Essay Sample on Medical Use of Marijuana

Introduction

Medical marijuana has both positive and negative effects. It helps in treating the symptoms of various diseases which are very severe such as cancer, glaucoma, migraines, asthma, arthritis, and analgesia (ProCon.org). Even though patients may use pharmaceutical drugs such as morphine or OxyContin mainly for pain management, the drugs mostly fail to work after a given time frame while their conditions persist (CNN). Today, the most abused prescription drugs are opioids which cause dependence and have been attributed to many drug overdose cases especially in the United States (National Institute of Drug Abuse).

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Excessive use of medical marijuana has an array of adverse effects such as addictiveness, infertility, brain and lungs impairment, among others. However, opioids also have various adverse effects such as hypoxia, slowed metabolism, permanent brain damage, and even death. Research conducted by Dr. Gupta, the chief CNN medical correspondent, shows that marijuana doesn't have high abuse potential, contrary to what many people who oppose it say (CNN). This shows that the legalization of medical marijuana will not lead to drug overuse. If the government legalizes marijuana for medical purposes, it needs to put strict measures in place to prevent the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta says that his research indicated that not only did medical marijuana work but it was the only product that worked to improve the conditions of individual patients (CNN). Many studies state that marijuana is among the most dangerous substances, but Dr. Gupta found that no scientific evidence shows marijuana to be that dangerous. Moreover, he found that medical marijuana is more effective than various pharmaceutical drugs. He adds that marijuana is safer since patients overdose from other medications every nineteen minutes and there have been no deaths resulting from a marijuana overdose (CNN).

Conclusion

This discussion shows that many people in the society whether sick or not constantly misuse drugs which calls for the use of more effective drugs such as medical marijuana to improve their quality of life as well as a tightening of policies that prevent drug abuse. Having the chief medical correspondent from CNN changes the debate because he sheds light on some of the untrue claims made about medical marijuana and he also highlights the benefits from its use.

Works Cited

CNN. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Why I Changed My Mind On Weed. 2018, https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/index.html. Accessed 4 Nov 2018.

National Institute of Drug Abuse. "Prescription Opioids". Drugabuse.Gov, 2018, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/prescription-opioids. Accessed 4 Nov 2018.

ProCon.org. "Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option? - Medical Marijuana - Procon.Org". Medicalmarijuana.Procon.Org, 2018, https://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001325. Accessed 4 Nov 2018.