Marijuana, also known as cannabis, pot, weed,hemp,or reefer, is

the popular leaves that is considered as one of illegal drugs here in the
Philippines. The issues of illegal drug is more and more hot topic or issue around
the world. In fact, around 3.8 percent of the world’s population or 158.8 million
people around the world,according to United Nations.And the number is
continuously rising.
It is said that this drug can help cure diseases, including cancer, glaucoma, and
AIDS. Other people claim that it is a great stress reliever and a useful medicine
for pain. Even doctors prescribed this drug to people who have problems in
sleeping and eating. Although marijuana have a lot of benefits marijuana is not
yet legalize here in the Philippines.
Because of the doubt of over use or abuse in using marijuana of
the Filipino’s,that is one of the reason why marijuana is not yet legal here in the
Philippines. But there so many powerful reason to legalize the medical marijuana
here in the Philippines, not totally legal but controlled.
Here are some powerful reason why marijuana should legalize
but controlled, first marijuana is medicine of course.Now, we don’t need to keep
listing all the health benefits of cannabis. There are already tons of articles about
cannabis being an all in one medicine with only a tiny, tiny percent of a chance of
an overdose. 
Even though 23 states have legalized cannabis medically,
physicians still don’t have national guidelines on how to prescribe it. High Times,
a magazine publication advocating the legalization of cannabis, recently quoted
Dr. Jean Antonucci who told CNN that she still feels “completely in the dark”
about medical marijuana treatment, dose, and whether a patient should smoke,
eat, or vaporize it. Most physicians have never been trained to prescribe
marijuana and it is still not covered in medical schools. Only some states are
beginning to require doctors to take additional medical courses on medical
marijuana. 
The second reason is If marijuana is to be legalized, I believe it
would have numerous good and bad effects. Some of the positive effects of
legalizing the drug are listed below. First, since marijuana is a highly addictive
drug, the demand of marijuana would drastically increase causing ordinary
citizens to supply or engage in a legal business involving marijuana in order to
cope up with the high demand of the drug. In return, this provides more job
opportunities for the Filipinos. Also, terrorists who are potential drug dealers lose
their business as well as their connection with the citizens, and instead, the cash
generated from the sale of marijuana is now controlled by the law. Taxes aren’t
imposed on marijuana since it is illegal, so the government cannot gain from it or
earn financial funding to support beneficial government programs and projects.
The second point I’d like to mention is that the government’s
efforts of prohibiting the drug has failed to control the production and use of the
drug. Millions of Filipinos continue to use marijuana; hence legalizing the drug
would just make it easier for both the government and the people.
Third, marijuana is a great help to students, workers and even
people with Alzheimer’s disease because it has been said to improve memory.
Marijuana has been said to prevent memory loss, and regenerate dead brain
cells and has also been proven to prevent brain inflammation, which is the
primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease. In other words, legalizing the drug would
be a great benefit to the society and most especially to patients suffering from
Alzheimer’s disease and other illnesses and ailments.
According to Peter Grinspoon, MD In particular, marijuana
appears to ease the pain of multiple sclerosis, and nerve pain in general. This is
an area where few other options exist, and those that do, such as Neurontin,
Lyrica, or opiates are highly sedating. Patients claim that marijuana allows them
to resume their previous activities without feeling completely out of it and
disengaged.
Along these lines, marijuana is said to be a fantastic muscle
relaxant, and people swear by its ability to lessen tremors in Parkinson’s
disease. I have also heard of its use quite successfully for fibromyalgia,
endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, and most other conditions where the final
common pathway is chronic pain.
 Marijuana is also used to manage nausea and weight loss, and
can be used to treat glaucoma. A highly promising area of research is its use for
PTSD in veterans who are returning from combat zones. Many veterans and
their therapists report drastic improvement and clamor for more studies, and for
a loosening of governmental restrictions on its study. Medical marijuana is also
reported to help patients suffering from pain and wasting syndrome associated
with HIV, as well as irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease.
This is not intended to be an inclusive list, but rather to give a
brief survey of the types of conditions for which medical marijuana can provide
relief. As with all remedies, claims of effectiveness should be critically evaluated
and treated with caution.
The key to building a responsible, civilized, educated and refined
society is discipline. The country, if it were to legalize marijuana, needs to
discipline its leaders and citizens and make them responsible and accountable
for their actions. Using marijuana is acceptable, as long as it is taken in
reasonable amounts.
Although the debate about the legalization of marijuana in our
country goes on and on, I believe that legalizing marijuana is absolutely fine as
long as it is regulated. After all, the drug cannot cause much damage when used
in moderation. Yes, marijuana has damaging effects but regulating the use of the
drug would minimize the chance of it being harmful and destructive. I think that
even though the drug has side effects, it still has many uses in the field of
medicine and it is still beneficial to most people, which is why I think that
legalizing the drug isn’t a bad thing at all. The society just has to learn how to
balance, control and use the drug justly. Giving new things a try is one step
closer to the improvement and progress of our nation.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOULD BE
LEGALIZED IN THE PHILIPPINES

DANIELA D. MARCO
HUMSS 1
FEBRUARY 17,2020