Marijuana: Miraculous Medicine or Harmful Herb?

“As the most commonly used illicit drug in the U.S., marijuana has been at the center of many politically charged debates because of its illegal status and widespread use” (Bregel). It has been especially controversial in recent years due to many states legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. 15 states currently have laws legalizing the use of medical marijuana, and 6 other states have ballot measures pending (Pros). Many people have expressed opposition to the current medical marijuana boom, and have called for the illegalization of marijuana in all forms. Others claim that marijuana is completely harmless though, and argue that it should be fully legal. Both sides of the argument are stubborn with their opinions, and any middle ground is hard to find. If control is tightened up, medical marijuana remaining legal could be that middle ground.
    Marijuana has been shown to be less harmful on the body than alcohol or tobacco. Smoking marijuana does reduce respiratory function and also harms the lining of the lungs, but a 1997 study in the journal Cancer Causes and Control found no link between marijuana and cancer (Bregel). Another study in 2006, that focused mainly on lung and upper aerodigestive tract cancers, found no increased risk amidst marijuana smokers, even for heavy users (Bregel). Smoking marijuana is not healthy, but compared to smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, or taking some prescription medications, the Institute of Medicine says “marijuana's abuse potential appears relatively small” (Bregel). Tobacco and alcohol remain legal though, even though marijuana has been proven to have less abuse potential than both. If these drugs are available for legal purchase, then why can’t marijuana be available to those who need it?

Many people’s problem with the medical marijuana system is that “anyone can get it,” but this is far from the truth. There are many doctors who are notorious for giving out medical marijuana cards to anyone who walks into their office (Brennan). In fact, the typical med card holder is not an old ailing person, but a young male who just got the card to smoke (Brennan). In Colorado, one must be diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition and have a physician’s approval to be able to use medical marijuana (Health). A debilitating medical condition is defined as cancer, glaucoma, or a positive status for HIV (Health). Patients can also receive medical marijuana if they suffer from “cachexia, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, including those that are characteristic of epilepsy, or persistent muscle spasms, including those that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis” (Health). Patients can also petition to have another condition added to the list of debilitating medical conditions by appealing to the Board of Health (Health). If physicians followed these regulations exactly, and only gave medical marijuana to those who need it, then not everyone would be able to get it. The issue is that some doctors prescribe medical marijuana to just about anyone, even if they don’t need it. If the doctors who can prescribe medical marijuana were regulated, as in if only state-approved doctors could prescribe it, then that problem would disappear. Instead of letting any doctor prescribe it, find doctors who will truly evaluate their patient’s conditions and would only recommend them for medical marijuana if necessary.

    A lot of the criticism of medical marijuana is that “they just want to get high,” but they don’t know that patients actually benefit greatly from the use of medical marijuana (Liggett qtd. in Pasternack). Marijuana has been called “potentially harmful and often not medically justified” (Richardson). Vice president of the Maine Medical Association, Gordon Smith, says “Unlike other medications, marijuana is not FDA-approved as safe and effective, they have to be as careful with prescribing medical marijuana as they are prescribing a new drug that they may know nothing about” (Richardson). Although marijuana is not recognized as medically significant, a study by the Institute of Medicine in 1999 concluded that marijuana has therapeutic qualities that warrant more research (Bregel). Many patients attest to the dramatic relief of their symptoms from medical marijuana when nothing else worked (Pasternack). Charles Wynott, an AIDS patient from Westbrook, Maine, said “It helps with nausea, it helps keep my medicine down and it helps with wasting and eating. Those are the two main things you need to do as an HIV patient in order to survive -- keep your medicine down and maintain your weight” (Richardson). Although some people abuse the system and just want to get high, many people actually benefit from the use of medical marijuana. If the control was to be tightened up then those who just want to get high would be rooted out, and only the true beneficiaries of the system would remain.

Many people are opposed to medical marijuana because they say “there are other medicines available” (Fratello). The fact is though, the number of drugs to treat nausea, vomiting, appetite loss and pain are limited and can also be very expensive (Fratello). Some have suggested using a non-intoxicating FDA-approved drug derived from marijuana, although it is not yet available for prescription (Brennan). There is a drug like that in Europe that is a cannabis extract spray used for the same purposes as medical marijuana called Sativex (Brennan). For some patients though, smoking crude marijuana is the only thing that will work to relieve their symptoms (Fratello). Even though there are many alternatives to smoking marijuana as a medicine, nothing can quite replicate what marijuana can do. For those patients who can get relief from another medicine, they should not be granted medical marijuana. Doctors now would just grant someone medical marijuana without even seeing if another alternative would suffice. Medical marijuana should only be given to those who haven’t had relief of their symptoms by any other drug and as a last resort.

One of the largest claims against medical marijuana is that it is not medically significant, although numerous patients attest to the dramatic relief of their symptoms from marijuana. Some say medical marijuana is just like grandpa’s “medical whiskey,” a “hoax,” as the federal government put it (Fratello). Even though an Institute of Medicine review saw little future in smoked marijuana because of its “negative side effects, doubtful efficiency and uncertain safety,” many patients still say its the only thing that helps their condition. Charles Wynott said, an AIDS patient and medical marijuana user said, “I have been a regular marijuana user for 25-plus years and I have no signs of cancer; It is the reason that I'm still alive, without any doubt in my mind” (Richardson). Even a Drug Enforcement Agency judge, honorable Francis L. Young, determined through over two years of hearings on the subject that marijuana “met the standards of currently accepted medical use in treatment is the US” (Fratello). The debate over whether marijuana is medically significant or not will continue for years. One thing is for sure though, there are patients who consider the drug to be very medically significant for themselves, and shouldn’t that be enough?

A lot of people are opposed to using marijuana as a medicine because of the health risks. According to Dr. Donald Tashkin, who has studied marijuana effects for over 30 years, “smoking one marijuana cigarette can deposit three to four times as much tar in the respiratory tract as a single filtered tobacco cigarette” (Bregel). An Institute of Medicine report from 1999 said that smoking marijuana habitually harms the lining of the lungs, reduces respiratory function, and increases the risk of bronchitis and respiratory infection (Bregel). The same report stated that research should continue on marijuana though, so that a “non-smoked, vaporized, purified inhalant might be developed in lieu of smoke” (Fratello). Now 11 years after that review and marijuana vaporizers are readily available at any smoke shop, although usually costing in the hundreds of dollars. Vaporizers give the same effect of smoke without delivering the same harmful toxins as smoke does. Marijuana can also be consumed by cooking it into food products and eating them, also safe of the harmful effects of smoking (Bregel). Marijuana is a much more versatile drug than people think. Although smoking it straight does deliver harmful toxins, it can be consumed in many more ways. If someone is deterred from marijuana solely because of the health risks then they should look again because smoke is not the only way to get your medicine.  

The medical marijuana debate will continue for years and years to come. With evidence backing both sides it is hard to justify one side over the other. It would be hard to legalize it with all of the research proving its health risks and nothing truly medically justifying it. On the other hand though it would be hard to illegalize it with such great support for it and so many patients testifying to its great effectiveness. Having medical marijuana was supposed to be the middle ground between the two sides of the argument, but a flawed system has just sparked up more debate. To truly satisfy the most people possible and to create peace between these two sides the medical marijuana system should remain, but only if control is tightened up.