The cries of conservatives across America has grown to a riotous roar. The problem is
that the long-standing and unjust prohibition of the psychoactive drug marijuana has been
lifted by voters in Arizona and California. Under the new law, doctors can prescribe
marijuana to those patients who can possibly benefit from the drug's medicinal purposes.
Used for alleviating pain and suffering, the drug can provide needed relief for many
people. However, to the concerned, it appears that with the new propositions government
has granted permission to posses and consume a drug that has been banned for decades.
The "smoke" has yet to settle in Washington, but a reaction to the new laws from the
federal government seems unlikely. Optimistic supporters hope that similar policies and
propositions will soon come to voters in other states.
The debate over the legalization of Cannabis Sativa, more commonly known as marijuana,
is currently one of the more heated controversies in the country today. The drug has been
unrightfully prohibited since the 1930's for its dangerous effects. However, earlier and
more primitive cultures were able to safely explore marijuana's usage for both medicinal
and hallucinogenic properties. The usage of marijuana has existed for thousands of years
in many countries world wide and can be documented as far back as 2700 BC in ancient
Chinese writings. In the earlier cultures, marijuana usage was accepted and its effects
documented. However, the United States government overlooked all of the information and
banned the drug. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence in the opinion of the
drug's positive medicinal purposes.
Studies on the medicinal uses of marijuana have been conducted on many patients that
suffer from various health problems. In patients with the AIDS, the drug served as a
beneficial way to stimulate appetite. Thousands of AIDS patients already use marijuana
illegally for this condition and have reported excellent results. For those AIDS victims,
marijuana can reduce the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite that are common to the
syndrome. Another medical function for marijuana is to combat glaucoma, the leading cause
of blindness in the United States. Glaucoma is an eye disease that results from pressure
that builds up over time and causes great pain and vision loss to sufferers. In the
glaucoma patients, marijuana can aid in relieving the intraocular pressure on the
eyeball, and thereby alleviate the pain and sometimes stopping the progress of the
condition. Multiple sclerosis is another incurable condition that could benefit from the
legalization of marijuana. The disease disrupts the normal functioning of the nerves in
the brain and the spinal cord. The common agonizing symptoms include tingling, numbness,
impaired weakness, difficulty in speaking, painful muscle spasms, loss of coordination
and balance, fatigue, weakness or paralysis, loss of bladder control, urinary tract
infections, constipation, skin ulcers, and severe depression. Cannabis , because of its
relaxing qualities has a startling and profound effect on the symptoms of multiple
sclerosis. For the sufferers it stops muscle spasms, reduces tremors, restores balance,
restores bladder control, and restores speech and eyesight. Many wheelchair-bound MS
patients report that after smoking marijuana they can walk.
Those who oppose the medical usage of marijuana argue that the American Health
Association neither accepts nor believes that marijuana serves any purpose in medicine.
Doctors claim that there is a great risk that results from smoking the drug. Inhaling any
burning substance is harmful to the lungs and could eventually produce detrimental
effects including cancer. Despite cannabis' known adverse effects to lung function, it
has never been reported to cause a single instance of lung cancer. On the other hand,
tobacco, a legal and readily accessible poison, is expected to kill 400,000 people this
year. A solution to the doctors' concerns would be to consume marijuana through
alternative methods of ingestion that cause diminished effects on bodily health; smoking
the drug with a different apparatus or ingesting it without smoking could greatly
decrease the harmful effects to the human body.
Currently, according to the current laws of the United States government, possessing,
selling, or using marijuana is illegal. The federal government is proud of its tough
policy on illegal drugs. As citizens, we are all thankful to live in an environment
protected from the unregulated drug market and crime that would likely from an
unrestricted drug trade. But the opportunities that are missed and the pain and
suffering endured from the prohibition of marijuana, are oppression not protection. Our
country was founded on a policy of democracy, where people decide what is best for
government. The decision of marijuana legalization should be given to the voters just as
in Arizona and California. For too long there has been a ban on marijuana, and it is time
for the public to join together and force a change. Someday soon perhaps voters and
officials will be able to sit together and join in the tradition of passing the peace
pipe.
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