Marijuana for Medicinal Purposes
In 1936 when Marijuana was made illegal it was considered a medicine in good standing
with the American Medical Association. At the time Marijuana could be found in twenty
eight different medical products and countless other consumer products. On November 5th,
1996 California and Arizona passed propositions allowing the return of medicinal
Marijuana use.
The campaign in 1936 to make Marijuana an illegal substance was championed by two large
companies, Dupont Chemicals and Hearst Newspapers, that gained financially by having
Marijuana banned. For Hearst Newspapers it was to protect the investment that they had
just made buying a large amount of paper trees. Marijuana can produce about 4 times the
amount of paper per acre than trees, and twice as many fibers per acre than cotton.
(Hempnet 1) Hearst was well aware of this and moved to ban Marijuana. Marijuana costs
little to grow and can be made into cloth, canvas, and other high quality textiles. The
use of Marijuana for
textile production would have seriously hurt Dupont who had invested heavily in
both paper production and the use of cotton. In 1936 Dupont joined Hearst and
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using scare tactics and effective lobbying were able to ban the growth, sale, and use of
Marijuana.
Besides denying the public of the use of Marijuana as a textile, food source, and
alternative energy source, these large companies selfishly robbed many sick people of a
drug that can help them. Marijuana can be used to combat glaucoma, epilepsy, Multiple
Sclerosis, back pain, asthma, rheumatism, arthritis, migraines, emphysema, cystic
fibrosis, and promotes appetite in some cancer and AIDS patients. Drugs like morphine,
valium, lithium, and codeine are regularly given to patients and are far more addictive,
having many more negative affects than Marijuana. Marijuana "has little effect on major
physiological functions. There is no known case of a lethal overdose; on the basis of
animal models, the ratio of lethal to effective dose is estimated at 40,000 to 1."
(Bakalar and Grinspoon 1875) "Marijuana, like aspirin, a substance known to be
unusually safe and to have enormous potential health benefits. ... In fact in a 1990
survey, 44% of oncologist said they had suggested that a patient smoke marijuana for
relief of nausea induced by chemotherapy." (Bakalar and Grinspoon 1875) And many times it
only takes one or two puffs off a joint to calm the patient and relieve their nausea and
help increase
their appetite. (Silverberg 1) Californian and Arizona voters finally acknowledge
the benefits of Marijuana and acted to change the situation.
The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration maintains there is no
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medical evidence that smoking marijuana has ever helped anyone, but it is difficult to
dismiss the testimony from many seriously ill patients and their doctors that marijuana
can ease pain, reduce the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy, stimulate the
appetites of AIDS patients who are wasting away, and lower the pressure within the eyes
of glaucoma victims. " The traditional use of Cannabis as an analgesic, anti-asthmatic,
and anti-rheumatic drug is well established. A British study also suggests that
cultivation of Cannabis plants rich in Cannabidiol (CBD) and other phenolic substances
would be useful not only as fiber producing plants but also for medicinal purposes in the
treatment of certain inflammatory disorders. CBD was found to be more effective than
aspirin as an anti-inflammatory agent." (Evans 361-371) The Food and Drug
Administration has approved a synthetic version of THC, a main ingredient of marijuana,
that can help in such cases, but many patients complain that it is a poor substitute and
is much more expensive. The alternative choices to smoking marijuana, and there are a
couple, but mainly pills are what's on the market; they are suppose to have the same
therapeutic effects that so many
suffering patients say they feel when they smoke marijuana. The leading capsule on the
market is Dronabinol; it's main agent is Cannabidiol. "In a Brazilian study of 8
Epileptic patients receiving Cannabidiol, (CBD), 4 were free of convulsions, 3 had
partial improvement, and 1 was unchanged." (Cunha 176) The only problem
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with the pill is that it has to be digested, and for some one who is suffering from
nausea it is virtually impossible to keep the capsule down. "Because it's a pill, and
therefore slower acting, people have trouble adjusting the dosage; they often find
themselves taking too much. It also seems to cause high levels of anxiety and depression"
(Brookhiser 27) Unfortunately no method other then smoking has seemed to help so many
with the least complications. What is needed now is a more thorough effort to test the
claims from reputable sources that marijuana may be a compassionate means of relieving
suffering. Many believe that drug enforcement authorities have instead cut back on
research out of fear that it would become impossible to limit marijuana use to those who
need it medically. The fears are understandable, especially given the rising use of
marijuana among teenagers today. But it ought to be possible to regulate marijuana as a
prescription drug if it is found to be of legitimate benefit for sick people.
State initiatives are a clumsy way to set policy. The California proposition, for
example, is so vaguely written that it could lead to wholesale distribution of
marijuana well beyond the medical scope intended by those who voted for it. It says
nothing about withholding marijuana from young people or from those operating
dangerous equipment. It also suggests that a simple oral recommendation from any doctor
would suffice. That loose provision, designed to get around Federal laws that bar doctors
from prescribing an illegal substance, makes abuse of the new law
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inevitable. The Arizona law, by contrast, requires that marijuana be prescribed in
writing by two doctors. But that measure is also written too broadly. It says that many
other drugs, not simply marijuana, may be prescribed if permission from two doctors is
obtained. Supporters of the California measure did their cause no good by immediately
lighting up marijuana joints after it passed this last year and proclaiming that a
legitimate medicinal use would include smoking a joint to relieve stress. Dennis Peron,
originator of the California initiative, said afterward he believes all marijuana use is
medical -- except for kids. These actions made it obvious that the goal of at least some
supporters is to get marijuana legalized outright, a proposition that opinion polls
indicate most Americans reject.
Parents have legitimate concerns about the increase in marijuana use among teenagers.
Many who used marijuana a generation ago are struggling over what to tell their children,
but they need to realize that today's marijuana is more potent than the version they
smoked thanks to the invention of hydroponics; a self-monitoring
greenhouse setup intentionally to help cultivate marijuana. It waters itself, adjust the
temperature, and optimize the conditions causing THC levels to drastically increase,
and even cause crystallization of the plant because of its high potency. Testing has
shown the drug to be far more dangerous to young people than was known in the 1960's and
1970's. It can be particularly harmful to the growth and development of teenagers.
California's Attorney General, Daniel Lungren, has ordered state law
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enforcement officials to interpret the law's language narrowly and require proof from
those arrested that marijuana is being used medically.
The Clinton Administration announced an aggressive campaign to combat the state
propositions, including criminal prosecution of doctors who prescribe marijuana. That
hard line makes sense for now; if the Government refuses to investigate carefully the
claims about medical use of marijuana, it will only spur voters in other states to take
the issue into their own hands. It is a shame that a plant that can do so much good, has
to be blacklisted because of misrepresentation, and the ignorance by the general public
of just how many uses and advantages marijuana can bring man. From its industrial hemp,
to its medicinal relief this plant has barely scratched the surface and has hardly been
used to its full potential. As long as the U.S has narrow-minded politicians marijuana
will never have a real shot to prove whether it can be a wonder drug/textile that many
informed, rational persons
envision it to be.
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Works CitedBakalar, James B., and Grinspoon, Lester. "Marijuana as Medicine: A Plea
for Reconsideration." The Journal of the American Medical Association 273 (1995) :
1875.
Brookhiser, Richard. "Pot luck: Any sick serson who wants to use marijuana to help
himself has to break the law." National Review 11 Nov 1996 : 27-28.
Cunha, J.M. "Chronic Administration of Cannabidiol to Healthy Volunteers and
Epileptic Patients." Pharmacology 21 (1980) : 175-185.
"Did you know?" Hempnet Nov. 1995 , sec 2 page 1.
Evans, F.J. "Analgesic and Anti-inflammmatory Activity of Constituents of Cannabis
Sativa." Circo Medical Report 4 (1988) : 361-371.
Silverberg, Ivan M.D. Letter. Mayo Clinic Monthly Journal 34 May 1994 :
21.
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