Lauren Brooks

April 11, 2015

Professor McBeth
English 1010
Position Synthesis
Marijuana as a Medicine

Marijuana has been legalized in many states. Why you ask? Although its illegal in
most states and can be bad for your health, marijuana has been found to help patients who
are suffering from the painful side effects of the drugs that are frequently used to treat
cancer. Marijuana has been shown to fight cancer cells and help manage the side effects.
Marijuana should be used as a legal drug to help patients.
Is medical marijuana really the best thing to be using on cancer patients?
Marijuana can help patients in many ways, as an alternative to cancer treatment; it also
relieves some of the other side effects from chemotherapy such as relieving pain,
vomiting, nausea and can even help to stimulate appetite. One additional and very helpful
effect is its ability to induce sleep. Whether it's dealing with the fact that a patient just
received the news that they have cancer or that a patient is not responding to treatment,
sleep can be a critical element to helping patients manage cancer treatment. (Medical
Marijuana, 2011)
Marijuana has been known to help with the treatment of many different types of
cancer. Several include cervical cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, prostate cancer, brain
cancer and breast cancer. (Pain management, 2014) Studies show that marijuana has
antibacterial properties that inhibit tumor growth. It can also block cell growth, which can
stop cancer from spreading throughout the body. In addition it also stops antiviral activity,

which helps with colds and other sicknesses that cancer patients are prone to getting.
Marijuana is also an anti-inflammatory, which patients find extremely helpful when they
are suffering through the ailments of cancer. (The science beyond the controversy, 2014)
Although marijuana is new to some people, it has been used for hundreds of
years. For example, in India and Europe there are written documents relating to the use of
marijuana in religious rituals that date back to more than 3,000 years ago. It has been
used to treat conditions such as beriberi, malaria, depression, insomnia, vomiting, tetanus
and coughs. It was first introduced to western medicine in the 19th century. In 1937 the
United States treasury began taxing marijuana at a dollar per ounce. (Marijuana a signal,
1972) In 1951 Congress passed the Boggs Act, which included marijuana as a narcotic
drug for the first time.
In Colorado Springs, Colorado, green crosses signify marijuana dispensaries,
which now easily out number Starbucks signs. Each storeowner grows at least 70 percent
of what they sell, putting huge emphasis on quality. Growers are forced to invest tens of
thousands of dollars in video surveillance for governmental and security purposes due to
the fact that all purchases must be made with cash only. (Medical Marijuana Licensing,
2013) From the growing rooms to the storerooms they monitor every pot and plant. Every
employee must enter each room of the store with a finger print pad. Using stores is much
safer than making alleyway deals on the streets. It helps enforce strong state rules for
safety. Stores can make up to 200 million dollars a year from following the rules and
enforcing safety precautions on each bag or bottle sold. (Medical Cannabis, 2006)
What part does the government play in safety and what profit will they make?
Currently medical marijuana can be sold on a cash only basis, which causes the need for

high security. The Federal government does not support marijuana, however, it still wants
the taxes from the marijuana profits. Because it is a cash only product it is susceptible to
crime. (Marijuana for Medical Purposes, 2014) Security of the product and the proceeds
are a serious concern. Because the government regulates this so tightly, the store that sells
the marijuana has to grow it and each plant has to be accounted for with tags. It
complicates the process of selling and growing. Also the strength of one product to
another varies due to different growers. It can also affect the quality from one product to
another. (American Civil Liberties, 2013)
Chemotherapy is an effective way to treat cancer it is proven effective and is also
legal. Surgery is also a good way to cure cancer. I disagree. Nothing is a sure cure.
Doctors can try these techniques and they may work. But so far nothing can completely
eliminate the nauseating side affects caused by cancer treatments. Marijuana is not a
complete cure for cancer however it can aid in making cancer patients more comfortable
while undergoing rigorous cancer treatments and can help them cope with the harsh side
effects that these treatments produce.
There are also types of cancers that we dont know a lot about yet. Marijuana is
raising concerns with parents, teachers, and the police who worry kids are becoming ill
from pot-infused cookies, sodas, etc. Marijuana is extremely addictive and can be
extremely dangerous for people who are careless while consuming this harmful drug. It
should be under strict regulation and only people with a license should be allowed to buy
this substance. People who are under the influence of marijuana should not do certain
things like drive, or be involved in any activities that could endanger himself or herself or
anyone else. We cannot control the variables of marijuana production. (Marijuana and

Medicine, 1999) It is difficult to dose, or determine how much one needs or what parts
are the same on each plant. There is no way to tell the quality of each plant, and the
strength of each plant. It is a very unpredictable drug and can have varying effects on
individuals. Lastly it is extremely expensive to produce. The rooms in which the
marijuana is grown are regulated with specific amounts of humidity and cooling. Each
store in River Rock, Colorado, spends about $22,000 on electrical bills each month.
(Effective arguments for medical marijuana, 2014)
Recently the son of a family friend started to have very violent and frequent
seizures. Marijuana has been found to help slow down the severity and frequency of
seizures. The boys parents werent sure how to help him, until they found out that
marijuana could help treat these seizures. Unfortunately, because marijuana is not legal in
Utah the family decided to take their son and move to Colorado so that he could use
marijuana to treat his life threatening condition. The family recently discovered that some
marijuana growers have been working on a way to remove the tetrahydrocannabinol or
THC. The reason they are doing this is because this is the part of marijuana that makes
people high and when it is removed, the marijuana is more effective in treating conditions
like this boys seizers. Another situation is with cancer patients, this new form of
marijuana without the THC, can effectively give relief of pain to people suffering with
different forms of cancer. I believe that if marijuana was manufactured more like a
pharmaceutical medication it would be legalized in more states. Because with the
removal of THC, the purpose of the drug would be for treatment rather than just a high,
as it is commonly used for now.
The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain,

nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses including multiple
sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs used to treat them. And it can do so
with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that
physicians prescribe every day. With the rising debate over the legalizing of marijuana
and its effectiveness to help cancer patients, this is a heated topic throughout the United
States and is a serious concern to doctors, parents and citizens. Although there are many
concerns ultimately we cannot deny what the research shows and what the patients want,
legalizing marijuana not only helps fight caner but helps with the side effects.

Works Cited

American Civil Liberties Union. The War on Marijuana in black and white. 2013.
Web. 9 April. 2015.

College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. Marijuana for Medical

Purposes. Cpsbc.ca 2014. Web. 9 April. 2015.

Effective Arguments for Medical Marijuana Advocates. Mpp.org Marijuana

Policy Project. 2014. Web. 9 April. 2015.

Gallagher, Dennis J. Medical Marijuana Licensing, Performance Audit.

Denvergov.org 2013. Web. 9 April. 2015.

Harper, Kevin. "Medical Marijuana Emerges From The Shadows." Public

Management (00333611) 97.6 (2015): 20-23. Business Source Premier.
Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Mack, Alison and Joy, Janet. Marijuana as Medicine: The Science Beyond he
Controversy. National Academy Press. 2014. Web. 9 April. 2015.

Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding. IowaMedicalMarijuana.org 1972. Web.

9 April. 2015.

Medical Cannabis and Scientific Research. Drugscience.org The Cannabis

Rescheduling Petition. 2014. Web. 9 April. 2015.

Merino, Noel. Medical Marijuana. Greenhaven Publishing. 2011. Web.9 April. 2015.

National Research Council. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base.
1999. The National Academies Press. Web. 9 April. 2015.

Pain Management. Pain Management of America. 2014. Web. 11 April. 2015.