Should Medical Use of Marijuana be Legal?

[retrorich]

George W. Bush has stated that he will oppose legalization of the use of marijuana to ease the suffering of seriously ill people who cannot obtain relief from traditional medications.

Do you think medical use of marijuana should be legal?

 

[HelpMe]

as long as alcohol and cigeretttes are legal, marijuana should be too imo.not that i condone the use of alcohol or tobacco.

 

[retrorich]

I voted YES.

 

[jewscout]

I said yes but i think that it's a little more complicated than simply yes or no. I mean if the best your doctor can offer is to smoke some bud then you might as well prescribe shots of tequilla too.
At the same time i know that marijuana has certain side effects which could be beneficial in a few cases.

 

[robtex]

If it is administered through a doctors prescription and used for medical purposes as opposed for recreational purposes. In that way its use could be similar to say oxycontin, valium or zoloft. It should require a prescription from a expert in the medical field and companies that market it would be required to be licensed by the goverment for legal distritubtion to medical establishments.

 

[Lintu]

I don't think it should be illegal for medicinal OR recreational purposes. I oppose the criminalization of victimless crimes. If a person chooses to smoke pot with no consequence to anyone but himself, I don't care. No one has ever died of marijuana use....look at how many deaths there are per year from alcohol and cigarette use.

Also, the idea of withholding pain relief from a suffering person is very cruel, in my opinion.

 

[Solly]

If it is administered through a doctors prescription and used for medical purposes as opposed for recreational purposes. In that way its use could be similar to say oxycontin, valium or zoloft. It should require a prescription from a expert in the medical field and companies that market it would be required to be licensed by the goverment for legal distritubtion to medical establishments.

What he said. I don't think it is a case of handing out spliffs and a prescription saying Chill!! There are plenty of things that are deemed harmful when taken indiscriminately, but which are still prescribed by doctors, from stronger painkillers upwards. If it can get regulatory approval, then why not, esp if they can isolate the active compounds from the psychtropic ones.

 

[Fluffy]

I don't think it should be illegal for medicinal OR recreational purposes. I oppose the criminalization of victimless crimes. If a person chooses to smoke pot with no consequence to anyone but himself, I don't care. No one has ever died of marijuana use....look at how many deaths there are per year from alcohol and cigarette use.

Also, the idea of withholding pain relief from a suffering person is very cruel, in my opinion.

I have heard the idea of smoking pot being a victimless crime many a time (mostly amongst my friends who smoke it). I would agree with this to a certain extent in that, as far as I can see, it causes less harm than both smoking and drinking. However there is strong evidence to suggest that it aids people into harder drugs (which is both harmful to the person and to others around them) although I am uncertain as to whether this is due to the drug culture or the drug itself. Additionally, long periods of taking pot (not in excess mind) is proven to cause a heightened sense of paranoid which then can lead to mental problems such as depression. I also hold the belief that pot is addictive, though this is contested by many people although supported by most doctors, and this is, in its own right, harmful.

Really, I dont personally see the point of taking illegal drugs (or legal drugs for that matter) which can cause you and others harm. There are plenty of legal, safer highs to be found out there which are, in my experience, great although they dont carry the street cred which attracts many people to illegal drugs.

I know these points have probably been raised many times before... but I just dont believe that pot would be illegal if it didnt have any long lasting damage when the government could make so much money off of it in terms of tax! Surely if it were safe as people argue, the government would be the first to legalise and cash in. They do it on more dangerous drugs (alcohol, tobbaco) and I cant really see what they gain by ignoring this safe and quick money grabber.

Fluffy

 

[Druidus]

However there is strong evidence to suggest that it aids people into harder drugs (which is both harmful to the person and to others around them) although I am uncertain as to whether this is due to the drug culture or the drug itself.

This is one of the more persistent myths. A real world example of what happens when marijuana is readily available can be found in Holland. The Dutch partially legalized marijuana in the 1970s. Since then, hard drug use-heroin and cocaine-have DECLINED substantially. If marijuana really were a gateway drug, one would have expected use of hard drugs to have gone up, not down. This apparent "negative gateway" effect has also been observed in the United States. Studies done in the early 1970s showed a negative correlation between use of marijuana and use of alcohol. A 1993 Rand Corporation study that compared drug use in states that had decriminalized marijuana versus those that had not, found that where marijuana was more available-the states that had decriminalized-hard drug abuse as measured by emergency room episodes decreased. In short, what science and actual experience tell us is that marijuana tends to substitute for the much more dangerous hard drugs like alcohol, cocaine, and heroin.

 

[Lintu]

I have heard the idea of smoking pot being a victimless crime many a time (mostly amongst my friends who smoke it). I would agree with this to a certain extent in that, as far as I can see, it causes less harm than both smoking and drinking. However there is strong evidence to suggest that it aids people into harder drugs (which is both harmful to the person and to others around them) although I am uncertain as to whether this is due to the drug culture or the drug itself. Additionally, long periods of taking pot (not in excess mind) is proven to cause a heightened sense of paranoid which then can lead to mental problems such as depression. I also hold the belief that pot is addictive, though this is contested by many people although supported by most doctors, and this is, in its own right, harmful.

None of those things hurt anyone other than the marijuana user. I believe in the right to do just about anything you want until your actions infringe on another person's rights.

 

[Fluffy]

None of those things hurt anyone other than the marijuana user. I believe in the right to do just about anything you want until your actions infringe on another person's rights.

Completly fair point though I would argue that hurting yourself harms the people who care about you. It also makes it seem more socially acceptable and thereby indirectly harms other people by making it easier for them to use the drug and increases the likelyhood of them doing so. I do agree that marijuana, in no way DIRECTLY harms any other person than the smoker however.

A real world example of what happens when marijuana is readily available can be found in Holland. The Dutch partially legalized marijuana in the 1970s. Since then, hard drug use-heroin and cocaine-have DECLINED substantially. If marijuana really were a gateway drug, one would have expected use of hard drugs to have gone up, not down

A very interesting example Druidus, and one that I was not aware of at all. This would lead me to believe that it is indeed the drug culture that surrounds pot in areas where it is illegal that drives people onto harder drugs. Perhaps through pressure from peers or drug dealers. Perhaps this problem would definitely be solved through legalisation.

Fluffy

 

[Lintu]

Completly fair point though I would argue that hurting yourself harms the people who care about you.

This is true. I am horribly hurt by the fact my father smokes. I can't do anything about it though. I guess I am so hardened by this that I don't care what people do anymore. My dad doesn't care that I'm hurt...why should anyone else have to

 

[desi]

There is already weed drugs, which are not in demand. This 'issue' seems to be an excuse to push legalization of an illegal drug, 'after all you can even make ropes and clothing out of it.'

 

[Quoth The Raven]

There is already weed drugs, which are not in demand. This 'issue' seems to be an excuse to push legalization of an illegal drug, 'after all you can even make ropes and clothing out of it.'

The hemp that is grown for textile use is not the same species of hemp that you smoke. The narcotic content is virtually non existant. What are these 'weed drugs', and why are they not in demand?

 

[kreeden]

As Druidus said , it is in the Neatherlands . Medical use is also legal in Canada ... getting it is another story though . And I believe that pot would be legal in Canada if we didn't live so close to the U.S. and their so called war on drugs . But that is another matter .

As for the medical use , there are strong arguements for it's use . It relaxes and helps people eat , among over things .

And for the record , I'm paranoid enough without smoking that stuff ...

 

[Valjean]

The effectiveness of marijuana as an antiemetic and anti-anorexic is not in question. It's primary active compound, delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol, is marketed in oral form as dronabinol, under the trade name Marinol.

Marinol is not a very effective medication. Usage of oral agents to treat nausea and vomiting is something of a medical joke. Absorption -- if you can keep it down -- is spotty and unpredictable.
You take a pill, wait an hour, and assess results. Woozy, lightheaded, lethargic? -- Too much, but there's nothing you can do about it at this point. Still nauseated? Well, you could take another pill and wait another hour. You can see how this would become tedious. And then there's always the chance that both doses will kick in at once. Oral dronabinol is a crapshoot. And, if you do achieve good results, know that the same dose tomorrow will not reliably produce the same effect.

Absorption of inhaled marijuana is not affected by nausea/vomiting and the effect is almost immediate. You take a toke, wait a minute or two and assess. Still nauseated, no untoward effects? Take another toke. It's easy to titrate to effect.

BUT --

There's no profit in it for the drug companies.

 

[lilithu]

Completly fair point though I would argue that hurting yourself harms the people who care about you.

Totally and absolutely agree. However, it's not up to the govt to make sure that we don't distress our friends and family.

 

[Doodlebug02]

George W. Bush has stated that he will oppose legalization of the use of marijuana to ease the suffering of seriously ill people who cannot obtain relief from traditional medications.

Do you think medical use of marijuana should be legal?

Looks like another thing that I disagree with Bush on. Yes, I feel that the medical use of marijuana should definitely be legal! If it can be used to help ease someone's pain or suffering then why keep them from it?!

 

[Majikthise]

Just legalise it ,period. It is not a victimless crime.The average people who get run through the ringer for possesing a bag are the victims of closed mindedness and missinformation.The prohibition of alchohol caused more problems than it solved.Attacking users of herb is nothing more than a modern day witch hunt.:tsk:

 

[Circle_One]

However there is strong evidence to suggest that it aids people into harder drugs (which is both harmful to the person and to others around them) although I am uncertain as to whether this is due to the drug culture or the drug itself.

I don't think people getting into harder drugs really has anything to do with pot. If someone is curious about harder drugs, I think they'll try them whether they smoke weed or not. I think people are just using weed as an excuse for the high rates or harder drug use. Take me for example. I don't smoke pot, never have, but I do however, do harder drugs. I also have many friends who smoke pot, tons of it, but have, in the same respect, never used the harder drugs that I do. Again, I think it's just an excuse, not an actual scientific fact.

I think the high rates of harder drug use has to do with accessibility rather than anything else. It's so incredibly easy to get your hands on any kind of drugs you want and I think that's what makes alot of people try them...because they're there.