There are many controversial topics in the world of health today. Medical marijuana is not shy of being one of the biggest ethical and controversial topics currently. Medical marijuana is proven to help many chronic diseases and conditions, but is still not legal to use for medical purposes in most states.
Can you imagine lying in bed suffering from chronic pain that is caused by cancer, ALS, or any other type of chronic condition. Imagine knowing that there is a drug out there that could help your symptoms of pain tremendously, but it is not legal to use. Imagine being in agonizing pain and living this day over and over again. One main argument against the use of marijuana for medical purposes is the risk of addiction.
Although the concern of addiction is alarming, the risk does not seem to be as severe as other medically prescribed medications. According to neurologist Dr. Eric P. Barton, the potential of addiction with medical marijuana is not nearly as strong as it is with other legal medications (Barker, 2013). As this is stated, if medical marijuana is prescribed in the correct way then there should not be addiction issues with marijuana. If a qualifying physician is prescribing this medication at the right dosages and right amounts, then the risk of addiction will not be any worse than other medications.
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For example, when one gets a tonsillectomy, they are usually prescribed Codeine. When the physician prescribes a medication such as Codeine they are careful to prescribe the patient only the amount that they will need for recovery to avoid the addiction that is being feared with that drug also. Today, medical marijuana is being used for lifelong chronic conditions.
With this being said, it is important that the doctor is continuing to prescribe this medication, but only to the extent that the patient needs it. Medical marijuana is also known for its antiemetic feature. If a patient is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, which is considered a chronic illness, a common side effect is nausea and vomiting. Medical marijuana is known to be effective in reliving this uncomfortable state for the patient.
To look at the con side, following up on the issue of addiction, this drug is known to put an individual at risk for addiction. This drug has a great chance if addiction and abuse. This is a great concern of the citizens as addiction is not only not good for America, our workplaces, and our community, but it is not good for the user.
Being addicted to a substance can very well lead to a detrimental consequence and possibly put the users life in a lot of danger. An addition to not only medical marijuana but any addictive substance could lead to detrimental factors such as losing a job or even the trust of family members.
Without a job or family members, one could have a very hard time surviving in our competitive world today. Not only could it effect the factors of a career and family members, it could also be harmful to the users health in many different ways.
Another large concern of citizens for the legalization of medical marijuana is the risk of drugs in the workplace. According to Lori Schroth, issues in the workplace are continuing to rise due to impairment of employees (2018). This is also another great point. Being impaired while on the work site can not only be dangerous to the employee themselves but also their peers and coworkers as well.
Many workplaces have big machinery, or other items and tools, that can potentially dangerous for someone to be working with while impaired. If something were to go wrong the consequences could be potentially deadly for the employee. Not only could this situation be deadly to the user, it could also cause a huge lawsuit for an owner of that business.
This could also be concerning for the other people that the impaired employee could have an impact on such as a co-worker. If the employee messes up something while working impaired, it could have a great risk for whoever is receiving whatever they may be working on. For example, if the employee was working at a restaurant preparing the meal in the kitchen, they could be using the wrong substances to make the order and mess up not only the taste of the meal, but other nutritional factors that could be misleading to the individuals who are eating this meal.
I have a strong stance on this subject. I believe that it is understandable that individuals are weary about changes that are occurring in our society, sometimes I am too. In my opinion, I do not think that some citizens in the United States can look past the word marijuana because of the reputation that this drug currently has in our society today. But to me, when you put the word medical behind that scary word of marijuana, it is not all that scary or bad.
Physicians are currently using an abundance of drugs to treat pain that are otherwise illegal on the streets, but because they are not as abused or well-known. Because they are not as abused or as well known as marijuana, they are not thought about as often as such a horrible substance. I personally believe that medical marijuana could make an otherwise deathly miserable chronic disease not as miserable. It will not cure the illness or disease, but it could make the journey a lot less rocky and painful for the patient.
Often when one hears the term marijuana they immediately think of something bad. What if the term marijuana could start to mean something good. What if the term marijuana could mean that someone is no longer suffering, they could live their life in a normal fashion when they have not had this option in a long time? Maybe it could mean comfort? Maybe it could mean living your last weeks or months nearly pain free when you have been in pain for years upon years.
There are many opposing views against medical marijuana, these arguments do make valid points but the impact that the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes greatly outweigh the opposing arguments. I believe that Medical Marijuana should be legalized in pharmacies and hospitals with a prescription from a licensed practitioner. The suffering needs to stop, the medication is available to help those in pain, why is it not being used.
References
- Barker, J. (2013). Clinical Challenges in the Growing Medical Marijuana Field. Rhode Island Medical Journal, 101(2), 12-13. Retrieved from http://europepmc.org/article/MED/29393303
- Schroth, L. (2018). Medical Marijuana: Addressing Impairment in the Workplace. OnePetro. Retrieved from https://www.onepetro.org/journal-paper/ASSE-18-08-36
