The construct of utilizing marihuana for medical usage is nil new. Marijuana is one of the oldest drugs known to adult male, the usage of it has been documented as far back as 2700 B. C. in a Chinese manuscript. The Chinese would injest or inhale the Marijuana and experience hurting alleviation for concerns and little achings and strivings ( “ Marijuana ” 1 ) .
The Chinese spread the construct over clip, and while it ne’er began a popular drug in most other societies, it still existed and was a common hurting stand-in. In 1839, a well-thought-of member of the Royal Academy of Science, Dr. W. B. O’Shaugnessy, was one of the first in the medical profession, who presented positive facts covering with marihuana and medical specialty ( History in Brief 3 ) . His work helped open up the medical universe to marijuna ‘ s medical usees.
The drug itself was non used as a popular recreational drug at the clip and for this ground few saw a job with utilizing it for medical intents. From 1840 to 1900, more than one hundred articles by American and European medical diaries were published that showed the curative utilizations of marihuana ( Bakalar 2 ) . Marijuana was recommended to excite appetencies, and relax musculuss, so if marihuana was effectual in handling those complaints during this clip period. Its guardians point out that the drug was praised by the patients and physicians likewise. In 1988, Judge Francis Young, an tester on administrative issues for the Drug Enforcement Agency, recommended that marihuana be reclassified for medical usage, because the “ current credence ” of marihuana is present if a “ respectable minority ” of physicians support it.
( “ A Doctor ‘ s Report ” 1 ) . The same Journal of the American Medical Association article, pointed out that even though the medical history of marihuana is five thousand old ages old, it has about all been forgotten. Marijuana has already been legalized for medical usage by both California and Arizona. In order to be passed, these Torahs required a bulk ballot by the populace and by Congress that favored the legalisation of marihuana. In 1991, eighty per centum of the San Francisco electors approved of legalising marihuana, and 77 per centum of Santa Cruz electors besides agreed ( “ History of Medical Marijuana ” 1 ) . Since these Torahs were passed, there is cogent evidence of support for the legalisation of marihuana for medicative intents. California and Arizona may be the lone provinces that have legalized marihuana for medicative intents, but they are non the lone provinces that have considered the legalisation of medicative marihuana.
“ Massachusetts, had antecedently passed Torahs that permitted their citizens to utilize marihuana for medical intents under some fortunes ” ( “ Reefer Madness ” 2 ) . Many provinces have passed Torahs that lessen the prosecution of those physicians who prescribe marihuana ( “ Federal Foolishness and Marijuana ” 2 ) . There have besides been many polls demoing that the public favours the usage of marihuana for medical intents ( “ Reefer Madness ” 2 ) . With all of this support for legalising marihuana, it is merely a affair of clip before the prosecution of physicians for ordering marihuana and patients for utilizing marihuana as medical specialty ceases. Another powerful back uping factor for the legalisation of marihuana is the indorsement of doctors.
During a random study of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, one thousand 35 members responded with surprising consequences ( “ A Doctor ‘ s Report ” 1 ) . Almost half of the physicians said that they would order marihuana if it were legal, and 44 per centum of them said that they had already recommended it to a patient ( “ A Doctor ‘ s Report ” 1 ) . If there are physicians who are urging marihuana, even at the hazard of prosecution, it is obvious that they strongly believe that it can be really utile in the intervention of their patients. In add-on, about two tierces of the physicians besides agreed that marihuana was an effectual anti-emetic ( “ A Doctor ‘ s Report ” 1 ) .
This is of import because of the dangerous desiccation that can attach to vomit, which is normally known as emesis. Doctors are allowed to order narcotics for hurting alleviation, such as morphia a! nd meperdine, which have been known to do decease during overdose, yet they are non allowed to order marihuana as a medical specialty, even though marihuana has ne’er been known to kill anyone ( “ Federal Foolishness… ” 2 ) . Scientists have discovered that the ground that marihuana is so effectual in handling many of the symptoms of the terminally ailment is because of a chemical called THC, which is the chief active ingredient in marihuana. Even though scientific discipline has found a manner to do a man-made THC, marketed as Marinol ( “ Lost in the Weed ” 1 ) , it is highly expensive, and it does look to do higher degrees of depression and anxiousness ( “ Lost in the Weed ” 1 ) .
Other side effects of the man-made THC are utmost giddiness and unsteady pace ( “ Your Health ” 3 ) . These side effects entirely may be hard to cover with, but many of these patients are already covering with harmful side effects from the medical specialties they are taking for the intervention of their unwellness. They should non hold to take a pill that is supposed to alleviate them of side effects that causes extra side effects.
Another negative facet of Marinol that is experienced by patients and documented by physicians is that the man-made THC, and! the THC from marijuana react otherwise in the organic structure. There is besides “ a convincing organic structure of research, some of it now two decennaries old, shows that smoked marijuana suppresses nausea better than Marinol pills and with fewer side effects. ” ( “ Your Health ” 3 ) . Besides, many patients are battling sickness and emesis, and it can be hard for them to maintain the expensive Marinol pill down ( “ Medical Marijuana Debate Moving Toward Closure ” 3 ) . If terminally sick patients have tried many different interventions, which have non been successful, and happen that smoking marihuana helps them with their symptoms, with fewer side effects, and less expensively, so the patients should lawfully be able to hold the option to do that pick. Cancer patients have found marihuanas to be really effectual in handling the side effects of chemotherapy. In an article in Time, “ Marijuana: Where There ‘ s Smoke, There ‘ s Fire ” , malignant neoplastic disease patient Jo Daly, has described her experience with chemotherapy as a “ atomic implosion ” of sickness.
She went on to discourse experiencing a firing hurting under the nails of her fingers and toes. After she had tried many different options to alleviate her hurting, she tried marihuana which seemed to be the lone drug effectual in alleviating her hurting. Jo Daly is non the merely 1 to happen marijuana effectual in alleviating the uncomfortablenesss of chemotherapy. During the late 1970ss, and eightiess, six provinces performed research on how good marijuana operated on battling chemotherapy related sickness and emesis ( “ Medical usage of Marijuana ” 2 ) . Their surveies concluded that marijuana an highly effectual manner to cover with the side effects of chemotherapy ( “ Medical usage of Marijuana ” 2 ) . “ Prevention and con! trol of sickness and emesis is paramount in the intervention of malignant neoplastic disease patients ” ( “ Information for Physicians ” 1 ) . The ground that sickness and purging demands to be controlled is that, “ These can ensue in serious metabolic mental unsoundnesss, nutritionary depletion, impairment of a patient ‘ s physical and mental position, backdown from potentially utile and healing anticancer intervention, and devolution of self-care and functional ability. ” ( “ Information for Physicians ” 1 ) .
For malignant neoplastic disease patients it is really of import to command their sickness and emesis and marihuana seems to be able to carry through this. It seems sensible to let patients the option and do medical marihuana available for their usage. Another disease that marijuana seems to be utile in hurting alleviation is multiple induration. Multiple induration is a painful cardinal nervous disease for which there is no known remedy. The most common ailment of multiple induration patients is the hurting of powerful musculus cramps, dizziness, and dual vision, all of which can do life about intolerable ( “ A Daughters Pain ” 1 ) . There are some patients who say that marihuana can assist in alleviating them of these symptoms ( “ A Daughters Pain ” 1 ) .
Even though there are bing medicines offered to handle multiple induration, many choose marihuanas to alleviate them of their agony ( “ A Daughters Pain ” 1 ) . The ground for this is that other medicines frequently result in terrible side effects, that marihuana does non look to hold ( “ A Daughters Pain ” 1 ) . There is no certification of this because there have been no controlled clinical tests that have compared marihuanas with existing legal drugs ( “ Your Health ” 3 ) . There is cogent evidence, nevertheless, in! the fact that many patients choose to buy marihuana to alleviate their hurting at any cost.
Some patients are even willing to travel to imprison to acquire their marihuana, because for them, it is the lone thing that proves to be effectual ( “ Federal Foolishness and Marijuana ” 1 ) . Marijuana has besides been found utile for handling patients with AIDS. It seems that marihuana can positively assist AIDS patients in several ways. Some ways that marihuana can assist is by alleviating emphasis and depression, extinguishing sickness, cut downing hurting, and contending the AIDS cachexia syndrome by heightening the appetency ( “ Stop Using Patients as Pawns! ! ! ” 1 ) . Even though there are many interventions, AIDS patients who are in the concluding phases of the disease still suffer greatly. The legal options for these AIDS patients are the human growing endocrine, another type of endocrine called Megace, and the man-made THC pill, Marinol ( “ Your Health ” 3 ) .
These are the lone FDA approved drugs for handling AIDS blowing syndrome, but some patients say that these are non equal replacements for marihuana ( “ Your Health ” 3 ) . It was said by one patient on Marinol that, “ All it did was do me groggy without heightening my appetency. “ , but marihuana has been found to increase the appetencies of AIDS P! atients. “ AIDS militants and the physicians who treat the disease study that marihuana is besides utile for stamp downing the sickness that ‘ s a side consequence of several anti AIDS drugs ” ( “ Your Health ” 3 ) . Another critical concern when covering with an AIDS patients is their immune system. However, when analyzing HIV-positive work forces who used marihuana, it was determined that the marihuana did non look to speed up the impairment of their immune systems ( “ Your Health ” 4 ) .
This is another of import consideration in handling this deathly disease. There are many different point of views on the usage of marihuana as a medical specialty. These different points of position consequence in many of import issues sing the usage of an illegal drug for medicative usage. Even though there are many people who are against legalising marihuana for medical intents, there are merely as many who feel that if used right, marihuanas can be an indispensable portion of handling serious diseases. For centuries marijuana has been used to assist those who are in demand of effectual hurting alleviation.
There are many physicians and patients, who feel that the utility and effectivity of marihuana is being overlooked. As a consequence, many physicians are urging the usage of marihuana, irrespective of the possible legal issues. Many patients, who are enduring from malignant neoplastic disease, multiple induration, and AIDS, have discovered that marihuana is a drug that provides them with much needed alleviation and they are utilizing marijuana regardless of the effects. In basic footings “ Marijuana may hav! e long term inauspicious effects and its usage may bode serious dependences, but neither long-run side effects nor dependences is a relevant issue in such patients ” ( “ Federal Foolishness and Marijuana ” 1 ) While recommending the legalisation of marihuana as a recreational drug would be damaging to society, its effectivity for medicative utilizations is clear and needs to be earnestly considered.