Some 81% of public now supports medical marijuana
. And yet, there are big controversies about medical marijuana in every state in which it’s legal.
One of the reasons for this is that there’s no agreed-upon definition of what constitutes medical use, and so we get skeptical reports and alarming stories about “fraud” and “abuse” when apparently healthy 20-somethings stand in line for their scandalous “green cards”.
(I’ll set aside the fact for now that there really are some young adults who show no outward signs of illness but truly suffer from horrible disorders from which marijuana provides some relief.)
There is no solid definition of “medical use” because it’s a continuum, or scale, not an either/or contrast.
At one end of the medical use spectrum, you find proven medical benefits like:
- ocular pressure reduction for glaucoma,
- appetite improvement for wasting syndrome,
- reduction in spasms in MS patients,
- reduction of epileptic seizures,
- chronic pain relief, including migraines,
- preventing and treating cancerous tumors
But should we ignore relief from PMS, PTSD, mild anxiety, depression, and insomnia that marijuana can provide? Or alcoholism?
Taking it a step further, if someone uses marijuana for, shall we say, spiritual introspection, or to enhance their experience of art, exercise, poetry, cinema, food, or sex, are these not therapeutic uses that improve people’s lives? And are there not real health benefits to be had just from laughing and having fun?
Dennis Peron, the “father of the medical marijuana movement”, once said that “all use is medical“.
These things aren’t defined by laws (nor could they be, really), so as long as we have “medical marijuana” on the books, there will be hand-wringing and consternation about “abuse” and “legitimacy”.
A legal regulated market for all adults solves this problem.
By removing medical status as a precondition for legal marijuana use, we will eliminate ambiguity while continuing to protect those individuals who use marijuana to treat their illnesses.
The public generally agrees. It’s just a matter of time and hard work by NORML and other organizations to get us from here to there.
Totally agree with your observations regarding stress, anxiety, depression and other emotional & psychological disorders. As someone who spent 20 years of his life on Rx anti-depressants and now uses only MJ for the same purpose, I can say that it is better for me than Serzone, Zoloft, Welbutrin, Buspar, Prozac. Better, and cheaper too. And it supports a different kind of economy, one that I respect a whole lot more than the chemically filthy process of Rx manufacture. Not a good thing to live downstream of the effluent from a drug making factory.
As your essay suggests, the added bonus is that this undercuts the arguments which say medical MJ is a stalking horse for full legalization.
More about about marijuana (THC) as cancer treatment here: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/145159/the_marijuana_cancer_cure_cult
I agree with you Charlie Foxtrot and I am also grateful for an alternative to Rx meds. Legalize it and regulate it for the public good.
The medical marijuana I have seen is grown for profit not medicinal value.. . I suspect it won’t be long before we end up with a drug.. . highly refined into toxicity.. . just like the pharmaceuticals.
Worst.. . there is no way to know that what we smoke and eat has been produced under sanitary conditions. You don’t know how much and or if insecticide and chemicals were used .. . lets face it when someone is facing a crop loss or is pushing production to the max… . when money is involved there is no truth except that profit will come first.
I would really like to see the profit motive taken out of what we call medical marijuana and a mechanism that assures that it is produced with the patient best interest foremost.
Free the Weed
What a mess you have caused Michael Smith…….
By the way, I see your locations are dwindling. Helena, what happened to Helena? And where are all of these collectives you boast of? Are they leaving you/your mouth in the dust?
I thought you were the KING of medical marijuana?
Turns out you were just the buffoon that I predicted. Bloviating on your soapbox all over the state like a nitwit.
Readers; Please do not associate Michael Smith and The Healing Center with the general demographic of patients involved in the program. He is known to the masses as a “buffoon”
“But should we ignore relief from PMS, PTSD, mild anxiety, depression, and insomnia that marijuana can provide? Or alcoholism?”
Please don’t lump PTSD into this statement. The disorder is linked to traumatic events beyond normal human experience. Medical marijuana is extremely beneficial to the myriade of symptoms PTSD victims experience. Specially those with combat related PTSD. It is a horrible disabling disorder that if left untreated can alter ones own brain chemistry and hardwire the trauma to one’s brain. Marijuana can replace the large amount of drugs often prescribed to counter each behavior associated with PTSD.
The problem is clueless legislatures arguing their personal prejudices with half truths and assumptions, rather than fact. Now individual localities are interferring with the voice of the voters. I am in favor of being able to grow and limiting patients per caregiver. This should not become legal pot dealing for profit.
FREE THE WEED
Medical marijuana is legal in 14 states.