Our health is a vital aspect of our life. Today, people die as a result of a variety of medical issues. To address this persistent issue, scientists and medical research institutions have worked extensively to produce medications that aid in the treatment of chronic disorders. Some of the trial medications, however, are not always beneficial, and others have negative social consequences. Medical marijuana use is a difficult issue today since, despite its benefits, the drug causes significant social harm. This article will look at the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing medical marijuana, as well as the arguments for and against it. Marijuana has been abused for a long time. Due to its intoxicating effect, the drug is illegally traded among people resulting in social evils and medical issues. However, scientists have reported that if marijuana was used for medical reasons, it would revolutionize the medical industry. Marijuana contains cannabinoids chemicals that have been used to form FDA-approved pills, dronabinol, and nabilone (NIDA, 2015). The two drugs have been used treat nausea and boost appetite. Moreover, scientific studies and clinical trials have shown that marijuana can facilitate treatment of many diseases.
The use of marijuana is supported by preclinical and clinical trial reports that indicate that marijuana and its extracts could be used to treat a variety of health conditions. These diseases include HIV/AIDS which weakens the immune system, multiple sclerosis that causes the loss of muscle control gradually, and the Alzheimer’s disease which affects the functioning of the brain (Reinarman, et al., 2011). Additionally, medical marijuana helps reduce inflammation, pain, and seizures as well as treat mental and substance use disorders. The use of medical marijuana has shown to contribute to reducing the transference and multiplication of cancerous cells in cancer patients.
According to research and clinical trials, medical marijuana has presented effectiveness in easing nausea and vomiting experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy and who have AIDS. It has helped to quell the pain caused by diabetes, spinal cord injuries and AIDS and to control the debilitating muscle stiffness and spasms for multiple sclerosis patients that affect sleep and walking. Besides, reports show effectiveness in reducing the number of seizures in adults and children with Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut Syndromes and boosting appetite in patients with AIDS and cancer (Reinarman, et al., 2011). However, though studies and trials continue, the administration of medical marijuana has revealed poor results in easing chronic pain in cancer, arthritis and severe headache patients.
Since medical marijuana is not legalized in many states, it is challenging to conduct continuous trials. First, only marijuana extracts have been used in the form of pills. Though the use of inhaled marijuana could be more efficient, the risks involved with its abuse are adverse. In a world where drug abuse is a social problem affecting many people, it is not advisable to legalize it. Besides, medical conditions such as seizures, are common in children thus a dilemma arises on whether or not to administer medical marijuana to young patients. Secondly, abuse of the drug leads to intoxication and consequential medical disorders (Degenhardt, & Hall, 2008).
The use of medical marijuana is, therefore, a debated topic following that the drug has both constructive and adverse effects. While its medical advantages push for the legalization of marijuana, some important side effects justify the reasons why this is not the case. First, marijuana contains intoxicating chemicals that affect the decisions made by people who consume it. Also, failure to regulate this consumption may result in brain damage, seizures, kidney and cardiac problems, tachycardia which is an unusually rapid heart rate, acute psychosis, and Hypokalemia, a shortage of potassium in the bloodstream (Degenhardt, & Hall, 2008). Secondly, due to these significant issues, marijuana lacks acceptable patient safety and is prone to abuse.
After the successful clinical trials of using marijuana extracts, it is possible to say that the use medical marijuana would be beneficial to patients with a variety of medical conditions and revolutionize the health care sector. Pain, inflammation, seizures and nausea would be controlled and reduced effectively making life bearable for patients (Cicero, 2015). However, almost every nation deals with drug abuse that has resulted in moral degradation and the spread of social problems. Marijuana is one of the drugs circulating in the drugs’ market. Allowing the drug to be sold in chemists and medical facilities will only fuel an already worse situation. People will easily access marijuana for intoxication purposes. This will increase not only the cases of drug abuse but also the medical conditions that follow its misuse. Additionally, very few of its proposed advantages in the pharmaceutical industry have been proven to be effective.
Looking at the community perspective, many people are against the legalization of medical marijuana. This point of view is supported by the fact that medical marijuana’s benefits have effective substitutes. Additionally, the use of the drug has had disastrous outcomes to the society due to the increasing theft cases to enable the purchase of the drug in the streets. Many of the youths, who constitute the largest population of drug abusers, ended up being useless due to addiction and brain damage. Alternatively, organizations have different opinions. For medical facilities and pharmaceuticals, legalization of medical marijuana would be a financial opportunity. Nonetheless, FDA and medical supervisors are against the use of marijuana due to its adverse effects. While medical marijuana will promote health care, it will have an undesirable impact on the overall welfare of its users and the society.
In general, the disadvantages of using medical marijuana outweigh its benefits. For this reason, many nations have not approved its use, and it cannot be sold to patients. Therefore, the access of medical marijuana is limited. For instance, in the USA, the medical use of marijuana is not accepted. The government, with the advice of medical supervisors, regulate the access of medical marijuana. This regulation is based on the high potential of abuse and resulting medical problems. Patients whose health conditions could be improved by the use of medical marijuana, therefore, have to choose an alternative drug (Degenhardt, & Hall, 2008). Moreover, even in countries where the drug has been approved for medical purposes, patients have access limited to the prescription of physicians.
The continuous research and clinical trials for drugs aim at improving the health welfare of the society. Marijuana is a plant that has been identified to contain extracts that could transform health care. Many disorders and conditions could be treated effectively through the use of medical marijuana. However, contrasting reasons have risen, some for and others against the usage of marijuana. While clinical reports show that marijuana extracts help to reduce nausea in patients undergoing cancer treatment procedures as well as in easing pain and controlling seizures, many maintain that its abuse and the resulting medical issues are too profound. Besides, there exist efficient substitutes. Since the negatives offset the benefits, medical marijuana has not been fully accepted and remains a debatable topic in many nations.
References
Cicero, K. (2015). How Effective Is Medical Marijuana? Here's A Closer Look At 14 Different
Uses. Prevention. Retrieved 27 February 2017, from
http://www.prevention.com/health/14-uses-medical-marijuana
Degenhardt, L., & Hall, W. D. (2008). The adverse effects of cannabinoids: implications for use
of medical marijuana. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 178(13), 1685-1686.
NIDA (2015). Is Marijuana Medicine?. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine
Reinarman, C., Nunberg, H., Lanthier, F., & Heddleston, T. (2011). Who are medical marijuana
patients? Population characteristics from nine California assessment clinics. Journal of
psychoactive drugs, 43(2), 128-135.
