Harry Anslinger, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930, sp

earheaded the national banning of marijuana. According to procon.org, he based h

is theories off two ridiculous ideas: that the drug caused insanity and that it
pushed people taking the drug to commit criminal acts.Medical marijuana should b
e legalized because it can reduce pain and treat diseases like glaucoma
Most importantly, medical marijuana should be legalized because it can reduce pa
in. There is a lot of proof for this statement. ...the available evidence from ani
mal and human studies indicates that cannabinoids can have a substantial analges
ic effect. Thus making medical marijuana a logical choice to treat pain. same her
e Thirteen of the 25 patients who were randomized to marijuana cigarettes reporte
d greater than 30% reduction in pain during the ... phase ... compared to 6/25 w
ith... regular cigarettes. This proves that marijuana can help patients control t
heir pain. By using medical marijuana to control their pain, patients can stop t
aking other medications that often have harmful and exhausting side effects. The
re are no known harmful side effects to the medical use of marijuana.Therefore m
edical marijuana can be used to treat pain and diseases.
Another reason why medical marijuana should be legalized is because it can treat
diseases such as glaucoma. Glaucoma is a blinding disease that affects many. I
t puffs up the eyes, medical marijuana stops this. There are many pharmaceutical
options for the treatment of glaucoma, but they may lose effectiveness over time
while cannabis has a consistent effect. The reason most cited by opponents of us
ing cannabis as a treatment for glaucoma is that to maintain therapeutic effect
a patient must smoke in which may affect the lungs. Yet there is a wide availabili
ty of edibles which last longer and and vaporizers. While there is no known cure,
cannabis is an effective treatment for glaucoma. Marijuana is a naturally grown
substance and is a healthier option to treat diseases such as glaucoma. Naturall
y grown is also better because it is not made in a factory and has no added subs
tances. For patients who suffer from glaucoma, medical marijuana offers a viable
option.
There are many oppositions to legalize medical marijuana. Opponents say that the
re are other drugs available for pain. They also state that there are other trea
tments for diseases than cannabis. Cannabis is not addictive, not lethal, and mo
re effective compared to other pain medications. Cannabis also lasts longer and
it can maintain its effectiveness over time vs. other treatment drugs.
In her review of cannabis and addiction, Mathre found a low risk.
Jack Henningfie
ld of NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) and Neal Benowitz of UCSF (Univers
ity of California, San Francisco) rated addictive symptoms of cannabis vs. other
commonly used drugs including heroin, alcohol, and cocaine. To summarize, marij
uana was ranked lowest for withdrawal symptoms. Overall, the legalization of mari
juana for medical use should be implemented because it can reduce pain in those
who need it most.