Jackson Warren
Adam Padgett
English 102
2 May 2017
Inquiry: Can legalizing medical marijuana help suppress the opioid epidemic?
Thesis: Abuse of prescription opioids is one of the worlds greatest problems. Legalizing medical
marijuana could help lower the number of those who become addicted and overdose on opioids
Abuse, National Institute on Drug. America's Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription
activities/testimony-to-congress/2016/americas-addiction-to-opioids-heroin-prescription-
drug-abuse.
This source discusses the opioid epidemic that is going on in todays world. This article is the
summarization of the testimony presented by Nora D. Volkow, M.D to Congress during the
Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Volkow goes on to talk about the rising
number of those addicted to opioids, estimated between 26.4 million and 36 million people
worldwide. An estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffered from substance use
disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012, and an estimated 467,000 addicted
to heroin. This article also goes into detail about the connection between prescription opioid
abuse and heroin addiction, which is an important part of my paper when I talk about my friend
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who overdosed on heroin. Other key topics this source brings up are the availability of
prescription pills, how opioids affect the brain and body, and ways to treat opioid addiction. This
source contains a lot of great information and data that will help further prove my argument that
Cottler, Linda B., et al. Injury, Pain, and Prescription Opioid Use among Former National
Football League (NFL) Players. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 116, no. 1-3, 2011,
This source is about a scientific study conducted by researchers at Washington University in St.
Louis that found retired NFL players misuse opioid pain medications at a rate more than four
times that of the general population. This source contains statistics backed by research that will
be useful when trying to persuade the audience why prescription opioids shouldnt be prescribed,
and marijuana should. Opioids are highly addictive, yet they are prescribed regularly to
professional athletes to treat pain. More research must be done on how effective marijuana is
after a surgery or major injury. Though it may not be as potent as opioids, athletes should be
given the option between using opioids or cannabis to treat their chronic pain.
Barr, John. OTL: Painkiller Use in Today's NFL. ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures,
www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=110128%2FPainkillersCurrentUse.
This article brings up the very real problem with pro-athletes that is pain killer addiction.
Through interviews with former NFL players, the author John Barr shows how accessible it is for
pro-athletes to get prescription pain killers. Doctors are very willing to give players pills to help
with their pain. Members of a teams medical staff give out these pills in states that they are not
authorized in, which is a big concern for the DEA. Kyle Turley, a former NFL lineman, said one
physician outside the NFL's network of doctors once offered to sell him a bag of 10,000 Vicodin.
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The ongoing battle with addiction doesnt end with retirement as former players still continue to
find ways to get the prescription pills by buying from the black market. Teams in the NFL are
creating these addictions for their players, and they arent helping by continuing to willingly give
out these addictive pills. The NFL needs to consider offering marijuana to help ease players pain
since it is a safer and less addictive alternative to pain killers. This article will be helpful with
proving that pain-killers are too accessible and addictive, and that marijuana could be a better
alternative to these prescription medicines. The source gives accounts from former players,
which gives the article more credibility about what goes on off the field.
Join Together Staff. Opioid Addiction Being Treated With Medical Marijuana in
service/opioid-addiction-treated-medical-marijuana-massachusetts/.
This article discusses how marijuana is being used to help those addicted to opioids fight their
addiction. Marijuana can help those with an addiction ween off the drug they are addicted to. Dr.
Gary Witman, of Canna Care Docs based in Massachusetts, has treated about 80 patients who
were addicted to opioids, anti-anxiety medication or muscle relaxers with cannabis through a
one-month tapering program, and more than three-quarters of the patients stopped taking the
harder drugs. This is a credible source because experiments back it. This article will be used to
show how marijuana can help fight addiction. If we are using marijuana to help peoples
addiction to prescription opioids since it is less addictive, why not just replace the prescription
NIDA for Teens. Prescription Pain Medications (Opioids). NIDA for Teens,
teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/prescription-pain-medications-opioids.
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This source gives further information about opioids. It explains what an opioid is and how many
different types of opioids there are. It also answers the basic questions that teens may have about
opioids. This source will be used to give information about opioids, and will most likely be
referred to when discussing the different types of opioids. This is a credible source because it
was written by the NIDA, who are experts in drugs. It is also credible because it gives statistics
Dangers. Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 14 Apr. 2015, www.people-
press.org/2015/04/14/in-debate-over-legalizing-marijuana-disagreement-over-drugs-
dangers/.
This source talks about the two viewpoints people have on the legalization of marijuana. It goes
into great detail about the viewpoints, giving statistics on how the viewpoints have changed and
what groups of people have what viewpoints. The article presents several charts with information
that can be used in my paper. This article will be used to show why people believe in either
opposing or legalizing marijuana, and the reasoning behind their belief. This is a credible source
because it is nonbiased since it gives views from two different viewpoints, and because the