Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of marijuana as a therapeutic medication, and the legislation that involve in medicinal marijuana

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: Even though the medicinal benefits of marijuana have been noted for thousands of years, strong antimarijuana sentiment in the United States made it difficult until the 1970s to conduct an objective appraisal of its clinical applications. Early research in the effectiveness of marijuana to reduce intraocular (within the eye) pressure and dilate bronchioles in the lungs suggested uses as a possible therapy for glaucoma and asthma, respectively.

However, new prescription medications have been shown to be as effective as marijuana in the treatment of these disorders. Today the focus has turned toward the treatment of nausea and weight loss, conditions for which medications have been unsuccessful in offering significant relief.

Nausea and Weight Loss
Chemotherapy in the course of cancer treatment produces an extreme and debilitating nausea, lack of appetite, and loss of body weight, symptoms that are clearly counterproductive in helping an individual contend with from similar symptoms, as do those diagnosed with the
gastrointestinal ailment Crohn's disease. Under these circumstances, standard antiemetic (antivomiting) drugs are frequently ineffective. The beneficial effect of marijuana, specifically THC, as an antiemetic drug is an important application of marijuana as a medical treatment.50 This chapter's Portrait examines the present-day dilemma of turning to an illegal drug for medicinal purposes.

The use of marijuana as a therapeutic agent has distinct disadvantages. First, the typical administration through smoking presents, as described earlier, a significant health risk to the lungs. Second, because marijuana is insoluble in water, suspensions in an injectable form cannot be prepared. Since 1985, however, two legal prescription drugs containing THC or a variation of it have been made available in capsule form.

The Medical Marijuana Controversy
Even though Marinol and Cesamet are presently in use, U.S. federal authorities have resisted the reclassification of marijuana itself or of any other cannabis product from the Schedule I category of controlled substances (drugs that have no medical application) to the Schedule II category (which includes morphine and cocaine).

Only a handful of "compassionate use" applications have been approved, and the entire program for reviewing new applications was curtailed in 1992. Despite opposition from federal authorities, advocacy for the medical application of marijuana has grown considerably. Unfortunately, the facts about medical marijuana sometimes have been lost in a thicket of politics and opposing ideologies.

The federal Office of National Drug Control Strategy has emphasized the potential health risks of marijuana smoking and the imprecision of its administration as a justification for the continued prohibition of marijuana for medical purposes. The report concluded that, although smoked marijuana could not be recommend for long-term use, Short-term use appeared to be suitable for treating specific conditions, when patients failed to respond well to traditional medications. By mid-2010, fourteen U.S. States (Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington) had authorized marijuana smoking for the relief of pain and discomfort or the control of nausea and weight loss, when prescribed
by a physician. In New Jersey, tight restrictions on medical marijuana were established: Patients must suffer from specific diseases such as cancer and glaucoma and must demonstrate severe or chronic pain, nauseas, seizures, muscle spasms, or loss of weight or body mass.

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that "It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal." question of medical marijuana to the jurisdiction of the states without altering its official stance on a federal level that marijuana is a controlled substance without medical use. At the same time, it has signaled the requirement that the states set up regulations that limit marijuana use to legitimate medical circumstances. The regulations set up in New Jersey are likely to be a model for state approved medical marijuana legislation in the future.

The FDA has approved clinical testing of Sativex for potential sale in the United States. By providing a nonsmoking means of administration, this formulation circumvents arguments that medical marijuana smoking presents increased risks of smoking-related diseases.