For what reasons should medical marijuana be decriminalized?

Question

One I do know is that it suppresses symptoms in some illnesses without the liver damage that many prescription medicines cause........

Answer 1

As far as I know, medical marijuana is not only decriminalized, but fully legal.

Answer 2

Puff the Magic Dragon!

Answer 3

It has benefits that can only be found in combinations of more harmful-in-the-long-term drugs.

It helps with pain management, anxiety disorders, loss of appetite and nausea associated with various diseases (and their treatments, like radiation and chemotherapy).

It helps those in chronic pain, cancer patients, AIDS patients, MS patients and many social and psychological disorders, to name a very, very few.

it is only illegal because the alcohol lobbies know if marijuana were legalized in any form, it would affect their sales. In the early 1970s, President Nixon convened a committee of doctors and scientists to investigate whether or not marijuana should be generally legalized.  The panel determined that it was less dangerous than alcohol and no more dangerous than cigarettes as an inhalant (less, in fact, because the quantity smoked is normally far less than a pack of cigarettes per day).  Conservatives and the alcohol lobby won out, and here we are almost 40 years later in the exact same position.

The only people who oppose it are the people who-- luckily for them-- don't need it to try and live a remotely normal life due to infirmity.  It is NOT a moral issue, beyond the immorality of denying those in need a substance that could adequately relieve their suffering.

Answer 4

aside from all the reasons being talked about, i think that it should be decriminalized because it would generate revenue for this horrible debt we're in. the government could tax the medication- which as of this year it already started getting taxed in dispensaries near my area.

it helps with people who have glaucoma and problems with their eyes. not only that but it can be used as pain medication for patients like me who've broken their back severely in the past.

Answer 5

in britain it would be important because we have a bad alcohol abuse problem. it would give a much safer alternative both for the user and the people around them.

Answer 6

In my opinion? Because Marijuana is FAR less harmful than many prescription drugs that are prescribed to patients with chronic illness or pain.  It also has very few, if any, side effects and is less addictive and damaging to the body.

Answer 7

Health

Q. What are the primary effects of using medicinal marijuana?

The most obvious effects of marijuana can be seen in the brain and nervous system. The immediate effect is a dulling of the senses, blunting of memory and concentration, and changes in behavior. Pain perception is altered, nausea is calmed, and appetite is stimulated. There is no current data concluding that permanent changes or actual changes occur in the brain with regular use.

Q. What are the benefits of using medicinal marijuana?

The National Institute of Health has come up with a list of conditions that marijuana appears to be of benefit.

1. Stimulate appetite and relieve cachexia (the physical wasting away of AIDS and cancer sufferers).

2. Control nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy.

3. Decrease intraocular pressure inside the eyeball for relief of glaucoma.

4. Analgesia for pain management for a variety of conditions.

5. Neurological and movement disorders, such as muscle spasticity and seizures.

6. Temporarily alleviates anxiety.

Q. What are the side effects of using medicinal marijuana?

The intoxication and effects on the nervous system lead to slowed reaction time and loss of coordination, which last for hours after ingestion. These effects make driving a car or operating machinery hazardous, and these activities should be avoided while under the influence of marijuana.

Cannabinoids and THC also produce cardiovascular effects. Immediately after inhalation the heart begins to beat faster, the blood vessels dilate and blood pressure drops. This can cause dizziness and the sensation of palpitations in some people. Smoking marijuana is the most common form of ingestion, but is not the only one. There are hundreds of chemical compounds in the marijuana plant, and smoking delivers all of them along with the desired ones. The airways of the lungs are lined with tissues that have microscopic cilia, or little fingerlike extensions that ‘wave’ upwards from the lungs, to the mouth and nose. The purpose is to push mucus filled with foreign toxins back up and out of the lungs to the mouth and nose, where they can be swallowed or sneezed out. These cilia stop working with any kind of smoking, which means that the toxins (or organisms) trapped in the mucus have no way of escaping the lung.

The risks of using marijuana during pregnancy are unknown.

Q. What are the long term effects of using medicinal marijuana?

There is a documented, but mild withdrawal syndrome associated with the cessation of marijuana use after as little as a week. However this is not a common reaction and does not occur in the majority of users. The body does not become physically dependent.

The symptoms of the withdrawal syndrome include: irritability, insomnia, mood swings, and mild depression.

A ‘drug holiday’ of at 1-3 weeks every 3-4 months is a good idea. This can help the patient differentiate side effects of marijuana from the possible symptoms of an illness.

Answer 8

I don't want my tax dollars used to put away people who are using maijuana instead of opiate based legal drugs

Answer 9

After listening to my Doctors they have caused me two near fatal allergic reactions to prescribed drugs. I went into A&E at hospital for two days.

Bring on the weed.

I'll have a few magic pills a week better than smoking it.