Medical Marijuana 1

Shall Marijuana Be Legalized for Medical Use?

Danica Puente
Utah State University
 Medical Marijuana 2

Shall Marijuana Be Legalized for Medical Use?

Introduction
Should marijuana for medical use be legalized in the United States? At this point in time
29 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the District Columbia have some form of a medical marijuana
program and an additional 17 states allow limited use of THC (the active ingredient in
marijuana) in low doses. Does this mean that its opponents are fighting a losing battle or is there
still a chance that medical marijuana will become the exception instead of the norm? Does the
available science support using marijuana for medical purposes? Why do scientists disagree
about using marijuana as a therapeutic tool? Why is there continued debate over a remedy that
has been in use longer than most countries? The answer isnt simple and is mired in an amalgam
of science and bias that continues to plague people on both sides of the issue. This paper will
examine both sides of the medical marijuana issue and the arguments that each side makes to
support their view.

The Case Against Medical Marijuana

Legalizing medical marijuana will increase the illegal use of marijuana. An examination
of statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that there may be
a correlation between the legalization of medical marijuana and an increase in the illegal use of
marijuana by adolescents. (Wall, et al., 2011) Legalizing marijuana for medical use can change
the perception of risk associated with casual use of marijuana. Another way that medical
marijuana can increase casual use is by making marijuana more available. One simply needs to
look at the opioid crisis to understand that it began because there has been an ease of access to
prescription opioids.
Smoking, no matter the substance is harmful to your health. A study conducted by
medical doctors in 1988 concluded that subjects who smoked marijuana were just as likely, if not
more so, to have respiratory problems than those that smoked tobacco. We conclude that
smoking marijuana, regardless of tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] content, results in a substantially
greater respiratory burden of carbon monoxide and tar than smoking a similar quantity of
tobacco. (Wu, Tashkin, Djahed, & Rose, 1988) Most people assume that because tobacco
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products are commercially manufactured that a great deal of the health harm comes from
substances added to cigarettes. In reality one of the cancer causing chemicals in tobacco,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), can also be found in marijuana. And medical studies
have shown that marijuana smokers tend to breathe more deeply while smoking, causing more of
these PAHs to invade a smokers lungs. (Mack & Joy, 2001, pp. 38-46)
The FDA has not been able to prove the effectiveness of medical marijuana and there
cannot be safely supervised. According to testimony from Dr. Douglas Throckmorton to the
U.S. Senate, the FDA has examined the possibility that marijuana could be reclassified as a
Schedule II drug. At the request of DEA, in 2001 and again in 2006, FDA conducted a review
of the available data for marijuana, analyzed the eight factors, and recommended that marijuana
remain in Schedule I because of its high potential for abuse, the fact that it had no
currently-accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and because it lacked accepted
safety for use under medical supervision. (Throckmorton, 2016) One of the key definitions of a
Schedule I drug is that there is no acceptable medical use. If the Food and Drug Administration,
which is tasked with protecting public health, can find no medical use for marijuana there should
be no legitimate reason for legalizing medical marijuana.

The Case For Medical Marijuana

Medical marijuana can be an effective treatment option for people diagnosed with
neurodegenerative diseases including Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease. One of the
debilitating effects of Parkinsons Disease is rigidity and tremors. In a 2014 peer-reviewed study,
Israeli doctors found that patients experienced a significant improvement in tremors and
bradykinesia (slowness of movement) after the use of cannabis. (Lotan, Treves, Roditi, &
Djaldetti, 2014) The most common medication for the symptoms of Parkinsons disease is
Levodopa. Unfortunately the most common side effects of Levodopa include nausea and
vomiting, low blood pressure, loss of appetite, psychological problems, hallucinations and sleep
problems. (Parkinsons UK) Medical marijuana helps alleviate the symptoms of Parkinsons
disease without the numerous side effects.
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Legalizing medical marijuana can reduce the number of people who become physically
dependent on opioids. Opioids are most commonly prescribed for the management of chronic
pain. As a Schedule II drug, opioids have an advantage over marijuana in only one way, they are
recognized as having a medical purpose. Unfortunately opioids are also highly addictive and are
quite often a gateway to heroin and other illicit drugs. (Volkow, 2014) The withdrawal
symptoms of opioids are also similar to those associated with heroin which can make continued
use, despite need, seem like a reasonable option. In states where medical marijuana has been
legalized there has been a decrease in deaths attributed to opioid overdose. In an analysis of
death certificate data from 1999 to 2010, we found that states with medical cannabis laws had
lower mean opioid analgesic overdose mortality rates compared with states without such laws...
suggesting that medical cannabis laws are associated with lower opioid analgesic overdose
mortality among individuals using opioid analgesics for medical indications. (Bachuber, 2014)
Medical marijuana is a safer option to prescription opioids. Marijuana does not even appear as a
cause of death on the National Institute on Drug Abuse list of all deaths from all drugs. (National
Institute on Drug Abuse, 2017)
Medical marijuana does not have to be smoked to be effective. The common
misconception held by opponents of medical marijuana is that medical marijuana = smoking. In
reality medical marijuana can take many forms. The chemicals in marijuana, called
cannabinoids, have been successfully extracted and are currently being used in two FDA
approved medications. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2017) Another common
misconception is that using marijuana will make the user high The chemical cannabidiol in its
liquid form, has been used effectively to treat childhood epilepsy. scientists have been specially
breeding marijuana plants and making CBD in oil form for treatment purposes. These drugs
aren't popular for recreational use because they aren't intoxication. (National Institutes of Health,
2017)

My Opinion
I have mixed feelings about medical marijuana. I think that there are bound to be issues with
people who dont need prescriptions but still receive them. I also think that effects of medical
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marijuana have not been studied enough for any to make an educated guess on the effects they
may have on our medical and legal systems. I have been around people who smoke marijuana
recreationally. I have a friend who is HIV positive that claims he smokes for medical reasons but
I know that he was using marijuana long before he was HIV positive. I, like others was not aware
that medical marijuana could be administered in ways other than edibles and smoking. I will be
interested to see what consequences there are from the medical marijuana laws that have been
passed so far.

Conclusion
Both sides of the medical marijuana issue have some valid points that deserve to be
addressed when discussing the legalization of medical marijuana. Inevitably what this issue
needs is more validated and extensive research as to the medical merits of cannabis. Another
issue that needs to be addressed is public education. How much of the opposition to medical
marijuana is based on a knee-jerk reaction to a Schedule I drug, rather than an opinion based on
evidence and facts of marijuanas usefulness? Only time will tell but for now it looks like
medical marijuana will continue to become more accepted as a valid form of medical treatment.
 Medical Marijuana 6

References

Wall, M. M., Poh, E., Cerd, M., Keyes, K. M., Galea, S., & Hasin, D. S. (2011). Adolescent
Marijuana Use from 2002 to 2008: Higher in States with Medical Marijuana Laws, Cause Still
Unclear. Annals of Epidemiology, 21(9), 714-716. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2011.06.001

Azofeifa A, Mattson ME, Schauer G, McAfee T, Grant A, Lyerla R. National Estimates of

Marijuana Use and Related Indicators National Survey on Drug Use and Health, United
States, 20022014. MMWR Surveill Summ 2016;65(No. SS-11):125. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6511a1

Wu, T., Tashkin, D. P., Djahed, B., & Rose, J. E. (1988). Pulmonary Hazards of Smoking
Marijuana as Compared with Tobacco. New England Journal of Medicine, 318(6), 347-351.
doi:10.1056/nejm198802113180603

Mack, A., & Joy, J. E. (2001). Marijuana as medicine?: the science beyond the controversy.
Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Commissioner, O. O. (n.d.). Public Health Focus - FDA and Marijuana. Retrieved June 17, 2017,
from https://www.fda.gov/newsevents/publichealthfocus/ucm421163.htm

Throckmorton, D. C. (2016, July 13). Testimony - Researching the Potential Medical Benefits
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Lotan, I., Treves, T. A., Roditi, Y., & Djaldetti, R. (2014). Cannabis (Medical Marijuana)
Treatment for Motor and NonMotor Symptoms of Parkinson Disease. Clinical
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Levodopa | Parkinsons UK. (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2017, from

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