|
|
| | |
| |
 |
| Summary: Should marijuana be made legal for medical purposes? |
|
|
| |
Author:Andraz Melansek ( Slovenia )
Andraz Melansek is a student of Intenational Relations at the University
of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is a debater , winning the Model UN Balkan Case
Challenge in 2003. He is also an experienced judge, twice adjudicating at
the World Schools Debatin |
Created: Sunday, February 01, 2004
Last Modified:
|
| |
Marijuana or cannabis is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. It causes hallucinations, disorientations and also feelings of exhilaration and anxiety. The same drug has been found to relieve symptoms of many serious diseases, including asthma, glaucoma and muscle spasms, as well as loss of appetite and nausea due to AIDS wasting syndrome and chemotherapy treatment. Many distinguished professional medical bodies, including the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and the New England Journal of Medicine have publicly supported prescriptive access to marijuana. Governments, however, are still opposing the legalization of marijuana for medical use. They continue to list marijuana as a Schedule I drug: "unsafe, highly subject to abuse, and possessing no medical value." As of July 9, Canada became the first country to adopt a system regulating the medicinal use of marijuana in July 2001. 582 Canadians were authorized to possess marijuana for medical reasons, most of whom were also licensed to cultivate the drug. |
 |
|
|
| Medical cannabis has been clearly demonstrated by many studies to be a safe non-toxic medicine, useful in the treatment of some of our most disabling medical conditions including multiple sclerosis, cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, chronic pain, etc. |
|
The US Institute of Medicine conducted a comprehensive study in 1999 to assess the potential health benefits of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. The study concluded that smoking marijuana is not recommended for the treatment of any disease condition. In addition, the effects of the cannabinoids studied are generally modest, and in most cases, there are more effective medications currently available. |
 |
|
|
| Scientists and mentally-ill sufferers of bipolar disorder have independently made the discovery that cannabis can improve this medical condition, whether the mania or depression. It may also reduce side effects of other drugs used in its treatment, such as Lithium, Carbamazepine (Tegretol) or Valproate (Depakote). Moreover, 30-40% of patients with bipolar disorder are not consistently helped by or cannot tolerate standard medications. |
|
A number of studies have reported that the effects of smoking marijuana for people with psychological problems are profound, most significantly in young women, where rates of mental health problems were many times higher in daily cannabis users. Cannabis is bad for one's mental health and causes higher rates of depression and anxiety problems. Cannabis also triggers the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in predisposed people and also exacerbates the symptoms generally. |
|
|
|
| Marijuana helps terminally ill people to lead a better quality life. Because smoked marijuana can give rapid relief from great suffering to some patients, quickly improving such patients' comfort and mental outlook, the terminally ill can still maintain their human dignity and suffer less. |
|
For the terminally ill, the use of marijuana can no longer be considered a therapeutic intervention but one of several procedures used to ease the ebbing of life of the terminally ill. However, for this purpose doctors should prescribe antiemetic and analgesic therapies of proven efficacy, rather than marijuana smoking that also causes side effects. |
|
|
|
| Legalized marijuana would provide patients with a quality drug to alleviate their pain. This would make the usage of drug controllable, ingredients would be well known and experts would determine the appropriate healing quantity. Legalization for medical purposes is also necessary to encourage the pharmaceutical industry to invest in further research of marijuana's healing properties. |
|
Legalization would lead to misuse and abuses. People who are addicted to a drug are especially driven to find loopholes. In countries where marijuana has already been introduced for medical purposes, this has been the case. Legalizing marijuana would pose a bad example and trigger pressures for the legalization of other drugs. |
|
|
|
| Cannabis as a drug incurs twofold costs to the state. Firstly, a state is paying all the restrictive apparatus caused by marijuana being criminalized. Secondly, its citizens aren't given the medical treatment they need and waste money on less efficient medicaments. In addition sufferers and their carers are criminalised by the current policy and forced to trade with underworld dealers for relief from their conditions. |
|
The first obligation of a state is to protect its citizens. Prosecution for possessing marijuana is a precaution to protect individual citizens and society as a whole from the negative effects of a drug. |
|
|
|
| Marijuana is the best drug to be put into medical use since it was ranked lowest for withdrawal symptoms, tolerance and dependence (addiction) potential; it ranked close to caffeine in the degree of reinforcement and higher than caffeine and nicotine only in the degree of intoxication. |
|
Repeated use would lead to a psychological craving for it and thus cause psychological addiction. Marijuana by definition meets the criteria for an addictive drug; animal studies suggest marijuana causes physical dependence, and some people report withdrawal symptoms. |
|
|
|
| | This house would legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
This house believes that hospitals should prescribe marijuana.
This house would give the weed to those in need.
|
| View the full discussion |
Author | Post |
|---|
Debatabase
Member
|
Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 12:08 pm |
|
Author: Andraz Melansek (Slovenia)
Andraz Melansek is a student of Intenational Relations at the University
of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is a debater , winning the Model UN Balkan Case
Challenge in 2003. He is also an experienced judge, twice adjudicating at
the World Schools Debatin
Created: Sunday, February 01, 2004
View Topic
Marijuana or cannabis is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. It causes hallucinations, disorientations and also feelings of exhilaration and anxiety. The same drug has been found to relieve symptoms of many serious diseases, including asthma, glaucoma and muscle spasms, as well as loss of appetite and nausea due to AIDS wasting syndrome and chemotherapy treatment. Many distinguished professional medical bodies, including the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and the New England Journal of Medicine have publicly supported prescriptive access to marijuana. Governments, however, are still opposing the legalization of marijuana for medical use. They continue to list marijuana as a Schedule I drug: "unsafe, highly subject to abuse, and possessing no medical value." As of July 9, Canada became the first country to adopt a system regulating the medicinal use of marijuana in July 2001. 582 Canadians were authorized to possess marijuana for medical reasons, most of whom were also licensed to cultivate the drug.
|
|
| Login to leave a quick reply or View the full discussion |
|
|
|
