Should Marijuana Be Legalized For Medical Purposes?
?
Marijuana has been used extensively as a medical remedy for more than
five thousand years. In the early 1900s, medical usage of marijuana began to
decline with the advent of alternative drugs. Injectable opiates and synthetic
drugs such as aspirin and barbiturates began to replace marijuana as the
physician's drug of choice in the twentieth-century, as their results proved to
be more consistent than the sometimes erratic effects of the hard-to-dose
potencies of marijuana (Grinspoon). The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 made cannabis
so expensive to obtain that its usage as a medical remedy in the U.S. came to a
halt. Although now illegal in the U.S., marijuana continues to be used for ...
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for abuse” (Claim V). In this classification system, marijuana is a
Schedule I drug, grouped with heroin, LSD, hashish, methaqualone, and designer
drugs. These are drugs having “unpredictable effects, and [causing] severe
psychological or physical dependence, or death” (Claim V).
A closer analysis of the DEA's Federal Scheduling system reveals that,
according to various studies by physicians on both sides of the legalization
debate, marijuana does not meet the requirements of a Schedule I drug, but not
those of Schedule II. The difference between the two classes is that Schedule
I drugs may lead to death, while those on Schedule II are less likely to do so.
Proponents of legalization cite information that indicates marijuana is a
relatively “safe” drug. “There is no known case of overdose; on the basis of
animal models, the ratio of lethal to effective dose is 40,000 to 1” (Grinspoon).
Even some opponents of marijuana legalization support reclassification. ...
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this present classification is scientifically, legally, and
morally wrong. (Grinspoon)
Like many other physicians fighting for the re-classification of marijuana, Dr.
Grinspoon makes claims only towards the drug's medical benefits. However, their
rhetoric in calling the issue “morally wrong” suggests that they may have other
motives as well.
Furthermore, the fact that “44% of oncologists” suggested their patients
use marijuana, despite its illegality, may suggest that many of these physicians
have little respect for post-prohibition laws. The article also fails to address
the negative side-effects of marijuana that result from smoking the plant.
...
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Should Marijuana Be Legalized For Medical Purposes?. (2005, March 25). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Should-Marijuana-Be-Legalized-Medical-Purposes/24276
"Should Marijuana Be Legalized For Medical Purposes?." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 25 Mar. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Should-Marijuana-Be-Legalized-Medical-Purposes/24276>
"Should Marijuana Be Legalized For Medical Purposes?." Essayworld.com. March 25, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Should-Marijuana-Be-Legalized-Medical-Purposes/24276.
"Should Marijuana Be Legalized For Medical Purposes?." Essayworld.com. March 25, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Should-Marijuana-Be-Legalized-Medical-Purposes/24276.
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