English speech legalising marijuana for medical reasons Essay Example for Free

English speech legalising marijuana for medical reasons Essay Everyone has probably heard something about the marijuana argument, where the drug is being used to help with pain relief for cancer patients and in certain cases can assist in saving lives. If you haven’t heard, two thirds of the Australian population support legalising marijuana for medicinal purposes, others feel as though it shouldn’t be legalised because it has a negative effect on the user’s actions. If medical marijuana was any other drug it would be formally assessed by the medical profession, but as the public is so highly opinionated this has not occurred. We all know that alcohol is a toxic substance for the body and it’s legal but marijuana is a natural substance and it is not legal!! Marijuana oil has properties for helping with pain relief for a range of different conditions. Back in the 1950’s scientists produced research which showed that smoking marijuana reduced nausea and pain, making it highly effective in treating a range of conditions. Marijuana in its medicinal form is distributed as an oil which is used in food preparations. Take away the perception of the drug as people sitting around getting high on marijuana and think about it as an alternative medical pain relief. I do not support marijuana as a recreation drug however, I support marijuana for medicinal purposes. Everyone assumes that all forms of marijuana are detrimental to your health and wellbeing and many people are unaware of the drugs medicinal values. With this lack of understanding many people have a negative view towards medical marijuana. Everyone assumes marijuana to be bad and a gateway drug as it is highly publicied and many people are very unfamiliar with it. Marijuana is widely used in the manner quite similar to alcohol and is extremely toxic more addictive and harmful to the body; which can result in injuries and can lead to social violence. People die from alcohol overdose, alcohol poisoning and can end up with serious brain damage. Along with alcohol, marijuana has a significant effect on the community, which influences 30% of our population to neither believe, nor support the usage for medical marijuana. Medical marijuana studies have shown that marijuana is neuroprotective which means it works to protect brain cells from harm. As a legal drug doctors would need to prescribe medical marijuana to terminally ill people to reduce their pain, suffering and saving lives. Charotte Figi’s story demonstrates the benefits of medical marijuana. In 2006 Charlotte Figi suffered severely from untreatable epilepsy. By the time she was two her parents had tried all medications in the attempt to cure her epilepsy. Her seizures started off by lasting 30 minutes when she was only 3 months old, the more frequently they became the longer they lasted, some lasting two to four hours. Doctors kept telling Mr and Mrs Figi that she would grow out of it, but she didn’t grow out of it. Mrs Figi said that when charlotte got to the age of 2 it was obvious to her that she was slipping away. In 2000 Colorado voters approved a setup of medical marijuana registry program. The Figi’s daughter had been diagnosed with Dravet syndrome which is a rare form of intractable epilepsy therefore the seizures being uncontrollable. Charlotte lost the ability to walk, talk and eat and had 300 seizures a week. Charlotte’s heart had stopped a number of time and doctors even suggested they put her little body to rest in an induced coma. Her parents did not give up on her and by the time she was 5 her parents learned that the hospital could do nothing more. Charlotte was the youngest patient in the state to ever apply to the use of marijuana but it saved her life. Her seizures almost stopped instantly, Charlotte didn’t have seizures 3 to 4 times in the hour after she had taken the oil, and everyone thought it was a coincidence, they waited another hour and nothing. Charlotte is now takes marijuana oil twice a day in her food, she can now ride a bike, feed herself and talking more and more each day. The Figi’s would not have been able to give medical marijuana had Colorado not have had legalised medical marijuana. If you were in the position of this family wouldn’t you have done the same thing? We should support the legalising of marijuana for medicinal purposes not for recreation use for the reason that the drug is saving lives and helping people though severe pain. It has been proven to help the brain fight off harmful cells and reduces pain and suffering. If you had a child, brother or sister that was suffering from a terminal disease would you not want to have access to medicinal marijuana oil By not legalising the drug for medicinal purposes, more lives are at risk every day. Bibliography Drug Policy Alliance, (2015). How Did Marijuana Become Illegal in the First Place?. [online] Available at: http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/how-did-marijuana-become-illegal-first-place [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]. Drugwarrant.com, (2015). Drug WarRant. [online] Available at: http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal/ [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]. Saundra Young, C. (2015). Marijuana stops childs severe seizures CNN.com. [online] CNN. Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-child-medical-marijuana/ [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]. Webmd.com, (2015). Medical Marijuana Treatment Uses and How It Works. [online] Available at: http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/medical-marijuana-uses [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]. Drug Policy Alliance, (2015). How Did Marijuana Become Illegal in the First Place?. [online] Available at: http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/how-did-marijuana-become-illegal-first-place [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015].