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Jack Helmers

Ms. Wilson

English II Honors

May 10th, 2019

Medical benefits of Marijuana

The decriminalization of marijuana can improve and save the lives of teenagers. 70% of

teens claim to have anxiety and or depression disorders. Marijuana has been linked to relieving

anxiety and depression in nearly all cases. Marijuana also has been proven to relieve even

chronic pain. It is also much safer to use than opioids. There are zero documented cases of

overdose from marijuana, whereas opiates cause 30% of overdoses in the US. Marijuana also has

many other medical benefits such as relieving nausea for cancer patients going through

chemotherapy. It helps people with Parkinson's, veterans with PTSD, and many other conditions.

Anxiety and depression are very prevalent in teenagers. In clinical study patients with

depression have said symptoms have been reduced by 89%. 93.5% of patients with anxiety have

reported a reduction in their anxiety. Childrenshospital.org wrote, “research shows that

approximately 90% of people who have died by suicide were suffering from a mental illness at

the time. The most common mental illness reported was depression . . . suicide is the 2nd leading

cause of death among children and adolescents ages 10-24.” Depression is the main cause of

suicide. Suicide is a leading cause of death in teens. Marijuana lowers depression. This mean

marijuana can save lives but only if we let it. When it comes to anxiety there is not much of a

difference . Kidshealth.org also wrote “Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental
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health conditions. They affect people of all ages — adults, children, and teens. There are many

different types of anxiety disorders, with different symptoms. They all have one thing in

common, though: Anxiety occurs too often, is too strong, is out of proportion to the present

situation, and affects a person's daily life and happiness.” Anxiety puts a strain on happiness and

can lead to many severe complications. Harvard published an article saying symptoms of anxiety

include “Exaggerated worry about health, safety, money, and other aspects of daily life that lasts

six months or more. Often accompanied by muscle pain, fatigue, headaches, nausea,

breathlessness, and insomnia”. Other anxiety medications have been proven to alter the mood

and behavior of patients. One anxiety medication Xanax has been linked to countless overdoses.

These medications are also very expensive which means people with little money can not afford

the expensive medication. They suffer or are bankrupt by medical bills. Marijuana is a safe

effective much cheaper than other means of treating anxiety and depression.

Pharmaceutical companies are profiting hundreds of millions of dollars off opioids and

are urging doctors to keep prescribing them. These companies care little about their actual

customers. “In 2016, more than 42,000 people were killed by opioids” (Opioids and

Adolescents). Marijuana provides the same medical benefits with much less risk of addiction and

death. These pharmaceutical companies then donate millions to political candidates’ campaigns.

In turn, then the elected politicians continue to let pharmaceutical companies plague our nation

and lives with addiction and death. “Opioid products, they alleged, were defectively designed

because companies failed to include safety mechanisms, such as an antagonist agent or tamper-

resistant formulation. Manufacturers also purportedly failed to adequately warn about addiction

risks on drug packaging and in promotional activities. Some claims alleged that opioid
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manufacturers deliberately withheld information about their products’ dangers, misrepresenting

them as safer than alternatives” (Haffajee).This vicious cycle benefits only those involved and

ruins the lives of the people affected by the laws prohibiting the use of marijuana. “among

adolescents is increasing. In 2015, 4,235 youth ages 15-24 died from a drug-related overdose;

over half of these were attributable to opioids.” (Opioids and Adolescents). Instead of doctors

prescribing lethal opioids like fentanyl and oxycontin, they could prescribe medical marijuana.

Marijuana has also been proven to provide major pain relief to patients taking it.

Marijuana is said to be an effective muscle relaxant, lessen tremors in Parkinson’s disease,

successfully for fibromyalgia, endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, and most other conditions

where the final common pathway is chronic pain. A highly promising area of research is its use

for PTSD in veterans who are returning from combat zones. Marijuana also helps with anxiety,

spasticity, and pain to treating potentially life-threatening conditions such as epilepsy.

In conclusion the medical benefits of marijuana far out way the risk. Marijuana has

shown great results in treating anxiety and depression as well as with pain relief. Marijuana is a

safer for affordable alternative to other pain depression and anxiety medications. The opioid

epidemic is fueled by pharmaceutical companies that only care about profits. Marijuana works

and can help improve and save the lives of millions of people.

Works Cited

Rich, Alex K., and Alexander Stingl. “Legalization of Marijuana: An Overview.” Points of View:
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Legalization of Marijuana, Jan. 2017, p. 1. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=23554883&site=pov-live]

Grinspoon, Peter. “Medical Marijuana.” Harvard Health Blog, 9 Jan. 2018,.

“Drug Companies' Liability for the Opioid Epidemic | NEJM.” New England Journal of

Medicine, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1710756.