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Tuesday,
April 20, 2004 |
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Pot:
Just what the doctor ordered
Medicinal
marijuana should be made lega
Have
you ever seen the ad where the woman dying of cancer reaches
down to roll her joint? How about the one where a man
suffering from chronic pain lights up to relieve his pain?
I bet you haven’t.
That’s because images of marijuana typically show
it as a negative drug, as a gateway drug.
While its use as a recreational drug can’t be disputed,
marijuana also can have a positive aspect to it. For this
reason, marijuana should be made legal for medicinal purposes.
If a drug has redeeming qualities, such as marijuana,
and has been proven to be a successful way to ease pain
and suffering, why should the government keep it from
us?
They shouldn’t. While marijuana is not a cure, it
can be used as a complement to treatment. It is proven
to relieve symptoms of cancer, glaucoma, chronic pain
and even AIDS.
The symptoms associated with these diseases are known
to be unbearable at times. If a physician believes it
to be a safe and effective alternative to medicine, they
should have the ability to prescribe to their patient
any drug that will make them feel better, including marijuana.
The distribution of legal marijuana can be controlled
with prescriptions and guidelines as to what constitutes
medicinal use.
Another consideration for legalizing marijuana is that
society has accepted other drugs that have little or no
redeeming qualities.
Alcohol for example, while it may help your heart in small
quantities, has no other redeeming qualities, yet over
time society has accepted it.
Cigarettes fall under the same category. Society has accepted
them despite their track record of bad health.
People should be open to discussion about legalizing marijuana
and put aside the stigmas that have been associated with
it in the past.
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