The discussion concerning the issue of medical marijuana continues up to these days. Medical marijuana legislation has been passed in 14 states of the USA. The laws are controlled by the US government, so that it is still considered illegal to keep marijuana for purposes other than medical. The debate over the pros and cons of medical marijuana has recently reached its peak. The positive and negative aspects of this issue will be discussed as follows.
As for the advantages of medical marijuana, its legalization is claimed to be favorable for a great number of US citizens. It can be explained by several arguments. First, marijuana is claimed to be an effective medicine used for treating vomiting among others, especially in case a person undergoes chemotherapy in order to be relieved from pain caused by cancer. Second, marijuana is also used to relieve the symptoms of sclerosis, which proves the need for its legalization. Third, medical marijuana is successfully used to treat insufficient appetite as one of the symptoms of HIV/AIDS. Fourth, marijuana is an effective pain reliever, in which case it can be used to deal with pain caused by different diseases. These are the medical properties of marijuana, although there are some other positive aspects associated with this substance.
In fact, marijuana is considered to be a safer medicine than some others, which makes it an almost irreplaceable and universal reliever of various symptoms. What is more, numerous studies reveal that smoking of marijuana helps to mitigate the threat of lung cancer or at least does not encourage its development. In such a way, marijuana has a number of benefits being a very effective medicine. However, there are also negative properties of marijuana, even if it is used for medical purposes. Several arguments against medical marijuana are given further.
First, if to smoke marijuana too often, it can have a negative impact on the functioning of memory, especially short-term memory. Second, the thinking abilities are also affected by marijuana smoke. This can lead to serious impairments that are hard to deal with. Such deviations can become a problem for a person who smokes marijuana in excessive amounts, although such symptoms are not obvious in people who smoke this substance from time to time. Third, no matter whether a person smokes cigarettes or marijuana, the functioning of lungs can be severely damaged by the smoke only. Fourth, it is still not clear whether marijuana is really a powerful pain reliever. This aspect is still being studied by scientists and has not yet been proved. Fifth, smoking of marijuana may lead to addiction, which is one of the strongest arguments against medical marijuana. This can be explained by the fact that any substance, the consumption of which results in addictive behavior, is dangerous by its nature and should be avoided by all means.
Furthermore, it is claimed in some studies that marijuana smoke consists of certain dangerous elements that increase the likelihood of cancer development, although this argument is rather controversial as there is not enough evidence. Finally, smoking of marijuana in large amounts increases the probability of car crashes and various road accidents. Besides, it is one of the major causes of accidents at the workplace. All these arguments are meant to prove that apart from some positive aspects of medical marijuana and its legalization, there are also a number of negative sides that should be taken into account before making a final decision of whether marijuana should be legalized or not. Its legalization may lead to severe consequences and negatively affect the lives of numerous people. Thus, the question of marijuana legalization is still being actively discussed, while its pros and cons continue to be thoroughly investigated.