Point Counterpoint: Marijuana Has Medical Benefits

[IndianaToker]

By Kelly Zwier and Josh Ahrens, Guest Writers
Source: Calvin College Chimes

Michigan -- According to a CNN/Time poll in November of 2002, 80 percent of Americans support the right to use medical marijuana. This right is also endorsed by organizations like the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association, and the American Nurses Association. Why are so many people in favor of legalizing the natural form of cannabis? Because marijuana has been proven to be more effective than Marinol — an oral medication containing marijuana’s main ingredient, THC (or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol for all you science people).

Both marijuana and Marinol can be used to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and decrease AIDS-related wasting. Marijuana, though, has also been shown to reduce pain and anxiety because it contains as least 60 other cannabinoids. Marinol is made only of THC, which is recognized solely for appetite stimulation and nausea control. It is interesting that Marinol is used for nausea control because patients must swallow the pill when it is often very difficult to keep food or medications down. Inhaling marijuana smoke is a much easier way to deliver the needed chemicals.

In addition, because Marinol is taken orally, it cannot be effective until absorbed, whereas marijuana has immediate results. The bioavailability (the degree to which the drug is absorbed and becomes available at the desired site) of Marinol can also vary greatly from patient to patient, or from day to day for the same person, whereas marijuana is much more uniform.

The side effects of marijuana and Marinol are very similar, including difficulty concentrating, distorted vision, and dry mouth and throat. Also, when marijuana is used to treat spasticity and pain for patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, its side effects are less severe than the drugs that are currently prescribed. Using marijuana to treat MS patients would improve these patients’ quality of life.

A final benefit of marijuana is its lower cost. According to the L.A. Cannabis Resource Center, If MS patients were to use medical cannabis for one year, they would need 336 grams, costing about $3965. With Marinol, on the other hand, patients would need 4562.5 mg, costing $8260. I feel it is critical for healthcare workers to be good stewards when there are already so many people struggling to pay medical bills due to a lack of insurance and other resources.

The benefits of medical marijuana are indisputable, but are they sufficient to outweigh the risks of using marijuana? After some research, I believe there is enough evidence to answer, “Yes.”

One obvious concern may be that smoking any substance will lead to an increased risk for respiratory disease. However, the amount of marijuana smoked by medical users is much lower than that used by recreational marijuana users, or tobacco smokers. An alternative technique called vaporization can also be used to avoid the harmful products present in marijuana smoke. This is done by heating cannabis to a temperature where the psychoactive ingredients such as THC evaporate without causing combustion.

A second claim is that marijuana is an addictive drug. However, epidemiological studies show that there is a very high discontinuation rate. In 1993, a study done by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed that 34 percent of Americans age 12 and over had used marijuana at some point in their lives. But only 9 percent had used it in the preceding year, 4.3 percent in the past month, and 2.8 percent in the past week, indicating that most used marijuana only occasionally. It is possible that people could become psychologically attached to the “high” from smoking marijuana and not want to stop. This is not the same as the physical addiction caused by drugs such as nicotine, which is legal and readily available, and should not prevent marijuana from being available to sick people who could really benefit from it.

Others believe that marijuana is a “gateway” to the use of other drugs, based on studies that show the majority of “hard” drug users first used marijuana. However, research has disputed the relationship between marijuana and other drugs because no consistent patterns have been found. Another study by the Department of Health and Human Services stated that as marijuana use increased in the 1960s and 1970s, heroin use declined. And, when marijuana use declined in the 1980s, heroin use remained fairly stable. Secondly, although marijuana use-rates fluctuated for the past 20 years, the use of LSD hardly changed at all.

Finally, cocaine use increased in the early 1980s as marijuana use was declining. In the late 1980s, both marijuana and cocaine declined, but during the last few years, cocaine use has continued to decline as marijuana use has increased slightly. If marijuana really did lead to harder drugs, these rates would be expected to move in similar directions.

A fourth claim is that impairment caused by marijuana will lead to more highway accidents. In high doses, marijuana would probably impair driving, just like having too much alcohol, or even drugs like antihistamines which can cause drowsiness. These legal products come with disclaimers and instructions for usage, which would be provided with marijuana prescriptions. In a study done by the U.S. Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2000 fatal accident cases were analyzed. The results showed that 6.7 percent of drivers tested positive for marijuana; however, alcohol was present in more than two-thirds of the cases. There is no reason to believe that low dosage prescriptions of marijuana used by responsible patients would significantly increase traffic accidents.

A final concern is that some people will misuse their ability to obtain marijuana through prescriptions and sell it to others.

Sadly, this is the case with many drugs, including Valium, Oxycontin and Ritalin. Just as these legal drugs are not banned because of a few “bad apples,” marijuana should not be either.

As I have shown, the benefits of medical marijuana are considerable, while the downsides are either overstated or similar to other legally available substances. It is time to reevaluate the classification of this potentially valuable medicine.




Marijuana Does More Harm Than Good

Many would claim that marijuana is simply a harmless high, a relaxing way to slow down and experience the world from a happier perspective. Others say that the use of marijuana could have medical benefits, while still more state that it is no more harmful than some other substances that have been legalized such as alcohol and cigarettes.

“In the interest of freedom and for the good of humanity America should decriminalize marijuana.” is the ideal of the pro-legalizationist. Yet there is much that proponents of decriminalization will not admit.

According to medical research, smoking marijuana produces more problems than cigarette smoking; four times as much tar is deposited on the lungs and marijuana cigarettes contain the majority of harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. The chemicals found in a marijuana cigarette also wreak havoc on the immune system, killing off white blood cells that are necessary to fight infection. Users furthermore experience imprecise control of their body movements because marijuana interferes with their ability to perceive space and slows down their muscle movement.

Those diseases that it can be used to treat (such as glaucoma) or as a way of restoring appetites (like those lost to chemo-therapy) can also be treated by other methods that are proven to be more effective and less harmful than the effects of smoking marijuana. In those cases where marijuana is a medically sound option, doctors can use a drug called Marinol that simulates the medical benefits of marijuana by imitating THC but does not include the health risks that are associated with smoking marijuana which contains additional harmful chemicals.

Because of the distortion of perception experienced by those who use marijuana, users are more likely to get into traffic accidents. The perceived “mellow” of those who use marijuana translates into a physical slow-down. They cannot react as fast or take in information as quickly. These symptoms combine to make users very dangerous while driving. In 1990 the Transportational Safety Board conducted a study of fatal truck accidents and found that just as many of them were caused by marijuana as by alcohol.

Because of the increased health risks of smoking marijuana combined with marijuana’s ability to deaden the senses and slow down reaction times, it was deemed unsafe and is therefore illegal. The government is not simply trying to stop people from having a little harmless fun, it is trying to protect us from doing something harmful to ourselves and others.

Some claim that marijuana is no worse than other substances like alcohol or cigarettes. To them I ask, how many incidents of violence each year are linked to alcoholism? How many die because their reaction times are slowed? Some of the effects of marijuana — such as the impairment of motor skills — can still be affecting the user a full day later, long after the high has worn off. Smoking tobacco is a scientifically verified health risk. Seeing that these two substances are damaging to the population, should we really allow another destructive substance?

Let us even assume that we should not stop other people from performing self-destructive behavior because it injures them.

Let us assume that if their actions do not harm other people that everything is acceptable. Then we still have to face the fact that insurance costs more for everyone. For those insured by their work, the cost of that insurance is affected by those who abuse alcohol or have lung problems and so everyone has to pay for one person’s solitary vice. This is ignoring the cost of treatment for those who have poisoned their livers with alcohol or those who are injured by drunk drivers.

Teenagers now find it easy to acquire alcohol and cigarettes by raiding their parents or enlisting the aid of elder siblings. They can do this because it is alright for their parents to use these substances. If we legalize marijuana then we will have similar problems for that substance.

Marijuana has been shown to have even more detrimental effects, some of which can be permanent, when used by a still developing mind. Teenagers could lose the ability to comprehend massive amounts of information and it can severely handicap their ability to solve problems.

Use of marijuana was decriminalized in 1975 in the state of Alaska. Although they had set a legal age limit for its use, abuse of marijuana by teenagers more than doubled. Four years later 10 more states had followed suit. The abuse of marijuana by teenagers led the states to re-criminalize it for the safety of the state.

Finally some people believe that if marijuana is decriminalized the crimes associated with its use will decrease. This will happen because marijuana will no longer be illegal and so will not need to be smuggled in.

Yet what people do not realize is that people under the age of 21 are the most common users of marijuana. Since decriminalization will not legalize marijuana for the most common users the black market will still exist

Therefore, because marijuana is not useful as a medicine but is, in fact, harmful, because it can damage developing brains and because the loss of motor control and spatial perception can be dangerous, marijuana should not be decriminalized but rather remain an illegal substance.

Source: Calvin College Chimes (MI)
Author: Kelly Zwier and Josh Ahrens, Guest Writers
Published: Volume: 100, Issue: 7 -- 10-21-2005
Copyright: 2004-2005 Calvin College Chimes
Website: http://www-stu.calvin.edu/chimes/
Contact: http://www-stu.calvin.edu/chimes/mailchimes.php
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