The Argument in Favor of Medicinal Cannabis

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With cannabis being one of the most widely used illicit drugs on the planet; I have always wondered the purpose for the illegality of the plant. Dating all the way back to early periods in the ancient Chinese civilizations, cannabis has been used as a medicine to treat all kinds of aches and illnesses. In the world today, it is most common for people to use laboratory, chemically made prescription or OTC (over the counter) drugs for a variety of cures. The problem with this though is people are unaware of the harmful risks and side effects that come with the use of those drugs. Cannabis is a much safer, less addictive alternative to prescription medications, which can be taken in many forms to help treat many diseases and pains.
Prescription medications are becoming more and more of a problem the United States. Not only are these medications helping increase crime, drug abuse and even deaths in the country, they are tearing the nation apart. Since doctors prescribe medications and they have earned a doctorate degree practicing medicine, they are usually trusted by many patients and they take the medicine as prescribed. The thing most people don’t understand is if you don’t follow the prescription directly as ordered by your doctor, the medicine did not work the way it was supposed to. Pain medications are perhaps the most dangerous form of medicine, for the fact they come with the highest risk of addiction and overdose. When a patient is prescribed any type of pain medication, you must be careful to take only the amount prescribed by the doctor because not doing so could cause a dependency or overdose. If someone takes too much of a medicine, they could potentially overdose and could put their life in serious danger. I can’t spea...

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...ould make me want to change something about the problem. That also makes me wonder why Americans are taking so long to get the memo.
Cannabis is a much safer, less addictive alternative to prescription medications, which can be taken in many forms to help treat many diseases and pains.

Works Cited

“Colorado Laws & Penalties.” NORML: Working to reform marijuana law. NORML, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
“Drug Facts: Marijuana.” NIH: The Science of Drug Abuse & Addiction. NIH, Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
“Medical Marijuana.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2012.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
“Smoking and Tobacco Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014
Young, Saundra. “3-year-old is focus of medical marijuana battle.” CNN Wire 15 Jan. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

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