The
dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, commonly known as marijuana, is a
widely recognized drug and its illegal status has been debated to a greater
extent. For many years, the cannabis plant was used in the US for therapeutic purposes to ail diseases such as
glaucoma, AIDS, cancer and chronic pain. But in 1937, under the “The Marijuana
Tax Act”, its use and availability was brought to an end.
Some people argue that its availability is a threat
to people because it will attract individuals due to its addictive nature and would
end up being used for purposes other than medicinal. However, these people fail
to consider the fact that alcohol and tobacco, also intoxicating substances,
are widely used for recreational purposes even though they are known and proven
to have a great deal of negative effects if overdosed. Yet, they are legal and
freely available in most countries.
Mathre,
in his book “Cannabis in Medical Practice”, gives the example of Corinne
Millet, a glaucoma patient, who was made to believe in the dangers of marijuana
from an early age. However, when her ophthalmologist lost all hope and was sure
that she would lose her sight within three years as none of the medical
treatments or surgeries had worked on her, Corinne with the support of her
physician gained access to marijuana and through its therapeutic use managed to
save her sight.
Since its
medicinal benefits are greater than the costs, it should be legalized to an
extent that it is only made accessible to doctors who use it strictly for
medical purposes.
In my opinion legalisation of Marijuana will open the door for greater abuse of the drug. While its true that that Marijuana has medicinal purposes keeping a check on its use would prove difficult. Regulation authorities would have to be developed which may also be expensive.
ReplyDeleteDespite the drug being illegal it is being produced in several countries around the world, including the US. This shows the difficulty to monitor what is already illicit, imagine the implications once its legalised.
Way too many deaths are caused by alcohol and tobacco than by marijuana. And yet alcohol and cigarettes continue to sell because they have powerful lobbies and are a huge source of revenue for governments. I think there is no harm in legalizing marijuana, since it has medicinal benefits and legalizing it can bring money to governments in the form of indirect taxes on it.
ReplyDeleteMahnoor -I agree to the points raised by you but i would like to reiterate that i am in favour of legalizing it so that it is only available for medicinal purposes, not to the general public.
ReplyDeleteIn support of medicinal marijuana - interesting post Laila! Many places in the U.S. have made it legal for medicinal purposes. Here in Pakistan, I don't think there is a whole lot of enforcement capability to prevent people from smoking marijuana if they want to.
ReplyDeleteNow, if we were to legalize it for medicinal purposes only, I say tax the hell out of it. I feel the same way about tobacco. But I think alcohol should be banned. And Ali hit the nail on the head that powerful lobbies back alcohol and tobacco, which is why they remain legal while marijuana is not.
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