Imagine managing life with chronic pain, disease, or a debilitating illness.  It can seem almost impossible without the help of pharmaceuticals.  Traditional prescriptions are dished out left and right, and can sometimes make symptoms worse.  Thousands of opioid prescriptions are given each day, even after the damage they can cause.  Cancer and AIDS patients suffer as their immune systems diminish over time from treatments.  Many people are unaware about medical marijuana and how and why it is used, and relate it as just a way to get high.  Laws are in place for use of it as some states have already legalized it for medicinal purposes.  Indeed, there are risks with any medication, so making the decision can be daunting.  Medical marijuana should be legalized nationwide because the public should have access to an alternative to opioids; they should have freedom to control their quality of life living with disease. Legalization would prove the perceived ill effects are not substantiated.

Cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana, contains chemicals named cannabinoids.  Cannabinoids have been used in medicines dating back to 2800 B.C., and by the 1900’s, they were one of the most common ingredients in prescriptions.  Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is one of the most abundant chemical compounds found in marijuana and is responsible for giving that “high” feeling due to it being a psychotropic.  THC is effective in relieving pain, nausea, and even reduces inflammation.  THC is not the only useful compound; in fact, some pharmaceutical companies in Europe have already produced FDA approved medicines using a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, cannabidiol or CBD (NIDA).  CBD treatments are used for epilepsy, reduction of anxiety and paranoia, and cancels out the “high” that THC causes.  THC and CBD are just two out of an estimated 130 cannabinoids that have been studied.  In a publication on NORML, Dr. Gregory Carter states,

The discovery of an endogenous cannabinoid system, with specific receptors and ligands, has progressed our understanding of the therapeutic actions of cannabis from folklore to valid science. It now appears that the cannabinoid system evolved with our species and is intricately involved in normal human physiology -- specifically in the control of movement, pain, reproduction, memory, and appetite, among other biological functions.

With the cannabinoid system flourishing throughout the human body, cannabinoid use is expanding, “and could have therapeutic effect on diseases ranging from osteoarthritis to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis” (Carter). 

Prescription opioids such as Roxicodone and Lortab are prescribed for relief from pain, while only masking the problem.  These drugs work by attaching to receptors specific for opioids and send signals to the brain to reduce the perception of pain while also give a feeling of happiness or comfort.  An area in the brain involving rewards induces the pleasure feeling and people seeking more pleasure will indulge in a higher dosage.  While they can be effective, more often than not, these medications are being abused and can lead to serious consequences, and even death.  There are many reasons why the use of opioids has skyrocketed including but not limited to over prescribing, relentless advertising, and a growing social acceptability.  Opioids are responsible for the highest number of deaths involving prescription drugs causing insurance companies to shell out up to $72 billion annually in health-care costs.  13,652 people died from accidental prescription opioid overdose in 2010.  One year, 13,652 deaths (Volkow).  Contrary to opioid deaths, there have been no reported deaths related to marijuana use.  Every day, billboards and signs are posted with helplines or clinic information for opioid misuse; still people are widely accepting of a drug that has a high abuse and death rate and are ignoring the fact that these drugs are addictive. The University of Michigan conducted a study using people that have a permit for medical marijuana and are users of opioids for chronic pain.  There have been studies that show a decrease in opioid use in states that have medical cannabis laws in place, but the university was one of the first to study individual patterns of use.  The patients reported a significant reduction of sixty-four percent in opioid use after using medical marijuana.  The number of prescriptions drugs being taken were also lowered.  Nationwide, there has been an average decrease of almost twenty-five percent in opioid deaths where medical marijuana has been legalized (Boehnke).  

Eugene Monroe, a well-known NFL player, has spoken out against the abundant use of opioids for pain management.  As a football player, Eugene has his fair share of chronic pain and urges players to steer clear of using such an addictive drug.  Unlike most of America, he is acknowledging that opioids have a higher rate of dependency, stating “… we have cannabis, which is far healthier, far less addictive and, quite frankly, can be better in managing pain.''  Monroe has called for the NFL to stop testing for marijuana use thus giving players the option to a more natural medication.  This nation needs more advocates comparable to Monroe.  While he is not user of cannabis, he believes in supporting the idea that marijuana is a feasible alternative, and is provoking the need for an increase in studies (Belson).  

Legal use of marijuana came to an end when the Marijuana Tax Act was issued in the 1930’s.  Reasons for ending legal medical use were not caused by abuse or harmful side effects, politics were and still are to blame.  Mexican immigrants swarmed America after the Mexican Revolution in 1910 and are said to have introduced recreational use of marijuana.  US government blamed a rise in violence on the increased use of the now illegal drug (Carter).  Marijuana is a Schedule I drug, which deems it as having no medical value and has a high-risk potential for abuse, even after medical professionals express their opinions about the ability for marijuana to treat medical conditions (Rubens).  It turns out, that the federal government has known since 1974 just how effective marijuana is, when they shut down a study that was created to find evidence that THC damages the immune system, but what they found was quite the opposite.  The results showed that THC reduced the growth rate of lung and breast cancer in mice, and in three of them, “the tumors were completely eradicated”.  Madrid, Spain had similar results in 2000 after researchers “destroyed incurable brain tumors in rats, by injecting them with THC” (Cushing).  Somehow after thousands of studies and reports on cannabis and its therapeutic effects, the government doesn’t find legalization imperative.  The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted a study focusing on the medical properties of cannabis and after substantial examination, DEA Judge Francis Young declared, 

The evidence clearly shows that marijuana is capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. ... It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance.

The federal government has never acknowledged the fact that smoking marijuana is not the only way to administer marijuana as a medicine, which gives them the leverage to continue classifying it as having no medical benefit.

“Alcohol does more damage in many areas of society than drugs, particularly marijuana, but we treat marijuana as much worse, and that’s because it’s associated with the counterculture” (Stein).  Stigma, tightly wrapped around marijuana use, is choking out federal and public acceptability of a drug that has life changing potential.  In a comparison of methods, smoking had the highest stigma and almost the lowest acceptance rate but a pill-like form was among the highest accepted methods (Rudski).    Without a doubt, smoking is dangerous and is perceived as “recreational” use.  Alternatively, smoking from a vaporizer is still as effective but presents less harm.  The marijuana is heated to a high temperature releasing the cannabinoids without the harmful chemicals.  Nasal sprays, dermal patches, pills, and oral suspensions are all other options that normalize how marijuana is applied.  Stigma revolving around the route of administration needs to become a part of the past because whether taking a pill, using a nasal spray, or smoking from a vaporizer, the patient is simply taking their medication.  Sociocultural views of drug use have been ignored when it comes to the issue of recreational use blooming from medical use.  Society correlates drug use with the type of person or group associated with it; this attitude could help change how medical users are perceived, dropping stigma like a bad habit.   

Concerns revolving around legalization have grown in numbers, as they should.  In states that have legalized medical use, the number of dispensaries have become overwhelming and have increased the use of cannabis in high school children.  Parents are fearful that their teens may interpret the message of legalization efforts as “Marijuana is good for something” (Stolberg); in contrast, parents need to educate their children on the risks of any drug, especially one that is becoming readily available.  Many perceive access as being more difficult seeing that it is a “prescription”; however, if someone wants it, they will find a way to get it.  The same can be said for opioids.  Prescribing can be problematic not only because availability is increased, physicians are bothered by potential side effects.  Serious side effects range from dependency, slowed thought processes, and a likely rise in traffic accidents from drugged driving.  Schizophrenic relapse is a possible side effect that could be detrimental.  On the contrary, side effects from marijuana “resemble those of many approved medications” (Mack).  Issues with a “recommendation for use” instead of a prescription that has clear dosage and instructions are justifiable (Kleber). Montana recently legalized medical use.  Trafficking became a problem and only about two percent of the dispensaries were being used for legitimate sales (Burke).  Doctors travel to the state not interested in the “medical problem” someone is claiming to have; money is far more interesting.  Shameful as it is, legalization can present complications that deter society from acceptance.  Medical marijuana should be held to the same standards as any other pharmaceutical and should be sold through a pharmacy instead of a “head shop”. From the surface, legalization could seem more damaging than useful; but as with all medications, risks are presented.  Improvements for regulations are necessary to continue providing safe access to those that genuinely need medical marijuana for therapy.  

Research after research shows promise of what marijuana can do for illness, harsh, life changing illness. Cancer, AIDS, the big guys are all taking a hit with marijuana.  While researching, one story spoke volumes and proves just how powerful medical marijuana can be. The story of a little girl named Charlotte Figi. Charlotte was diagnosed with Dravets syndrome. Dravets syndrome is a type of severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy. It often starts around 4-6 months of age; the child will experience seizures brought on by hot temperatures or fever.  Charlotte was said to be “the girl who is changing medical marijuana laws across America.” (Gupta) After exhausting measures to find relief for Charlotte, her parents took an unconventional route, using medical marijuana for the weekly 300 grand mal seizures. She received her first dose at the age of 5, taken twice daily. After a consistent regimen of the CBD oil, a more conventional type of medical marijuana, Charlotte is a happy, healthy child. In a few short years she went from a near death state with hundreds of seizures, to only two or three seizures in a month. The specific CBD oil that drastically changed her life, is now named “Charlotte’s Web” and is helping thousands of others who share disabilities alike. 

Nabilone and Dronabinol are FDA approved medications that contain cannabinoids and are prescribed for treating nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, whom have had no results with other medications.  Dronabinol is also an effective treatment for AIDS patients that suffer from weight loss due to loss of appetite; however, some patients have argued that these prescription drugs are costlier and effects are slower than when using pure marijuana.  Epidiolex is an experimental drug that passed the first clinical trial in London and was successful in reducing seizures in patients with Dravet syndrome (Pollack), and yet again, this medication’s affordability is out of reach.  With prescription drug prices soaring, customers are seemingly pinching pennies.  A study was conducted by the University of Georgia, focusing on the reduction of Medicare prescriptions in medications that are likely to be substituted with medical marijuana, where medical legalization is present.  Painkillers and anti-depressant prescriptions were dropping, but not drugs like blood-thinners; those type drugs are not known to be substitutable with marijuana.  Research concluded that “Medical marijuana saved Medicare about $165 million in 2013” (Bradford), solidifying the idea that customers are turning to marijuana as a cheaper and equally effective medicine.  Government programs such as Medicaid may also benefit from budget reductions, saving everyone money.  Saving money does not wholly warrant changing a policy; the shift in where customers are going could be used to evolve medical marijuana policies, pushing legislation to rethink and change the status of marijuana as a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II.  This would allow researchers more freedom to study the effects of marijuana.  

Research and studies are crucial for finding data that politics cannot.  The US has limited access for medical marijuana exploration, with decreasing funds from the government along with laws banning analysis in most areas.  As the American government withholds pertinent evidence proving validity, “sheeple” are misled and believe whatever the government tells them.  Without groundwork, marijuana remains demonized.  Without science, thousands, if not millions, of debilitated people could be at a disadvantage.  Guidelines and regulations need reevaluation and added precision.  Classes should be implemented for anyone that is prescribed opioids or marijuana to educate on the risks; education illuminates the need for awareness.  There is an urgency for providing a better quality of life, in such a manner that better-coordinated research is needed and essential to fast-tracking development of medications that will one day prevent addiction and disease from becoming an epidemic.  No doubt, the economy needs a boost and with legalization, the government will save in programs while the public saves their hard-earned money.  

We as a human race need to reevaluate our approach of treatments and or cures, think outside the box. Eliminate the boundaries that have forced us into a society of limitations. Opioid drugs and modern medicine are not the only resources we have at hand. Herbal remedies have proven beneficial, with slight risks. Opioid drugs have proven beneficial as well, with heavier risks.  Illnesses are not a one size fits all situation, nor are treatments.
