Medicinal Marijuana

Roll it up, light it up, smoke it up, inhale, exhale, is a process of consuming marijuana. Marijuana is known as a gateway drug because it seems to be the first illegal drug teenagers use. It is a theory of drug abuse that there are stages of progression, from tobacco and alcohol to marijuana to other illicit drugs. Marijuana is gaining renewed recognition for medicinal use. It is a medicinal herb that has hundreds of proven, valuable therapeutic uses, from stress reduction to glaucoma to asthma to cancer therapy. Marijuana was a major active ingredient in forty through fifty percent of patent medicines before its ban. It could replace at least ten though twenty percent of prescribed drugs now in use. Marijuana may be harmful towards the bodies' lungs; it is effective in treating several different illnesses and is cheaper than pharmaceutical medication, such as Marinol.

Smoking any substance can cause damage to the lungs. An article in the March, 2001 issue of the Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, Pages 339-344, states: "Marijuana tar induced higher levels of CYP1A1 messenger RNA (mRNA) than did tobacco tar, yet resulted in much lower CYP1A1 enzyme activity. These differences between marijuana and tobacco were primarily due to Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol." The high levels of CYP1A1 by marijuana smoke and the THC that it contains is a risk of cancer. Cigarettes may have less tar, but they do have more chemicals in them than marijuana.

Marijuana is effective in treating AIDS wasting, Alzheimer's, nausea, chemotherapy, epilepsy, glaucoma, pain, muscle spasms, and terminal illness. The substitute for marijuana is Marinol, which provides the THC concentrations and does not provide the high that marijuana often does when it is smoked. Though people prescribed to Marinol have taken risk upon them selves to smoke marijuana instead for numerous reasons. Some say that Marinol gets them too high, whereas they can smoke as little marijuana as they would like. Joycelyn Elders, M.D., former U.S. Surgeon General, wrote in 3/26/04 an editorial published in Rhode Island's The Providence Journal: "These other drugs [like Marinol] don't work for everyone... Inhalation gives a more rapid response and better results. For some very sick people, marijuana simple works better." The Marinol pill just is not effective, or is not as effective as natural marijuana. Marinol