Marijuana, dope, weed, pot, these are all names for a drug that has many medical uses, but it not currently legal in the United States. Marijuana is still used extensively for medical purposes, even though it is illegal. Marijuana, when smoked, produces a chemical substance known as THC, or tetra-hydro-cannabinol. It is often used as a recreational drug, which is used to heighten perception, and relax the mind and body.In medical use, it is a painkiller, used my patients of many chronic diseases. Glaucoma patients use it to relieve pressure in the eye; Cancer patients use it to relieve them of the nausea caused by the chemotherapy. AIDS patients use it to help one of the symptoms known as “wasting”; which is where a person cannot gain weight by eating and is consistently losing weight.Why not use a prescription that has comparable results? A few things to point out, is the cost of experimental painkillers, and the side effects that go along with them. There is a synthetic version of the THC that is found in Marijuana, called Marinol. The Rx for one year would be a hefty $5,000. It also has pharmaceutical shortcomings such as, lower concentrations, and the fact that in a pill form, it may make patients taking it for their nausea vomit while attempting to swallow the pill.Since the late 1970s, 34 states have passed laws that allow doctors to recommend marijuana or urge the creation of research programs on marijuana. The trouble with this is, federal law supercedes state law, and the DEA is clear on its position of marijuana being a drug without medical uses.Many opponents of the legalization claim that marijuana is a gateway drug, a drug that leads to the use of other more damaging drugs. This is simply not true, as only 13% of high school students that have smoked marijuana have used a drug such as cocaine. This is a number that is down very significantly from previous years. While marijuana use stays fairly st...
