The Many Benefits of Medicinal Marijuana Essay -- Argumentative Persua

The Many Benefits of Medicinal Marijuana When the religious leaders of Nicholas Copernicus' time excommunicated him for his radical studies, they ignorantly dismissed a brilliant idea. The idea that the earth revolved around the sun inherently brought controversy upon the traditional styles of science. A controversy our leaders need to examine is the medical use of marijuana. Instead of banning marijuana and ignoring the public voice, our representatives need to examine the facts and effects of marijuana for medical use. Like Copernicus' idea that revolutionized science, changing the way we treat our sick and suffering will benefit our society. The effects of legalizing marijuana for only medical purposes will stop unnecessary legal action and it will change the way doctors treat a number of serious ailments. At the turn of the century, rumors equated marijuana "as a substitute for the opiates and alcohol", thus leading to The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. It was instated with little public notice and without research on the effects of the drug. The Act led to further myths such as the "gateway" term, which describes marijuana as a drug that leads to more dangerous drug abuse. Since the time our representatives took the uneducated initiative to ban the drug for medical purposes, it has been tested and found innocent of addictive qualities (Bonnie and Whitebread 4). "The best established use of smoked marijuana is an anti-nauseate for cancer chemotherapy. During the 1980's, smoked marijuana was shown to be an effective anti-emetic in six different state-sponsored clinical studies involving nearly 1,000 patients" (Randall 217-243). According to Peter McWilliams, an AIDS and cancer patient, marijuana gave him the most rel... ...nd Consulted Bonnie, Richard and Whitebread, Charles. The Genesis of Marijuana Prohibition. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. Available: http:www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/vlr/vlr2.htm IOM report sends mixed signals on use of marijuana as medicine. Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly: LEXIS NEXIS. Available: http:web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_ansset=GeHauKO_ Marijuana is a Medicine English Medical Marijuana Flyer. Avaliable: http://medicalmarijuana.org/engflyer.htm ON THE RIGHT; political update. National Review. Available: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_ansset=GeHauKO- The Medical Use of Marijuana NORML. Available: http:natlnorml.org/medical/index.html Woodward, Wc. C. American Medical Association Opposes the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Available: http://www.pdxnorml.org/AMA_opposes_1937.html