Diana krizelle ManioLovely rose MoralesJesamy Ocbeña

MARIJUANA: AN HERBAL MEDICINE YET CONSIDERED ILLEGAL IN THE PHILIPPINES

Chapter IVDiscussion

Marijuana has been hailed as a prescription for many ills and physicians once used it to stimulate appetite, relieve chronic pain, and treat asthma and migraines.

Marijuana is a drug that is derived from the dried and cut leaves of the hemp plant known as "cannabis sativa". Marijuana has a variety of street names such as "grass", "Mary Jane", "pot", "smoke", "reefer", "herb", and "weed".

Grounds that must be considered for legalizing marijuana.

Legalizing marijuana would create a new multi-billion dollar with a substance that can be taxed by the government thereby generating more money to fund government programs and create more government jobs.The increased trade with marijuana producing nations would help to stabilize their struggling third world economies. Small businesses that sell marijuana would see increased profits which they have been needing since many former cigarette smokers are now quitting.

Alcohol and tobacco companies would be forced to push their products harder thereby dumping millions of dollars more into advertising. Televised anti-marijuana ads would be a thing of the past making room for other commercials to advertise their products.

With marijuana users no longer being jailed for possession lots of room would be opened up in our already overcrowded prison system for more hardened offenders such as: murderers, rapists, child molesters and other violent criminals. The judicial system would no longer be burdened by having to trial cases involving marijuana. The police will be able to allocate more resources to solving more violent crimes.

Reasons why the use of marijuana as an herbal medicine be legalized.

The controversy dealing with marijuana stems from the legalization of the drug for medical use. The written record on medicinal marijuana stretches back over 2,000 years. (Morgan, J. n.d. Marijuana Myths/Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence, n.pag.) Yet after hundreds of studies, experiments and reports, there is still no consensus about its effects. Wildly emotional arguments rage about whether or not marijuana should be considered a legitimate medicine. Can marijuana relieve health problems? Is it safe for medical use? Scientific data on controversial subjects are commonly misinterpreted, over interpreted, and misrepresented.

Marijuana plants have been used for both herbal medication and intoxication. The current debate over the medical use of marijuana is essentially a debate over the value of its medicinal properties relative to the risk posed by its use. Is there a possibility that the dying may be able to use marijuana as a form of pain relief? The controversy still reigns on within congress and the medical community.

One of the most important points to make in the debate about legalizing marijuana for medical use is the argument that the overwhelming data that exists to confirm the efficacy of medical marijuana to relieve pain caused by certain conditions, the arguments against the use of medical marijuana are based on speculation rather than hard fact. (Marshall, E. 1988. Legalization: A Debate. New York Chelsea House.)

Quite simply put, as this argument about medical marijuana suggests, not allowing those suffering from illnesses caused by diseases such as AIDS, chemotherapy-related malaise, and glaucoma, is a violation of their natural rights to live without pain. Pain and suffering should not have to be something one should live with simply because of a law that is only in place for different purposes. Instead, as this argument suggests, medical marijuana should be given more credence in the legal and sociopolitical sphere and should be an acceptable form of treatment and relief for qualified patients.

Perspective that must be considered in treating marijuana as an herbal medicine.

One of the greatest barriers facing the fight to allow the use of marijuana for vital medical purposes is general public perception. For instance, one critic of numerous state proposals to allow the drug for medical purposes states that as a country, “We cannot afford to further erode youth attitudes towards drugs by allowing marijuana to be falsely depicted as a safe drug and as effective medicine. Labeling marijuana as ‘medicine’ sends the wrong message to children that it is a safe substance”. The idea that marijuana is a dangerous drug that should not be openly condoned, particularly to children, is one created to deflect the attention away from the many proven benefits of medical marijuana.

It attempts to deny the possibility that for a small segment of the population suffering from painful and often chronic conditions such as cancer (and complications arising from chemotherapy treatments) as well as AIDS and glaucoma, a large population will somehow be affected.

It can be argued that to remedy the possibility that young people connect marijuana with medicine further and existing programs to educate children about the negative side of recreational use should be implemented. Still, despite this suggestion, this main claim against allowing special cases for medical marijuana use will somehow lead to widespread youth drug use is a fallacy-laden slippery slope argument without real validity. The scientific and medical evidence (which unlike counter-arguments) is not based on speculation concurs with the idea that marijuana has the potential to greatly assist those in need.

In short, the barriers preventing many people from experiencing relief from painful conditions are often based on speculation or go in with the notion that all drugs are essentially bad. These arguments ignore the many benefits of medical marijuana use and further ignore the suffering of others and their natural rights to relief and freedom from pain and suffering. While it is clear by the approval of synthetic forms of marijuana that federal regulatory agencies such as the FDA recognize the benefits associated with marijuana in a medical context, the “drugs are bad” stigma as well as faulty reasoning and logical fallacies are preventing many people from receiving the kind of important relief they need and seek.

Chapter VConclusion

and Recommendat

ion

Conclusion Marijuana has been one of the most misinterpreted,

over interpreted and misrepresented drugs used by the common people. Its usage has been branded illegal in several countries, disregarding the benefits, not only its users could get from it, but also the whole country and economy as well

For this reason, countless debates on marijuana and its effects onto its users and the fight for legalization of the drug have been made. Though efforts have been poured out onto their seemingly unending plight, marijuana still is considered illegal and is mistakenly discerned indifferent with any other drug that causes harm in the human populace.

Throughout the years, there have been three main reasons the proponents of the legalization of marijuana justify namely: legal, economic, and medical reasons; however, people concentrated and emphasized more on its medical use.

Written records of the medical use of marijuana have long been dated for thousands of years yet no agreement about its effects took place. Efficacy of medical marijuana to relieve pain caused by certain conditions such as AIDS, chemotherapy-related malaise, and glaucoma has been testified by the studies and researches done.

Aside from this, numerous studies for several decades regarding the medical use of marijuana, particularly in terms of its potential to increase appetite, help with sleep, and ease the general pain caused by the other conditions.

The fact is it has the potential to become one of the most useful substances in the entire world. If people took action and the government legalized it today, we will immediately see benefits from this decision. People suffering from illnesses ranging from manic depression to multiple sclerosis would be able to experience relief.

No recorded deaths have ever occurred as a result of marijuana use, it is not physically adictive like alcohol or tobacco, and most doctors will agree it is safer to use than those substances. Marijuana being illegal has no validity at all. Due to all the positive aspects of marijuana, as an herbal medicine, should be legalized in all countries.

Recommendation Further research and more resources about

marijuana as an herbal medicine are needed. Latest studies and discoveries made by science would be helpful so as to present a better argument on the legalization of marijuana. An interview with an actual marijuana-user, for better and realistic information on the effects of marijuana on a human person is also recommended. Likewise, someone who is conversant with the law, a lawyer, is suggested.