Slaight

Riley Slaight
Mr. Conrad
ERWC
2 November 2015
Is Marijuana a Illicit Drug or a Medication
In discussions of Marijuana, one controversial issue has been whether it is harmful or a
naturally healing medication. On one hand, people argue that marijuana is commonly abused. On
the other hand, other people oppose that Marijuana helps people suffering from serious disease.
Medication that benefits people who suffer from PTSD, Cancer, Aids, chronic pain, and a large
variety of other illnesses. Marijuana is a flowering plant that has leaves and grows flowers of
weed. The flowers of the plant are rich in Delta 9 and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and CBD.
When these chemicals are smoked or ingested it has mind altering effects, pain relieving
capabilities, and a variety of other healing effects on the human body.
The National Institute of Health did some studies finding that Certain moderate users of
the drug experienced a reduced risk of cancer than non users. In 2011 over 17,000 studies were
performed relating to the marijuana plant, and how cannabinoids affects the human body. We
know more about weed then most of the foods we eat and pharmaceuticals we take. If there was
something very harm full or that has negative effects towards the user I think we would have
found it by now. Marijuana seems to do more good than harm to its users, statistics from 2011
show that 435,000 people died from tobacco use, 87,000 from alcohol and 0 for Marijuana. It is
very strange how marijuana is illegal yet it has never killed a single person.

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Marijuana is a commonly abused illicit drug that seems to be more used for recreational
use and less as a medication. Almost half of Americans 49% say they have tried Marijuana once
in their life. 12% have tried it just this year. Marijuana, the highest abused drug may not be all
that bad. Lots of people have the impression that it is corrupting our youth, killing brain cells,
and increasing your risks of cancer. This impression was probably influenced from your parents
and other anti marijuana campaigns that deliver the anti marijuana message. But due to their
lack of knowledge Marijuana is actually a drug that offers a wide variety natural healing powers
and is far more safer than tobacco or alcohol.
Even tho marijuana is a just a flower it is also a very complex medicine. Marijuana
contains 21 carbon molecules that contain 483 different chemicals, 66 of them are cannabinoids ,
and many of the 483 chemicals have medical value. Marijuana can offer a reduced risk of getting
cancer. In 2009 the Journal Cancer Prevention Research found that ''Moderate use of marijuana
is associated with a significantly reduced risk of cancer.'' Medical marijuana also has a lot of
benefits to other illnesses such as Aids, Chronic pain, Anxiety, PTSD, Alzheimer's, Insomnia,
Seizures, and the list goes on. Recent studies have shown that marijuana has been found to help
patients who suffer from PTSD post traumatic stress disorder helping our veterans who suffer
from this traumatic illness. Research has also found that marijuana can slow the processes of
Alzheimer's disease. Finding a way to help slow the processes of alzheimer's is really beneficial,
Alzheimer's is a very sad illness that affects the function of the cerebrum causing short and long
term memory loss.
Another positive note on marijuana is it's a '' Wonder drug when it comes to the horrors of
chemo. ''I would get blasted on that stuff (Marijuana) and be happy as a clam, no problems.''
Said former cancer patient Jeff Moroso. Most people who get cancer use chemotherapy to help

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fight and hopefully kill the cancer that has evaded the body. Chemo is a very violent treatment
where they take a medication that is able to kill the cancer and inject the patient with an amount
just shy of being able to kill them in an effort to kill the cancer. Many patients and oncologists
feel that marijuana is a ''very valuable alternative for managing the effects, as well as some of the
emotional health consequences of cancer such as bone pain anxiety, and depression.'' Info like
this really show the positive benefits that marijuana can have on the human body.
The effects of marijuana on the brain are one of the big downfalls that marijuana has. It is
said to affect short and long term memory, make the user become paranoid and the worst
possibility the user becomes schizophrenic and the list goes on. But the true question is, Does
marijuana really have these effects on the brain or is the information false giving marijuana a bad
image in hopes of reducing the amount of smokers? Harvard medical school researchers
performed a study on how marijuana use affects the brain in heavy smokers and nonsmokers.
After taking brain scans of smokers and nonsmokers they found that ''The imaging displayed no
significant differences between heavy marijuana smokers compared to non smokers'' stated
researchers from Harvard Medical School.
My personal view on the matter is marijuana is a Medication that has a huge variety of
healing capabilities and almost harmless to the user. I feel this way because stated in the
beginning of my essay ''In 2011 over 17,000 studies were performed relating to the marijuana
plant, and how cannabinoids affects the human body. We know more about weed then most of
the foods we eat and pharmaceuticals we take''. Marijuana has gone under extreme research for
very long amount of time and they have yet to discover a substantial life threatening negative
affect from marijuana use. Another thing that caught my attention is not a single person has died
from consuming marijuana. You physically can't overdose from smoking or ingesting grand
amounts of weed, your would most definitely pass out and have a great night's sleep. Unlike like
alcohol or tobacco that can have horrible side effects from over use and has killed almost half a
million people a year. In almost every article I read that wasn't anti marijuana said almost the

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same thing in every one. ''The accumulated data indicate a potential therapeutic value for
cannabinoid drugs, particularly for symptoms such as pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting,
and appetite stimulation''. Ithink marijuana needs to be seen as a medication and less as a illict
drug. All drugs have somthing in them that is not good for the body and with long term use the
user can expirence health issuses. Thats just the nature of drugs, since over 49% of our
population has cousumed marijuana and not a single death has occured I think marijuana is a
great non leathil drug that should be avaible to the public.