Megan Reitzel English 1010 Kelly Turnbeaugh 4/30/14

The need for Marijuana

The topic that I chose to do my report on was the legalization of Marijuana. Many people believe that the legalization of marijuana would be harmful to the brain development and society. Others believe that it helps with medical problems and should be legalized. I have had many people close to me diagnosed with cancer. They have been put on pain medications and anti-nausea medication. They have said how they dont work as well as the medical use of marijuana. Do they have a point, should marijuana be legalized? Is marijuana any more harmful then morphine, Vicodin, Laritab? There is proof that these pain medications can cause problems and are addictive. Is Marijuana fall in the same category, or is it an alternative to taking an addictive organ damaging medication. When I started to research on the effect of Marijuana on the body I found a few different viewpoints. Radcliff has stated that with Marijuana becoming legal in such states as Colorado and Washington for recreational purposes that it will likely increase Marijuana use. (Radcliff) Radcliff has also stated that the use of Marijuana is not life threating that he believes that it can cause problems with teens such as school, work and in relationships. The effects from many of the websites that I found stated that the

use of Marijuana can affect the prefrontal cortex in young adults that are still developing this part of the brain. ; One of the biggest worries that I found is that with the legalization of Marijuana is that there is a chance of increase of driving while under the influence. When under the influence or High there is an increase of accidents. The effects of Marijuana are on motor performance perception and concentration. (Sabet) Another fear with the legalization of marijuana is that it will open the door for criminal (drug dealers) organizations to adapt to legal prices and sell to other states since Marijuana is now more easily accessible. On the opposite side there are those who believe that legalization would decrease use of the substance and bring money into a state. They also believe the medical benefits would out weight the speculation of the effects of the drug. It has had different research experiments showing the benefits of the use of marijuana. Marijuana can be used to treat Glaucoma. Marijuana decreases the pressure inside the eye. (Welsh) This study was done by National Eye Institute; they stated that it may slow the progression of the disease. A study done by the Journal of American Medical Association in January of 2012 discovered that smoking Marijuana does not impair the lung function and can even increase lung capacity. In this study they watched the heart and lungs of 5,115 young adults for 20 years. Tobacco smokers lost most of their strength and ability of the lung; however pot smokers showed an increase in lung capacity. (Welsh)

A study in 2003 showed that the use of Marijuana can help with epilepsy. Robert J DeLorenzo of Virginia Common Wealth University gave Marijuana extract to epileptic rats and the rats were able to go without a seizure for almost ten hours. The THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) controls the seizures by binding to the brain cells responsible for controlling and regulating the muscles relaxation. (Welsh) I found many papers that went over other medical conditions that it can help control and reduce the symptoms. These diseases include; Dravet Syndrome, stopping cancer from spreading, anxiety, slowing Alzheimers disease, pain form multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, it lessens the side effects form treating hepatitis C and increases the treatment effectiveness, IBS, relieves arthritis discomfort, relieves Lupus symptoms, might be able to eliminate Crohns diseases, sooths tremors for those with Parkinsons disease and veterans with PTSD. (Welsh) These are just a few that I found. While I read these article and stories on the advantage and disadvantage of the use of Marijuana one thing kept coming to mind. There is studies and evidence that the use of Marijuana helps people with medical conditions. I looked up a study on deaths related to Marijuana, alcohol, and cigarettes the numbers for 2013. Cigarettes deaths were 159,260. The deaths from alcohol were 33,000 vehicular deaths 39,701 not including accidents and homicides. Marijuana user deaths are 0. I watched several videos of different people who are having medical problems and when they smoke Marijuana there symptoms subside even if briefly when their normal drugs that they are prescribed on do not. I also read article where epilepsy

patients going through multiple treatments and would not eat and were sick and when they smoked they were able to eat and hold the food down. The facts all support that Marijuana has not had a single death and medically helps all kinds of patients across the board. There have been many studies that have shown that it helps with pain, seizures and other chronic pains. There are few scientific tests showing that Marijuana causes long term problems and they have even stated that their studies are not conclusive. The use of Marijuana is safer and easier to access then Morphine or other narcotics. Marijuana also causes less medically problems to our organs then the current narcotics that we are prescribing to our kids, brothers, sisters and other family members. I believe that it would be beneficial to legalize Marijuana.

Works Cited
Radcliff, Shawn. "Marijuana Legalization: The Experts Weigh In." Healthlines RSS News. HealthlineNews, 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. Sabet, Kevin. "SABET: Colorado Will Show Why Legalizing Marijuana Is a Mistake." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. Stimson, Charles. "Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No." The Heritage Foundation. Center for Legal & Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Welsh, Jennifer. "23 Health Benefits Of Marijuana." SFGate. Business Insider, 20 Apr. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. "Drug Facts: Marijuana." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIDA, Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. "10 Facts About Marijuana." Drug Policy Alliance. DRUG Policy, July 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. Marijuana in the Body." PBS. PBS, Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.