Medical Marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Medical Marijuana - Essay Example The medical use of marijuana by human beings was first time registered in the Chinese pharmacopoeia in 2727 BC. It was allowed to usage in the U.S until the federal government prohibited it by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. In the 1970th The Controlled Substance Act established five categories of schedules depending on the danger of the drug. Marijuana was put in the 1st Schedule, to the drugs with the high potential for abuse. It was said to be a drug with "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States." (Mathre, 1997) Humans have been using marijuana for thousands of years already as an antidepressant, a pain killer, a medicine against the nausea, and just for fun. Despite of the fact that cannabis was forbidden in the U.S in thirtieth, people have been smoking till the present moment. Of course, all of that enormous market is illegal now; the government doesn't get a cent from this business. Those, who use cannabis are under the threat of being caught and accused of drug abuse by the police, but it doesn't stop them from smoking. Doctors now say that cannabis makes less harm than nicotine does. Thus, it's obvious that marijuana should be legalized, just to let the government control its use, prevent abuse, and get taxes from those who run this business. Cannabis is considered to occupy the fourth place in the list of drugs most often used in the U.S and Europe, outrun only by alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. Thus, cannabis is mostly seen as a recreational drug, despite of the proved medical efficiency it has. Scientists prove that in discussions of the use of cannabis one of the biggest problems over the past few years has been the difficulty in separating the debate on the recreational use from that on the therapeutic use. (Groman, 1997). This is one of the main reasons for which the debates led on the medical use of cannabis in the U.S are so severe. Numerous opinions exist about the effect of cannabis on human's health, and about the consequences of its legalization. The supporters of marijuana legalization for medical purposes prove that it helps to reduce unwanted symptoms of migraines, glaucoma, AIDS, depression and many other conditions. In the same time, the opponents point that marijuana is suspected to cause mental illnesses and induce addiction. Nevertheless, numerous researches exist that prove the effectiveness of using cannabis for treating the illnesses listed. Smoking marijuana really relives the symptoms of various conditions, including even the nausea in pregnant woman. (Mathre, 1997). It's obvious that lots of people still buy marijuana to relieve the symptoms of their diseases despite of the existing laws. So, it would be logical to legalize cannabis for medical purposes, as it's helpful and people still use it regardless of the fact it's forbidden. Let's also recall that cannabis is one of the leaders of the list of drugs used by Americans. The current research displayed, that 70 millions of Americans have tried marijuana (Dale, 2004). So it would be unfair to refuse the sick people the thing that healthy ones use frequently. The supporters of legalization of