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Essay about The Benefits of Medical Marijuana

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INTRODUCTION Marijuana, also known as weed, hemp, cannabis, pot, herb, grass, etc., is the most common illegal drug in the United States. Marijuana is also known to be a gateway drug because it can lead people to do more serious drugs. Marijuana is a dried plant often smoked like a cigarette or in a bong or pipe. A common argument today is why marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes. Although some will claim marijuana should not be legalized for medicinal purposes because it has harmful effects and is a gateway drug, I feel that it should be legalized. Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes because it has many positive effects on diseases and health conditions. Marijuana should also be legalized for …show more content…

There is also a spray to put under the tongue called Sativex. (p. 16). Oftentimes people will not want to smoke the marijuana because of the harmful effects it has on the lungs from the inhalation. That is why other options such as the pills, spray, food and a vaporization device have been developed. With the different options come different absorption rates. Finkel (2007) said when marijuana is smoked it will go into the lungs and bloodstream, which is then distributed throughout the body. When marijuana is ingested, it takes one to three hours to attain the maximum THC blood levels and the effects are much slower. (p.82). Using the Sativex spray under the tongue will allow for quick absorption into the blood stream. (Wilson, 2005, p.39). Legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes will take away from so many people using the drug illegally as a recreational drug. This is very significant in today’s society because of treatment benefits it could have on so many people if it was legalized throughout the states. If the government keeps seeing the benefits, the legalization of medicinal marijuana could happen in years to come, especially with new technology that could make things better. Even though medicinal marijuana has harmful effects, marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes because medicinal marijuana is less toxic than other prescribed drugs and marijuana has many positive effects on disease and health

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