for relief from a patient's symptoms is not predictable. Smoking marijuana allows a patient
to use as much as they need to receive relief. Patients who have severe nausea or vomiting
cannot swallow pills. Therefore, smoked marijuana may be the only option (Center for Health
87). Patients that are physically unable to take other forms of medication, such as pills, should
not be forced to suffer. Smoking marijuana alleviates pain and provides comfort for terminally ill
patients, therefore marijuana should be prescribed to them.
Smoking marijuana is not free from drawbacks. In Bruce Barcotts book, Weed the
People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America, "A 2011 study out of the Scripps Research
Institute noted that 'acute cannabis use promotes more impulsive behavior and less inhibition of
maladaptive responses.' It could just as easily be argued, though, that the natural impulse toward
risky, exploratory or 'maladaptive' behavior promotes cannabis use (191). Yet, there is no
medicine that is risk-free. Studies of long-term, heavy marijuana smokers show that their lungs
do not produce as much airflow as the lungs of nonsmokers. Studies have also found an
abnormal appearance and organization of cells in the airways of heavy smokers of marijuana

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(Kuhn 153). Conversely, when conventional medicines fail to improve the patients symptoms,
they are left with no choice but to smoke marijuana over a long period of time. To mitigate pain
by using marijuana, a patient would have to smoke enough marijuana to become stoned, which
would greatly affect their ability to work or attend school. Many pain-relieving medicines that
are currently available do not have as strong as an effect on mental function as marijuana
does (Kuhn 164). However, a patient might overdose on pain-relieving medicines which could
possibly lead to death. Marijuana on the other hand, regardless of quantity, cannot induce a fatal
overdose. The use of marijuana does have negative effects, but every medicine, whether
prescribed or available on the shelf, also has certain side effects. The adverse effects of the use of
medical marijuana do not outweigh the benefits.
In 2000, the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) at the University of
California was created. The main reason for CMCR was to conduct clinical and pre-clinical
studies of cannabinoids, including smoking marijuana, to find evidence to answer, to support, or
to critic the therapeutic value of marijuana. CMCR conducted fifteen studies including seven
clinical trials. Patients who were not receiving benefits from standard pain-relieving medicines
on muscle spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis were treated with cannabis. These patients found relief
in their pain (MS) (Grant 2). Studies have started to conclude that cannabinoids do consist of
pain relieving qualities and marijuana does have therapeutic value.
Where all conventional treatments have failed for patients with debilitating pain, nausea,
or other illnesses, marijuana is the only remedy to improve the overall quality of life for them.
Scientific research and clinical investigations of medicinal use of cannabinoids has been on the
rise. These studies have proved that cannabinoids contain the ability to reduce pain. Although,
smoking marijuana has its own drawbacks, there is no medicine that is risk-free. The undesirable

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effects of the use of marijuana do not exceed the benefits received from the cannabis plant that
contains important medicinal value. This drug provides relief to chronically ill patients and these
patients deserve to suffer the least amount of pain possible. Many health organizations in the
United States have started to support the use of marijuana as a medicine. This support is
imperative because marijuana is a therapeutic drug and it should not be looked down upon as
only recreational.

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Works Cited
Armentano, Paul. "Medical Marijuana Is Safe and Has Societal Value." Medical Marijuana. Ed.
Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven, 2013. 66-70. Print.
Opposing Viewpoints Ser.
Barcott, Bruce. Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America. New York: Time,
2015. Print.
Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law and Policy, Seton Hall University School of Law.
"Marijuana Effectively Treats a Number of Health Conditions." Meical Marijuana. Ed.
Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven, 2013. 82-91. Print.
Opposing Viewpoints Ser.
Duvall, Chris. Cannabis. London: Reaktion, 2015. Print.
Grant, Igor, et al. Report to the Legislature and Governor of the State of
California presenting findings pursuant to SB847 which created the CMCR and
provided state funding. Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. U of
California, 11 Feb. 2010. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.
"Is Marijuana Medicine?" National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse,
July 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
Kuhn, Cynthia, et al. "Marijuana." Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused
Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. 14271. Print.

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scientific research has proved the fact that

clinical investigations of therapeutic use of cannabinoids is on the rise.
numerous health and medical organizations from both the United States as well as abroad which
support the use of marijuana as a medicine.
Cannabinoids contain qualities that decrease pain, therefore the ingredients that make up the
cannabis plant contain important medicinal value.
Marijuana extracts have been found to have an extremely positive reaction on the cancer cells
from one of the most serious types of brain tumors.
The adverse effects of the use of medical marijuana do not outweigh the benefits.
The challenge to change the public and the political mind to legalize marijuana still continues,
the debate still remains open and passionate but scientific research into the subject might assist to
overcome this challenge.

Medical marijuana is the only remedy for certain patients with chronic illnesses because of its
medicinal benefits and it improves the overall quality of life for these patients; consequently,
these patients need access to any medication, even if it is a controlled drug like marijuana, that
may help them live a longer, pain free, and a more comfortable life.

debilitating pain or nausea where all conventional treatments have failed

Despite the side effects, it is still better.

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Similarly, there are numerous health and medical organizations from both the United States as
well as abroad which support the use of marijuana as a medicine.
http://norml.org/marijuana/health-organizations-endorsements. Spain, Uruguay, and Canada are
some of the nations that have already relaxed their marijuana laws to help their registered
chronic patients.

Comparing the pros and cons of marijuana, studies have started to find that marijuana
does have therapeutic value. Chronically ill patients should be allowed to use marijuana to
relieve symptoms as debilitating pain or nausea where all conventional treatments have failed.
Many studies have found and concluded that cannabinoids does consist of pain relieving
qualities. Physicians should be allowed to prescribe marijuana to such patients on an
experimental basis. In such cases, physicians would not only supervise patients' use of the drug
but would also collect information and data to the effectiveness of the marijuana in relieving the
patients' symptoms (http://www.nap.edu/read/9586/chapter/15#176). The challenge to change the
public and the political mind to legalize marijuana still continues, the debate still remains open
and passionate but scientific research into the subject might assist to overcome this challenge.

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The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved a marketing application for marijuana.
It has only approved that THC could be used to increase appetite, reduce nausea, decrease pain,
inflammation, and muscle control problems. However, CBD is a cannabinoid that does not affect
mind or behavior but could also be used for reducing pain and inflammation, controlling
epileptic seizures, and possibly treating patients suffering mental illness and substance use
addictions. (Is Marijuana Medicine?). FDA has only approved Marinol for therapeutic uses for
the treatment of anorexia related with weight loss in AIDS patients (FDA and Marijuana:
Questions and Answers). However, FDA continues to facilitate the work of drug companies to
bring in safe, effective, and quality products to market for the safety of the patients.
Researchers have found that several chemicals produced by the human body bind to cannabinoid
receptors which perform many functions in the brain. Research on cannabinoids, chemical
compounds that act on cannabinoid receptors, has led to the discovery of a cannabinoid receptor
in the brain. Cannabinoid receptors play a role in many important functions such as the control of
anxiety and learning (Barcott 156). Cannabinoids have an exceptional safety record when
compared to other therapeutically active substances. Regardless of quantity or potency, the use of
marijuana cannot trigger a fatal overdose (Armentano 70). Some areas of the brain have many
cannabinoid receptors, and others have few or none at all. The most can be found in areas of the
brain that influence sensory and time perception, pleasure, concentrating, memory, and
coordinated movement. In Colorado, two percent of registered medical marijuana patients are
using marijuana due to cancer. More than 90 percent of medical marijuana users in Colorado use
the drug for the management of "severe pain." Nearly 20 percent use the drug for "muscle
spasms," the second-most reported ailment the drug is used to treat (Weed Facts). Most of the
medical marijuana patients are over 30 years of age and are not typical drug abusers.