Legalizing Medicinal Marijuana

Legalizing Medicinal Marijuana

Marijuana is the common name for Cannabis sativa and its use in the United States has been a national concern since the early twentieth century. Although there have been many studies conducted proving the benefits of the THC in marijuana for certain conditions, Congress removed it from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia in 1942 because the government discovered marijuana to be a harmful and addictive drug. Later on in 1971, Congress passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, which divided drugs into five schedules. Marijuana is in Schedule I, the category for drugs with high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. Since then 12 states have removed state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients with valid documentation from their physicians. Due to the many possible uses and benefits of marijuana in the medical field, along with very few side effects, Congress should reconsider the schedule level of marijuana in order to legalize its medical uses.

Currently in the United States, medicinal marijuana is not legal on a federal level. Although this is true, 10 states permit the legal use of marijuana with proper medical documentation. Among these states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington (http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/medical/). Washington removed the state-level criminal penalties from patients with valid documentation from their physician confirming that the "potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks" with their particular condition (http://www.norml.org/). In some states such as Connecticut, physicians can possess and prescribe marijuana for patients suffering from glaucoma or cancer chemotherapy (http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/cifas/drugsandsociety/background/MedMarijUSLaws.html). Unfortunately, in 2005, the Supreme Court ruled in Raich v. Gonzales that the federal government could prosecute medical marijuana patients even in states with laws allowing medicinal marijuana to be used (http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/medical/). Although this is the case, because the Raich court decision does not overturn state law and most arrests are at a local or state level, patients continue usage of medicinal marijuana in these states despite the risk. The federal government has made many Drug Enforcement Administration raids of medicinal marijuana dispensaries in California since the court decision (http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/medical/). This court ruling has set back many of the efforts made by various health organizations as well as organizations such as National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Legislation (NORML).

Many Health Organizations advocate the use of marijuana to help aid in certain conditions such as Gliomas, Alzheimer's, Fibromyalgia, Dystonia, Hepatitis C, Diabetes, Pruitis, Osteoporosis, ALS, Tourette's syndrome, Hypertension, Sleep Apnea, GI Disorders, Incontinence and Rheumatoid Arthritis (http://www.norml.org/). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) study team received reports of more than 30 different medical uses of marijuana. One can use marijuana as a mild to moderate analgesic. Although other opiates are more commonly used, such as morphine and codeine, they are not as effective in chronic pain. These opiates commonly induce nausea and sedation and some patients develop a tolerance or addiction after a long period of use. According to Marijuana and Medicine, in a single-dose study, Noyes and co-workers reported that "the analgesic effect of 10 mg of THC was equivalent to that of 60 mg of codeine." The side effect profiles were similar, however, THC was more sedating than codeine (Benson, 1999, p. 140). In a separate publication, the same authors published data indicating that patients had improved mood, a sense of well-being, and less anxiety. Due to the known side effects of THC, it also seems like a promising treatment for wasting syndrome in AIDS patients. Wasting syndrome consists of nausea, appetite loss, pain, which marijuana can alleviate in many cases (Benson, 1999). Marijuana is also a known source of relief for muscle spasticity, in disorders such as multiple sclerosis patients, spinal cord injury victims, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Tourette's syndrome and epilepsy. In a book titled Marijuana and Medicine, John A. Benson writes, "Spasticity is the increased resistance to passive stretch of muscles and increased deep tendon reflexes. Muscles may also contract involuntarily (flexor and extensor spasms). In some cases these contractions are debilitating and painful and require therapy to relieve the spasms and associated pain." (Benson, 1999, p. 159). One would think that if there were so many