Composition

Submit the rough draft of your Problem/Solution essay for your instructor to critique. Be sure to include:

• An introduction
• Identification and History of the Issue/Problem
• Evidence of outside research (data, quotations, statistics, all cited properly)
• Multiple proposed solutions, with one of them recommended (which sums up the arguments) and call to action
• Your draft should be 2 – 3 pages in length and use at least a minimum of 3 – 5 cited sources from the CTU Library or from Google Scholar.
• Your Individual Project should contain a cover page, headers, page numbers, and be double-spaced using Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier fonts. The size of the font should be 12 point.

Running head: INCREASING USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

INCREASING USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA 4

Name

Institution

Date

Introduction

There has been an increase in the use of medical marijuana. This has consequently sparked a hot debate and research among scientists who have been trying to examine and weigh whether the medical benefits of the drug are sufficient enough to make the legalization of the drug the only option or whether legalization will worsen the lives of people in the society by trapping the otherwise sober and medically sound individuals into drug addiction. The following is an analysis of what some researchers argue concerning the legalization of medical marijuana.

Clark, P.A. (2000). The Ethics of Medical Marijuana: Government Restrictions vs. Medical
Necessity. Journal of Public Health Policy.21(1) pp. 40-60

Clark argues that marijuana is regarded by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as an illicit Schedule I drug. This means that it is a drug, which has not had current acceptance for medical use. This was not until March 17, 1999, when the Institute of Medicine appointed a team of 11 independent scientists to examine this issue further. According to the report of these scientists, medical marijuana was found to be powerful in alleviating vomiting and nausea resulting from chemotherapy, controlling some kinds of pain, treating wasting of muscles resulting from AIDS, and fighting muscle spasms that are linked with multiple sclerosis. From this report, no evidence was found showing that by increasing the use of marijuana; the illicit drug use will also increase. In this case, the scientists did not find reasonable grounds to consider marijuana as gateway drug. However, despite this abundant evidence, the DEA has declined to reclassify marijuana as a drug Schedule II. If this classification was done, the physicians would have had the chance of prescribing standardized and unadulterated forms of marijuana. After analyzing the relevant scientific data and applying the idea of double effect, a proportionate reason that can give the physicians the go ahead in prescribing marijuana exists. This is because there is a right for the patients who are seriously ill to access effective therapies. Denying patients such access is synonymous to denying them respect and dignity as persons.

Sidney, S. ( 2001).Marijuana Use in HIV-Positive and AIDS Patients. Journal of Cannabis
Therapeutics 1(3-4), pages 35-41

Sidney argues that even with a huge amount of anecdotal reports concerning the medical marijuana in patients who are HIV- positive, few systematic surveys have been conducted. Therefore, an assessment of the prevalence of the use of medical marijuana was conducted in AIDS and HIV –positive patients. This assessment was done using an unknown mail survey covering 1970 patients of HIV clinics in the medical centers of South Sacramento like Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (KPMCP) found in California, Oakland, and San Francisco (Sidney 36). In this study, thirty three point three percent of the respondents showed current use of medical marijuana. The examples of the frequent use of marijuana were outlined. For seventy nine percent, cannabis was praised for bringing better mental condition as well as reducing stress. Sixty-seven percent on the other hand said that marijuana was good in improving appetite and letting people to gain weight. Lastly, sixty-six percent of the respondents said that marijuana was good in decreasing nausea. The findings in this case indicates that there are some benefits of medical marijuana, which are responsible for its increased use.

Lynne-Landsman, S. D., Livingston, M. D., & Wagenaar, A. C. (2013). Effects of State
Medical Marijuana Laws on Adolescent Marijuana Use. American Journal Of
Public Health, 103(8), 1500-1506. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.301117

The suggestion that Medical marijuana laws (MMLs) are the possible cause of the rise in the use of marijuana among adolescents in the United States led into a research by these authors. In this research, the authors evaluated the consequences of MMLs on the use of marijuana among adolescents from 2003 through 2011. The authors used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey as well as a difference-in-differences design in evaluating the effects of implementation of state MMLs on the use of marijuana among adolescents. Among the states examined were Delaware, Michigan, Rhode Island and Montana. These states had passed MMLs at different times over an 8-year period. According to their findings, MMLs have had no measurable effects on adolescent marijuana use in the first few years following their enactment. However, the researchers suggested that the results might be different in the long run. This means that MMLs are very important for ensuring that the medicinal drug is legalized for medical purposes since such legalization has no effect on adolescents indulgence in drug abuse.

References

Clark, P.A. (2000). The Ethics of Medical Marijuana: Government Restrictions vs. Medical
Necessity. Journal of Public Health Policy.21(1) pp. 40-60

Lynne-Landsman, S. D., Livingston, M. D., & Wagenaar, A. C. (2013). Effects of State Medical
Marijuana Laws on Adolescent Marijuana Use. American Journal Of Public Health,
103(8), 1500-1506. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.301117

Sidney, S. ( 2001).Marijuana Use in HIV-Positive and AIDS Patients. Journal of Cannabis
Therapeutics 1(3-4), pages 35-41

Running head: INCREASING USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA 1

INCREASING USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA 4

Increasing Use of Medical Marijuana

“Outline”

Title

· Increasing use of medicinal Marijuana.

Thesis Statement

· Despite the fact that Marijuana is classified as one of the illicit drugs in most States, the medicinal benefits obtained from the research reveals that the benefits of medicinal marijuana are sufficient enough to call for its legalization.

Topic Sentences:

· According to the report of these scientists, medical marijuana was found to be powerful in alleviating vomiting and nausea resulting from chemotherapy, controlling some kinds of pain, treating wasting of muscles resulting from AIDS, and fighting muscle spasms that are linked with multiple sclerosis.

· The supporters of medicinal marijuana encourage the people to loudly raise their opposition to federal restrictions. These supporters have been heard in some states like California and Arizona (Chon, 1997).

· In this study, thirty three point three percent of the respondents showed current use of medical marijuana. The examples of the frequent use of marijuana were outlined. For seventy nine percent, cannabis was praised for bringing better mental condition as well as reducing stress. Sixty-seven percent on the other hand said that marijuana was good in improving appetite and letting people to gain weight

· This means that MMLs are very important for ensuring that the medicinal drug is legalized for medical purposes since such legalization has no effect on adolescent’s indulgence in drug abuse (Lynne-Landsman, Livingston & Wagenaar, 2013).

References

Chon, G. (1997). Medical Marijuana: A Dream Up in Smoke?. Human Rights, 24(4), 16-17.

Clark, P.A. (2000). The Ethics of Medical Marijuana: Government Restrictions vs. Medical
Necessity. Journal of Public Health Policy.21(1) pp. 40-60

Lynne-Landsman, S. D., Livingston, M. D., & Wagenaar, A. C. (2013). Effects of State Medical
Marijuana Laws on Adolescent Marijuana Use. American Journal Of Public Health,
103(8), 1500-1506. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.301117

Sidney, S. ( 2001).Marijuana Use in HIV-Positive and AIDS Patients. Journal of Cannabis
Therapeutics 1(3-4), pages 35-41