Legalization Of Marijuana 2
For thousands of years the plant cannabis sativa, otherwise known as hemp or marijuana, has been harvested by people and utilized in many different ways. It has been grown to provide food for villages and towns, and used for clothes, rope, and sails on early ships. The Bible was written on hemp paper, as well as the first draft of the US Constitution. Marijuana has been utilized for its medicinal value since four to five hundred BC. Not until a half-century ago did the hemp plant become illegal as it still is today. The Marijuana Tax Act was passed in 1937 and this prohibition has barred, to the present day, the utilization of a valuable resource. The legalization of marijuana has been a heated argument in the media and on Capital Hill for quite some time. The need for new advanced medicines and the need for resources to replace the diminishing rain forests and fossil fuel reserves have caused scientists and doctors to look in somewhat odd places. Marijuana has always been portrayed as a vicious drug that everyone needs to stay away from, which I believed also until I began researching the uses and helpfulness of marijuana. I also found that there are three distinct sides to the debate. Some groups want marijuana legalized
marijuana contains potent antioxidants, which doctors rely on to protect stroke victims from high levels of glutamate. Glutamate is a brain chemical that can reach toxic levels during a stroke, often resulting in irreversible damage to brain cells. Marijuana compounds performed better than traditional antioxidants like vitamins C and E in lab tests (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Statement on the Medical Use of Marijuana). Many people oppose smoking marijuana because of the negative impact on the respiratory system. Although there is no other way to bypass the bad effects of smoking right now, alternative means to deliver marijuana such as aerosol inhalers are being developed. (House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, "Ninth Report 1998"). The most well known use for "Medical Marijuana" is its effectiveness as an anti-nauseate for cancer chemotherapy. Smoking marijuana usually proves more effective than both conventional prescription anti-nauseates and Marinol (Annual Report: Evaluation of Marijuana and Tetrahydrocannabinol in Treatment of Nausea and/or Vomiting Associated with Cancer," New York State Journal of Medicine, (1988)). Smoking marijuana stimulates the appetite and promotes weight gain for these patients, thus allowing them to keep their food down as well as any oral medicine they may be taking. Scientific evidence also suggests that marijuana is a valuable aid in reducing pain and suffering for patients with a variety of other serious ailments. Marijuana is proven to help ease the nausea, vomiting, and the loss of appetite experienced by many AIDS patients without accelerating the rate at which HIV positive individuals develop clinical AIDS or other illnesses (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Statement on the Medical Use of Marijuana). Marijuana is not only used for "Wasting Syndromes." It has also been clinically proven to be effective as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of a variety of spastic conditions and has been known to aid patients suffering from glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. Marijuana reduces intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma (Trusopt for Reduction of Intraocular Pressure, March 1995). Peopl
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Approximate Word count = 1553
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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