BlackSociology 105 SembachApril 10, 2001Section AShould Marijuana Be Used As A Medicine?If we are think about people who have a serious medical problem that inflicts constant physical and mental pain do we ask ourselves theses questions? How much pain are they going through? What is their threshold? What is its frequency? How doest it effect their life, and are they terminally ill? How can we help them? Theses questions helped researchers arrive at one conclusion of using Marijuana for treatment of medical illnesses. Researchers believe the drug to be useful in treatment of glaucoma, nausea accompanying cancer chemotherapy, asthma, and nervous systems disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Patients with serious illnesses that are exacerbated by stress and loss of appetite such as people with AIDS have sometimes found marijuana helpful. (1) There were several factors that steered some researchers to use Marijuana as a medical treatment. Marijuana contains an ingredient called tetrahydrocannabinol or TCH. The amount of potency of TCH in marijuana determines the effect it has on the body. When marijuana is smoked or ingested orally it often causes stimulation of the central nervous system and increased conviviality. The user experiences a pleasant heightening of the senses and relaxed passively. (1). Other methods like pills, suppositories, eye and ear drops and even talk of creating a marijuana vapor have been on the research table. One of the disadvantages of oral (Marinol or the synthetic THC pill) ingestion is it can require up to an hour to know whether the dosage is too much or too little, but the fastest method to induce Marijuana (TCH) into a persons system is when it is inhaled (smoked), which comes into play when trying to control nausea. This method raises a red flag with The American Cancer Society. It is known that smoking any tobacco product or marijuana is bad on your lungs, so The American Cancer Society is funding a three...
