As the world continues to progress around us, so should our views on controversial topics.  For example, the use of medicinal marijuana.  The word marijuana tends to have a negative connotation with it because it is a recreational drug.  Being a part of the progressive generation I've seen many movements started in hope of sparking change, but the conservative generation doesn't seem to agree with these movements.  Even though marijuana is a recreational drug, when it is used for medical purposes it has been proven to help with the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, epilepsy, and other conditions. In addition to helping with cancer symptoms, it has also been proven that it helps prevent the spread of certain cancers throughout the body.  People will argue that marijuana has potentially harmful side effects that should be weighed over any potential benefit, but with the way scientific research is progressing it is vital that we invest in researching medicinal marijuana.  Besides, it wouldn't hurt to invest in something that could save people's lives when the worst side effect is respiratory irritation.  The benefits of using medicinal marijuana outweigh the potential risks and as a result medicinal marijuana should be legalized in all 50 states.

Prior to 1937, there was at least 27 medicines that contained marijuana and all were made legally by well-known pharmaceutical companies that still exist today (Marijuana 1).  These remedies were sold to patients without any of them being concerned over the chemicals in them because they were extremely helpful. However, after 1937 the government put into effect the marijuana tax act, which prohibited the use of marijuana.  Since 1937 the use of any marijuana has been seen as a federal crime and the drug is prohibited.  The controlled substance act of 1970 said that marijuana was Schedule I drug, which meant it had a high abuse rate and no benefits from use (Hoffman 1).  Due to the laws being changed people forgot about the healing power of marijuana from the early 1930s and saw it as only an evil narcotic. However, a breakthrough occurred in the late 1970s.  Due to the amount of recreational users increasing scientists were able to rediscover the medical benefits of the drug.  Since many of the recreational users were suffering from the same diseases that marijuana is used to treat today, scientists were able to see firsthand how marijuana was providing benefits to those who took the risk smoking it.  As a result they accidentally rediscovered marijuana's therapeutic value.  As word spread about how marijuana offered medical benefits more and more people began self-medicating themselves with marijuana.  The movement has gone so far that today we are seeing more and more states join in the movement to legalize medicinal marijuana due to its healing powers (Marijuana 1).

As more and more studies continue to be done on medicinal marijuana we are seeing more and more positive results.  The rediscovery of the medical benefits that marijuana provides has changed what started as a small movement by a few individual states to legalize medicinal marijuana into what is now a revolution to legalize medicinal marijuana in 23 states (Adler 1).  These states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.  At least one government agency in the United States has claimed that medicinal marijuana is an affective remedy for the certain diseases it has been tested on (Adler 1).  With such a high governing authority justifying its effectiveness and with nearly half of the country legalizing the use of medicinal marijuana, it's easy to believe that it won't be long before every state joins in on the movement.  

Medicinal marijuana is one of the safest therapeutic substances.  Do you know someone that has died from over dose of marijuana?  Odds are you don't because it has never happened.  Medicinal marijuana is most beneficial in treating   AIDS, hepatitis C, glaucoma, cancer, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis (Marijuana 1).  Marijuana has been proven to relieve the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite that comes with AIDS.  By relieving these symptoms patients are allowed to stay on life-extending treatment or may be progressing well enough to be taken off life support in certain cases.  Like AIDS, hepatitis C also comes with nausea and vomiting, both of which medicinal marijuana has been proven to relieve.  Patients with hepatitis C that smoked medicinal marijuana showed a 300% improvement in their treatment (Marijuana 1).  It's one thing to see a steady improvement like days without nausea or pain, but to see a 300% improvement is mind boggling.  Whether you believe in the use of marijuana or not a 300% improvement isn't just the difference between a couple more days to live or not.  Rather a 300% improvement rate can completely cure someone of a disease.  Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States and impacts thousands.  Medicinal marijuana has been proven to alleviate the pain and in some cases stop the damage being done to the eyes by glaucoma (Marijuana 1).  Most cancer patients have to go through the grueling process of chemotherapy which can destroy a person's body.  Chemotherapy is one of the most painful and draining experiences for cancer patients that leaves them without their hair and aches throughout their body.  Nausea and vomiting are two of the main side effects of chemotherapy, both of which can be reduced by the use of medicinal marijuana.  Medicinal marijuana has been proven to alleviate the nausea and stimulates the appetite to help deal with vomiting.  Multiple sclerosis is the leading cause of neurological disability among young and middle-aged adults, but can be helped by medicinal marijuana because it has been proven to limit muscle pain and spasticity along with relieving tremor and unsteadiness (Marijuana 1).  As you can see the medical possibilities and breakthroughs associated with medicinal marijuana are endless.  As research continues to progress the future is bright and who knows what other diseases medicinal marijuana could possibly help cure.

All of these uses of medicinal marijuana are great, but  some say legalizing marijuana can not only impact the users but also the citizens of the state it is legalized.  Even though marijuana can relieve symptoms patients suffer from, the other chemicals in marijuana can be just as detrimental to a patient's health as the symptoms they are suffering from.  The FDA has not approved of the use of medicinal marijuana even though 23 states have legalized it.  The FDA has deemed medicinal marijuana to be to be unsafe due to the other toxins it releases when smoked and claims that it is not an effective medicine for any medical condition (Huff 1).  A recent study done by Columbia University showed that states with legalized medicinal marijuana have abuse/dependence rates twice as high as states that haven't legalized medicinal marijuana.  The biggest jump in marijuana use has come in Massachusetts where they have a 30% higher use as a state than the entire country (Medical 1).  Medicinal marijuana can provide a lot of benefits to patients, but we need to make sure we are going through the correct procedure to do this.  Regulating medicinal marijuana so that only the sick and those who really need it can get it is necessary to prevent abuse/dependence rates from increasing.  

In addition to marijuana being an ineffective method and having a high dependence rate, it is said to also be an addictive substance.  The brain's reward center is the common pathway that is impacted by addictive drugs and this is what THC impacts.  THC impacts the reward center by causing the reward center to no longer create dopamine.  Dopamine is the key chemical that lets us know when we should reward ourselves or when we experience pleasure.  If the brain can no longer produce dopamine as a result of THC then we will lose our sense of pleasure with certain things/events and won't experience the same sensation.  THC damages the connection between our synapses and the reward center to the point of disconnection (California 1).  Humans can't suffer from withdrawal from THC since it is gradually released from the body, but that doesn't mean that we can't suffer from withdrawal symptoms.  Heavy marijuana smokers who were asked to abstain from smoking for a period of time were found to suffer from anxiety, tension, and irritability.  The worst of the symptoms came between days three and seven even though they were asked to abstain for 28 days.  More than 70% of the people asked to abstain from smoking marijuana experienced anger, nervousness, anxiety, and irritability (California 1).  It's clear to see that there is a strong relationship between abstaining from smoking marijuana and the side effects that ensue.  Marijuana dependence rates are about 30% higher in those who have used it five or more times in their life and 40% higher in those who use it daily.  Those who use marijuana before the age of 18 are at risk of having their dependence rate nearly tripled compared to those who use after they turn 18.  Adolescents are at the most risk here, since nearly 17% of them become dependent on marijuana within the first two years of using it (California 1).  Even though medicinal marijuana can provide many benefits we need to make sure we are distributing it in the right amount and to the right people or else addiction and other side effects will occur.  It's easy for anyone to get their hands on a medicinal marijuana prescription in the states where it is legalized and that needs to be regulated in the near future before adolescents and others become addicted.   

I recently got the opportunity to interview a cancer patient that used medicinal marijuana as a remedy to overcome her symptoms from chemotherapy in hope of disproving the concerns people have with medicinal marijuana.  She is a 70 year old woman who was suffering from lymphoma and was treated in Boston, Massachusetts.  Since she was an older woman and had an aggressive form of lymphoma, her chemotherapy treatments were quite rigorous and detrimental for her health, but it was necessary to defeat the cancer.  Sadly, this is the case for many cancer patients.  Cancer is an awful disease that often times destroys the bodies of those it impacts.  Chemotherapy is the best method we have for treating and curing cancer, but the effects it has on the person can leave their body ravaged.  The patient I interviewed is now in remission, but the chemotherapy treatments she underwent left her suffering from severe pain and nausea.  In order to combat her symptoms she told me she was administered vaporized medicinal marijuana.  Vaporization was the best method of distribution because as an older woman the smoke could cause respiratory irritation.  Directly smoking marijuana releases toxins that are taken out of the picture when vaporized.  Smoking would have been the more efficient and faster method, but luckily we have different methods of distribution to help with different situations.  She admitted that she was hesitant at first to use marijuana because she had grown up her whole life hearing only about the hazards of marijuana use.  However, given the situation she was in she said she was willing to try it in order to neutralize the damage done by chemotherapy.  As a result of using medicinal marijuana she said that her pain and nausea decreased significantly and that she was feeling better almost immediately.   One thing she said that stood out to me was "My view point on this topic has changed.  More and more people need to know about what marijuana can provide.  Even if you don't agree with it that doesn't mean that it can't help you or someone you love."  Her opinion changed after seeing what it can provide for people and I'm sure more and more people will feel this way as we learn more about what medicinal marijuana can provide.

Laws surrounding medicinal marijuana and the research to back it up has come a long way since the early 1970s.  We are now reaping the rewards of rediscovering marijuana's therapeutic value and research is only going to improve.  As a country we need to legalize marijuana because as of right now over half our country isn't allowed to receive the benefits it can provide.  It may never help you with an illness, but it may be able to help a loved one or a friend who needs it and it would be terrible to imagine that they can't have access to it if it could help save their life.  

