Should we support the use of marijuana for medical purposes or not?

Should we support the use of marijuana for medical purposes or not? Name: Institution: Instructor: Date: Should we support the use of marijuana for medical purposes or not? Abstract The use of marijuana for medical reasons to alleviate chronic pain is a controversial issue. While some researchers contend that marijuana is a harmful drug and should not be used for medical purposes, others argue that with proper legislation and control, it is possible to use the drug to help patients overcome several medical problems that cause them pain and discomfort. This paper assesses both perspectives detailing the merit and demerits of each. It advances the idea that legislation would help and protect healthcare providers to use the drug to ease the pain that some patients experience. The paper contends that healthcare workers should be empowered with knowledge on how to administer marijuana for medical purposes. If the use of this drug is regulated primarily for medical purposes, the implications would result in health benefits. This position paper recognizes that if marijuana is misused, it can have disastrous consequences and therefore holds the view that legislation to govern the use of the drug should be comprehensive enough to detail harsh deterrent measures against the misuse of the drug because such a misuse would be harmful to users. Key words: Marijuana, medical purposes, legislation, chronic pain This paper advances the argument that medical marijuana laws should be implemented in states. The major arguments that inform this idea are threefold. First, that marijuana can be used effectively to treat pain syndrome where individuals are suffering from different diseases. Second, that marijuana has less severe side effects and has less potential for addiction as compared to opiates. And third, the death rate from opiates has decreased in states that have medical marijuana laws. The use of cannabis to treat the pain syndrome has been supported by Glick (2012) in his "Position Statement on Concurrent Cannabis and Opiate Use" in which he does an analysis of the pain syndrome. The study establishes that in situations where patients undergo excruciating pain, health care providers are known to administer high doses of analgesics. This is one of the primary reasons why patients are exposed of facing health challenges. These risks are accompanied by numerous side effects on the recipients. Glick analyzes the side effects of morphine establishing that the use of opiate has led to a high number of deaths that have their background in drug poisoning. Glick contends that he believes that the use of cannabis did not pose a danger as great as the side effects that come as a result of opiates. If states were to implement the use of cannabis for medical reasons, they would lead to a decrease in the use of opiates which would, in turn, lead to a decrease in the side effects of the use of opiates. Glick recommends a perspective that this writer finds agreeable because he argues that patients whose conditions require the use of opiates be assessed by clinicians to establish how much cannabis may be used to help them alleviate their pain. That would make it possible to deal with their pain in the place of opiates because doing so would reduce the negative side effects of the use of traditional use of narcotics. Glick contends that with the use of ethical principles by clinicians in their administration of these drugs, it would be possible to use the narcotics with efficiency for medical purposes. A perspective that is similar to that of Glick is propounded in the work of Troutt and DiDinato (2015). The author analyses a study on the use of medical cannabis in 367 patients in Arizona. Troutt and DiDinato establish that the use of this drug for medical reasons can help to control the symptoms of numerous conditions. Such use is also beneficial because it reduces the need for patients to use other types of drugs. Through the use of anonymous responses to survey questions administered online, Troutt and DiDinato gather data for their study and part of their findings are that more than 70% of patients who had reported experiencing chronic pain were relieved of their pain significantly. The need to decriminalize cannabis for medical purposes is further reinforced by Troutt and DiDinato because their study finds out that 79.5% of the people that used cannabis before it was legalized said that cannabis was more effective in helping them overcome their medical conditions. The patients also felt safer and more empowered to make the decision they made to accept cannabis for treatment because they were aware that it was legal. Troutt and DiDinato paint a mainly positive picture of the use of cannabis for medical reasons. The psychological state of patients is better taken care of when they are assured that the substances they are using to alleviate pain is not legally sanctioned. Leung (2011), in "Cannabis and its Derivatives: Review of Medical Use" traces the use of marijuana as a medicine dating to AD 25 to 220. Leung records that in that epoch marijuana would be used to alleviate rheumatic pain alongside other medical conditions in China. This demonstrates that the potential health benefits of the plant were discovered in the distant past. Furthermore, Leung writes that a higher number of people than are reported to make use of marijuana for both medical and non-medical reasons. In pursuit of objectivity and balance, Leung records some of the dangers that chronic users of marijuana expose themselves to. These include a fast pulse, blood pressure imbalances, memory loss, and exposure to the risk of addiction as well as withdrawal symptoms. Leung’s study was published in 2011 when 14 states had consented to the use of marijuana for medical purposes for specific conditions. The medical consequences of such actions are likely to reverberate many days into the future and need to be responded to with fairness and objectivity to ensure that the drug is not withheld from those who might need it as a matter of existential priority and ensure that it is withheld from those who might desire to abuse it. In Leung’s view, which this writer finds reasonable and agreeable, there is need to deal with the issues that may arise out of using marijuana for medicinal use in clinics. Such issues include quality assurance, methods of delivery, stemming addiction as well as contamination of the substance. Leung further argues that there are some conditions for which medical marijuana is a burning need even though the use of the drug for medical purposes is a thorny issue. Marijuana use for medical reasons is also supported by Heather Auld (2014) who in "10 Reasons Why Doctors Support Medical Marijuana" gives a variety of reasons why it should be encouraged. The reasons Auld gives alludes to this is that marijuana has been used as a medicine for over 3,000 years to treat such ailments as constipation, rheumatism, and gout. Auld further states that the American Medical Association supports research on medical marijuana. The AMA has always been in favor of scientific research of marijuana as one of the substances that can be used in Western medicine. Also, Auld notes that the use of marijuana for medical reasons should be encouraged and legislated because it is only one of its 400 chemical components that cause consumers to experience a high. Therefore, the presence of one euphoria inducing chemical should not be used as a basis to deny medical practitioners and their patient’s the potential benefits of the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Furthermore, Auld reinforces her argument by observing that the human body contains cannabinoid which imitate the activity of cannabis. Also, Auld contends that there are different methods of taking cannabis which make it serve certain ends more effectively. If taken through smoking or by vaporizing, marijuana provides users with effective pain relief. Auld also notes that when used alongside other pain...