Should Marijuana Be Legal for Medicinal Purposes?

Should Marijuana Be Legal for MedicinalPurposes?

The issue of whether or not marijuana should belegalized within the United States of America has attracted a heateddebate. This paper argues that marijuana should be legalized formedicinal purposes since it is already being used to treat variousailments and is less harmful to patients.

Firstly, Cannabis sativa is nontoxic and lesshazardous compared to most of the drugs used in hospitals. As such,the drug is already being used as a medicine in the treatment ofAlzheimer`s disease and glaucoma, among other ailments(Pacula et al. 12)

Secondly, in the United Stated States ofAmerica, there is a serious eruption of cancer, which has led to thedeath of many people. Chemotherapy is the process that is commonlyused in the treatment of some types of cancer, and it involvesexposing the patient to radioactive agents with the aim of killingthe cancerous tissues (Pacula et al.11). Radiation itself has some sideeffects, which are likely to cause other forms of cancer. Patientswho have cancer are likely to lose appetite. If this happens, theprobability of the patient becoming malnourished and starving todeath is very high. Marijuana, on the other hand, triggers hunger.When the patient is hungry, he/she experiences a high affinity forfood. Thus, malnutrition and starvation that is common in cancerpatients can be eradicated if marijuana is legalized for use formedicinal purposes.

In conclusion, it is inherent that marijuana isvery useful in the human body particularly in the treatment of thevarious conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, and Alzheimer’sdiseases. Thus, it should be made legal to be used by doctors to helppatients, who wound end up dead as a result of starvation or fromcomplications caused by Alzheimer’s disease and glaucoma. However,the government should come up with policies to help regulate the useof Cannabis sativa to avoid a situation where the drug falls into thehands of unscrupulous traders.

Work Cited

Pacula, Rosalie L., Anne E. Boustead, andPriscillia Hunt. &quotWords can be deceiving: a review of variationamong legally effective medical marijuana laws in the United States.&quotJournal of drug policy analysis7.1 (2014): 1-19.

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