You might have seen marijuana used recreationally in Seth Rogan films, Wiz Khalifa music videos, or discussed in the media. Despite the casualness of marijuana in our culture, there are many patients around the country that cannot legally obtain the drug for its medicinal properties.  I want to point out that marijuana also has many health benefits, fewer side effects than many FDA approved medications, and should be considered like any other legal drug in the market.

Patients who are terminally ill or have serious medical conditions have chronic symptoms that affect their everyday lives. Grotenhermen et al. (2012) performed a meta-analysis of publications on cannabis in regard to its therapeutic potential as an alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals.  They found that cannabis has a plethora of therapeutic effects, such as “antispastic, analgesic, antiemetic, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory actions” to name a few.  In an article of A Cancer Journal For Clinicians, Joan Kramer discusses possible treatments for pain and spasticity.  Spasticity, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, is stiffness and a range of involuntary muscle spasms that can also lead to pain.  Kramer points out that codeine and THC are two effective treatments for pain and spasticity.  While codeine does treat both symptoms, medical marijuana does not have addictive characteristics like codeine (Maurer et al. 1990).  Medical marijuana also decreases sensitivity to pain induced by a cold pressor test (Milstein 1975) and reduces spasticity by over 20% (Novotna et al. 2011). Marijuana seems to be a drug that can treat symptoms, minimize future symptoms, and cause fewer side effects.

Medical marijuana has been found to treat previously untreatable symptoms and mental disorders. In a local Michigan news source reported a story about Bella Chinonis, a child with 1P36 deletion syndrome that causes developmental delays, seizures, and kidney failure.  Bella could not talk, walk, chew, or play like other kids even while taking an array of medications to treat her problems since birth.  After being given cannabis oil at six years old, Bella could finally stand, respond to voices, enjoy the Pixar film Frozen, and endure fewer seizures.  This is an example of successful medical marijuana use where other pharmaceuticals had failed.  While it may be risky to give marijuana to children, these patients were already suffering from significant health and developmental effects.  In this case, medical marijuana was their best chance at relieving some of the negative symptoms and enjoying the simple things like taking a walk around the block, hearing their own voice, or chewing gum.

Marijuana has also been used to successfully treat substance abuse to alcohol, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs of abuse (Swartz 2010).  This study by Swartz showed that medical marijuana patients recovered from drug addiction equally as well or better than non-medical marijuana patients (2010).  The National Drug Control Strategy also supports the use of marijuana as therapy for drug addiction because of “the need for customized strategies that include behavioral therapies, medication, and consideration of other mental and physical illnesses.”  From a study done by Webb et al. (2014), we can see that patients experienced many therapeutic benefits that are necessary for drug abuse treatment.  Overall, Webb’s (2014) 100 patients also experienced “relief from stress/anxiety (50% of respondents), relief of insomnia (45%), improved appetite (12%), decreased nausea (10%), increased focus/concentration (9%), and relief from depression (7%)”. As a result, some of these patients were also able to stop taking their other medications for pain, anxiety, and insomnia. For example, one patient reported, “Medical cannabis replaced my need for oxycodone. Now I don’t need them at all” and another said, “I’ve cut back 18 pills on my morphine dosage” (Webb et al. 2014). Using cannabis as a substance abuse treatment can be an effective way to integrate users back into society.

While there are side effects to marijuana, other FDA approved pharmaceuticals also have side effects and risks to their rewards. For example, one study found the possibility that in treating pain a moderate dose of ibuprofen effectively decreases pain whereas a high dose increases pain (Greenwald et al. 2000). Before medical marijuana is ruled out by our politicians and populous, scientists and physicians need time to research and analyze the potential benefits of its use.  Michigan, where Bella Chinonis was 1 of 150 patients to benefit from medical marijuana treatment, is only 1 of 23 states with legalized medical marijuana (Johnson, ProCom.org). There are people across the country and even people within the legalized states that could benefit from medical marijuana, but the use of medical marijuana is still grossly under researched and under funded. Fortunately, in a recent New England Journal of Medicine poll (2013), eight in ten doctors approved the use of medical marijuana and grassroots groups are funding medical marijuana research. Marijuana should not be given special favors or any extra demonization.

While the issues with marijuana dependency harming society are concerning, criminalizing the drug has not been effective.  According to American Civil Liberties Union, marijuana accounts for over half of drug related arrests in the United States and blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana.  Unfortunately, legalizing medical marijuana is not going to keep people out of jail or resolve the racial bias that is consistent nationwide.  However, punishing people who are in desperate need for alternative treatments by preventing them from receiving the best possible treatment for their ailments will not treat America’s social ills. If people can legally drink alcohol and smoke tobacco even though the adverse effects are well known, then people should be given the choice to legally use marijuana, especially for medicinal purposes. Just as I do not think marijuana is the cure for all medical conditions, I do not think that keeping medical marijuana illegal is the solution to America’s war on drugs.

If children can see recreational marijuana center stage in films, then children should see medical marijuana treating patients. Considering how patients could have a better quality of life as a result of using medical marijuana, it is worth considering further legalization of the drug. Legalizing marijuana does not simply let people smoke recreationally, it is also an effective way to ease the discomforts of patients who are terminally ill or have serious medical conditions.

Works Cited

“23 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC – Medical Marijuana – ProCon.org.” ProConorg, 1 July 2015. Web. 07 Aug. 2015.

Adler, Jonathan N, Colbert, James A. “Medicinal Use of Marijuana — Polling Results.” N Engl J Med(2013): doi: 10.1056/NEJMclde1305159. Web.

Grotenhermen F, Müller-Vahl K. The therapeutic potential of cannabis and cannabinoids. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2012;109:495–501.

“The Impact of Marijuana Policies on Youth: Clinical, Research, and Legal Update.” Pediatrics 135.3 (2015): 584-87. Web.

Johnson, Jiquanda. “Medical Marijuana Changed 6-year-old Daughter’s Life.” www.mlive.com. N.p., 5 July 2015. Web. 03 Aug. 2015.

Kramer, Joan L. “Medical Marijuana for Cancer.” CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 65.2 (2014): 109-22. Web.

“Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers.” American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU, n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2015.

Melamede, Robert. “Cannabis and Tobacco Smoke Are Not Equally Carcinogenic.” Harm Reduction Journal 2.1 (2005): 17. Web.

Office of National Drug Control Strategy: National Drug Control Strategy. 2008 Annual Report Washington, D.C. Executive Office of the President 2008

“Spasticity.” National Multiple Sclerosis Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2015.

Swartz: Medical marijuana users in substance abuse treatment. Harm Reduction Journal 2010 7:3.

Swift, Art. “For First Time, Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana.”Gallup.com. Gallup, 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2015.

Webb CW, Webb SM. Therapeutic benefits of Cannabis: A patient survey. Hawaii J Med Public Health. 2014;73(4):109–11.