Legalization of Cannabis

           The idea of legalizing marijuana has been an ongoing debate for years, however in the most recent years doctors have begun prescribing marijuana, as it has been found to help people. Due to the fact that marijuana is the type of drug that can potentially be easily abused by the consumer, it is classified as a class 1 substance, which is why it is federally illegal. However, the discussion is continuous, in most recent years half of the states in America have allowed the prescription of marijuana due to medical purposes. The debate is generally between professionals in the medical field and congress, and obviously the opinion of the community. The reason why people disagree with the usage of marijuana even for medical use is because, it causes some side effects including and not limited to, addiction, heart damage, lung problems, low testosterone, decrease in responses, crime rates elevating and a conflict with the law. On the other hand, there are in fact many beneficial uses of marijuana including and not limited to, curing acne, helping with ageing, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, and asthma. (p. 2, Frankyln) There are an abundant number of sources that speak upon this controversy, each one presenting their valid argument, as to why cannabis should be illegal, or simply not used for medicinal purposes; for the various reasons previously stated as well as consuming it excessively, exposing marijuana to make money, and the other side of the story which is why cannabis should be used, and should be allowed in the medical field. 

Since marijuana is not legal but has its exceptions in some places, it is evident that those who disagree with this will speak out and fight against this, in means to express how this is not right under the law. In an article written by Steve Byas, on the New American, he speaks about the use of medical marijuana and writes a story about a man named Phil Gruver who is in danger of losing his right to carry firearms because he consumes medical marijuana. Phil Gruver a Pennsylvania native, who had recently obtained his medical marijuana card was given a choice by John T. Adams, the president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, to either have his marijuana or his gun but not both. Mr. Adams states that not only does he have to make a choice but anyone who possess a medical marijuana card has to know that if they are in possession of one, they are waving their right to the second amendment, which is the right to carry firearms. Some states have in fact been ordered to follow federal law and not state law in these instances. For example, Colorado has to enforce the federal law that prohibits any person who is an, “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act) from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition”. Gruver evidently benefiting from marijuana, yet the action of consuming it is intervening with the law, a clear example as to why people in the government are in disagreement.  

In connection to this in another source written by Robert G. Morri, he presents a study showing the positive correlation between crime and marijuana. Instead of people seeing cannabis as a use of medication to aid people, many see it as a form of threat to public health since it is ultimately considered a drug. With the studies conducted by Morris it is evident that people that have been tested positively with marijuana have committed some type of felony in comparison to those who tested negative for marijuana. (paragraph 3)Additionally, Mr. Morris found that it is common that those who do not have access to marijuana end up being a part of home invasions in hopes to get their hands-on marijuana. Ultimately leading to the conclusion that marijuana when used in an excessive manner, can lead to an unsafe environment. 

The debate continues as people argue as to why are some drugs/forms of intoxications permitted while others are not yet are beneficial to the society. Mr. Byas argues that interestingly enough we take this right away from medical marijuana card users but not from someone who is and can be heavily addicted to whiskey. Byas makes this comparison to shine a light on the fact that, there are substances that serve as no benefit but yet are still allowed.However, according to medical new today cannabis is actually known to help end addictions, one of them being alcohol.  In an article by Anna Wilcox on green-flower.com, she efficiently presents seventy-one reasons as to why and how the medical use of cannabis has a positive effect on people. Some of these are, “asthma, ADHD, autism, cancer, cachexia, and cerebral palsy”, so inconnection to the argument by Mr.Byas we can see how one can be angry at the fact that they cannot possess a firearm because they are using marijuana to help themselves. 

Another theory by those who oppose the legalization of cannabis, is the idea that it is all a mirage to make money.“Medical Marijuana is a mirage”, by Margaret Wente is the title of a source that I will be presenting, and mirage means an optical illusion. Margaret Wente is the creator of the article “Medical Marijuana is a mirage, calls the marijuana industry a fraud she emphasizes that the marijuana industry a fraud, she states that there are very eager entrepreneurs to try and get their pieces in order to gain more from the marijuana industry. She argues they are hungry for more money and that’s what it really is about, not about making one better, and she says that she believes this because they use the term, “medical” to sell more of the product and try to sell people on the fact it is good for you. Ms. Wente states that according to marijuana producers and advocates, cannabis is a, “magic elixir”, and that it cures things like, “pain, nausea and vomiting, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, glaucoma, PTSD and pain related to cancer or just about anything else. By acting as a substitute pain and anxiety reliever, cannabis, they claim, can reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco, opioids and antidepressants”. The article, “The impact of cannabis uses on patients enrolled in opioid agonist therapy in Ontario, Canada”, speaks about patients that use medical marijuana to be assisted with opioid use disorder, and is used to help people with the abuse of opioid. But the question is, “is it really?”, according to the study by the Canadian government their cohort was 644 patients, 328 which were considered baseline cannabis users and 256 heavy users, and according to the study these patients were at an increased risk of drop out. According to these stats doctor’s state that physicians should closely monitor cannabis-using patients and provide them with the proper education about potential harms while receiving treatment for opioid use disorder. 

           Going back to the article by Ms. Wente, Dr. Mike Allenhas found some very tough conclusions towards the use of cannabis on his studies, Ms. Wente’s states that, “They found that marijuana’s benefit for treating pain and nausea is “low or very low” and so on. “For most things we shouldn’t be recommending it because we don’t have enough research to say if the benefits of the therapy outweigh the risks”, this goes to show that they are not in fact one hundred percent positive on what and how marijuana can really affect you, whether it be positive or negative. Lastly, according to pubmed.gov, it is stated that many marijuana users who come to the hospital come due to acute myocardial infarction which is the fancy word for heart attack, it is stated that marijuana has a short term effect on you and your heart which is why people who consume marijuana are getting heart attacks more often than people who do not.

           Should marijuana be illegal or legal? Marijuana like any other substance has its positive effects and its negative effects. The professionals in the medical field are constantly working with new studies to find what is the best option for the society as a whole. People will continue to argue for the fact that marijuana used wrongly can lead to an increase of crime, or heart problems, where as it can possibly aid one’s asthma and depression. Cannabis is not for everyone, and that is evident thanks to the research that many authors have provided us with.