English Literature

Over the course of the years, the United States has seen its fair share of controversy surrounding the ingestion of drugs.  The early 1920s was plagued with bootleggers and rum-runners scavenging to make and distribute their personal versions of moonshine.  The 1960s made its mark in history with its open use of psychedelic drugs.  These mind altering substances are reminiscent of individuals dancing, playing tambourines, and spinning around in zombie-like states professing true love and peace.  This absurd behavior carried over into the 1970s and was quickly replaced with the use of cocaine, compliments of a gentleman named Escobar from Columbia. The past uses for drugs seemed to center on recreational use, although some claimed that drug use allowed their minds to be more open and creative.  While the recreational use of drugs is still present in society today, the uses of these drugs are changing.  Marijuana has been typed to be a fundamental and purposeful drug within the medical community.  Although the issue is still being debated within the legal system, supporters of this proclamation are steadfast in their convictions.
   
Marijuana is also known by its botanical name cannabis.  It is a leafy plant that grows very easily without much cultivation required.  This amazing growth is now showing an increased benefit to individuals who suffer from a wide range of debilitating medical ailments (Mathre, 1997).  Persons suffering from AIDS, HIV, and cancer have been presented with the option of using medicinal marijuana as a means to alleviate certain symptoms.  These patients were noted by personal accountability and family physicians to have been relieved of the symptoms of nausea and were able to thrive again.  Poor appetite, weight loss, and nausea are commonalities with AIDS, HIV, and cancer.  Cancer patients reported that the use of medicinal marijuana was most efficient during rounds of chemotherapy as it seemed to help combat the violent vomiting episodes as well (Johnson, 2009).  Physicians have reported a positive outcome when using medicinal marijuana in other conditions such as Alzheimers, arthritis, asthma, Crohns disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, Hepatitis C, Multiple Sclerosis, severe pain management, psychological issues, and for the terminally ill.  Other countries such as China, India, and Europe have been using medicinal marijuana for centuries.  Sources from England report that the use of medicinal marijuana dating back as far as Queen Victoria.  The then Queen is said to have been treated with medicinal marijuana for severe menstrual cramps by Sir Reynolds (Boire  Feeney, 2006).  Medicinal marijuana serves a variety of purposes within the medical community, but grant based studies have made it difficult to certify the validity of its use.
   
One problem encountered by anyone who has to ingest a medication is the possibility of side effects and the severity thereof.  Medicinal marijuana has very little risk of side effects.  The most common side effect reported is that of fatigue and hunger.  The cannabanoids, chemicals within cannabis, have been determined to produce a natural antidepressant and a natural anti-anxiety chemical within the brain (Zhang, 2005).  These chemicals are believed to cause the sense of relaxation, mellowness, and fatigue.  Unlike some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medications, medicinal marijuana has never been reported to have killed an individual due to ingestion.  The FDA reported in a study from January 1997 to June 2005 that medicinal marijuana was only a secondary suspect in 279 deaths (Johnson, 2009).  This number is minute when compared to the number of deaths in relation to seventeen other FDA approved medications used to treat the same conditions.  The number of deaths reported from patients having ingested the other FDA approved medications was 11,687 (Johnson, 2009).  These FDA approved drugs were  Marinol, Zofran, Compazine, Reglan, Anzemet, Kytril, Tigan, Baclofen, Zanaflex, Halidol, Litium, Neurontin, Ritalin, Adderall, Vioxx, Viagra, and Wellbutrin.  Although the federal government has classified marijuana as a Schedule One narcotic, meaning that it is too dangerous for medical use, Elders reports that, unlike many of the drugs we prescribe every day, marijuana has never been proven to cause a fatal overdose (Elders, 2004).
   
Each individual state is provided the legal right to enact and implement laws and statutes to govern its individual boundary as outlined in the United States Constitution.  As of January 2010, fourteen states enacted legislation making the use of medicinal marijuana legal, while thirteen other states have pending litigation to do the same.  California is widely known for its early approval of the use and dispensing of medicinal marijuana.  Other states like Alaska, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont, Hawaii, and Washington are the only other states that have approved the use of this little leafy green plant.  Each state has orchestrated the specific framework surrounding the use of medicinal marijuana, and some states have only approved it for certain ailments. The states of Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Virginia are currently rationalizing out approved policy that would permit ailing citizens of their perspective states to receive the benefits of medicinal marijuana.   Citizens across the United States have been encouraging and sympathetic in the plight to legalize the use of medicinal marijuana.  A poll conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post recently reported that over 81 of Americans were for legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, while only 1 remained neutral, only 18 did not support the legalization.

The federal government is opposed to the legalization of marijuana for any purpose.  This could be attributed to all the years and hard work invested in combating the war on drugs.  Over the years, the federal government has enacted new laws and provisions concerning marijuana in order to keep it illegal and out of the hands of Americans.  In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed.  This Act required that all dealers, importers, and doctors register with the federal government and pay a special provisionary occupational tax (Boire  Feeney, 2006).  This act was short-lived and in 1951, the federal government passed the Boggs Act to counteract the preceding causation. The Boggs Act put into action the act of mandatory sentencing for drug crimes.  It also founded the theory and concept of gateway drugs.  The Narcotic Control Act of 1956 raised the penalties for drug related crimes.  The Drug Abuse Control Amendments outlined in 1965 specified a list of drugs that were declared illegal.  These amendments were paramount until the Controlled Substance Act of 1970.  The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 is where marijuana was categorized as a Schedule One narcotic (Boire  Feeney, 2006).  As the law stands today, each state is passing its own legislation concerning the legal use of marijuana for medical purposes, but the federal government is trumping these state maintained statues under the Supremacy Clause.  The Supremacy Clause allows the federal government and its laws to overrule any current legislation.  The Supremacy Clause stipulates that federal law supersedes any state law.  Unfortunately, federal agents have been entering state owned medicinal marijuana dispensaries and arresting the owners, patients, and bystanders.  These individuals have been criminalized via the federal judicial system.  Many now carry criminal records, have served jail time, lost employment, been publically humiliated, and victimized all in the name of justice.
   
Medicinal marijuana is taking the United States into a new medical frontier.  Patients and physicians are joining together in order to find the best possible treatments for undesirable medical maladies.  Medicinal marijuana is effective, affordable, easier to ingest, has minimal risks for side effects, and holds great promise for individuals to be able to maintain a more positive level of well being.  Many states have already approved legislation to support the use of medicinal marijuana and other states are pounding out the loose ends in order to afford its community members the same opportunity.  Marijuana is no longer viewed as the romanticized aphrodisiac portrayed in the Woodstock era, but rather it is of great importance to the vitality and health of many ailing persons.  Medicinal marijuana should be legalized as it is the ethical right of patients to have choices in the type of medical care and treatment received.