Should we support the use of marijuana for medical purposes or not?

Should we support the use of marijuana for medical purposes or not? Name: Institution: Instructor: Date: Should we support the use of marijuana for medical purposes or not? Abstract The use of marijuana for medical reasons to alleviate chronic pain is a controversial issue. While some researchers contend that marijuana is a harmful drug and should not be used for medical purposes, others argue that with proper legislation and control, it is possible to use the drug to help patients overcome several medical problems that cause them pain and discomfort. This paper assesses both perspectives detailing the merit and demerits of each. It advances the idea that legislation would help and protect healthcare providers to use the drug to ease the pain that some patients experience. The paper contends that healthcare workers should be empowered with knowledge on how to administer marijuana for medical purposes. If the use of this drug is regulated primarily for medical purposes, the implications would result in health benefits. This position paper recognizes that if marijuana is misused, it can have disastrous consequences and therefore holds the view that legislation to govern the use of the drug should be comprehensive enough to detail harsh deterrent measures against the misuse of the drug because such a misuse would be harmful to users. Key words: Marijuana, medical purposes, legislation, chronic pain This paper advances the argument that medical marijuana laws should be implemented in states. The major arguments that inform this idea are threefold. First, that marijuana can be used effectively to treat pain syndrome where individuals are suffering from different diseases. Second, that marijuana has less severe side effects and has less potential for addiction as compared to opiates. And third, the death rate from opiates has decreased in states that have medical marijuana laws. The use of cannabis to treat the pain syndrome has been supported by Glick (2012) in his "Position Statement on Concurrent Cannabis and Opiate Use" in which he does an analysis of the pain syndrome. The study establishes that in situations where patients undergo excruciating pain, health care providers are known to administer high doses of analgesics. This is one of the primary reasons why patients are exposed of facing health challenges. These risks are accompanied by numerous side effects on the recipients. Glick analyzes the side effects of morphine establishing that the use of opiate has led to a high number of deaths that have their background in drug poisoning. Glick contends that he believes that the use of cannabis did not pose a danger as great as the side effects that come as a result of opiates. If states were to implement the use of cannabis for medical reasons, they would lead to a decrease in the use of opiates which would, in turn, lead to a decrease in the side effects of the use of opiates. Glick recommends a perspective that this writer finds agreeable because he argues that patients whose conditions require the use of opiates be assessed by clinicians to establish how much cannabis may be used to help them alleviate their pain. That would ma...