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Kelly Reid
Dean Leonard
English 1201
7 July 2019
Marijuana is a heated debate sweeping the nation in the past few years, but lately due to
new legalization people have begun to consider the potential benefits of using this drug. It is a
major shift in culture from, in the past, believing this drug to be dangerous and harmful and
therefore illegal, to present day where people are using marijuana to treat a medical issue. How
did the nation’s norms change so drastically in a couple of years? Has marijuana truly benefited
the lives of Americans? The answer is it has. It is true at first the acceptance of this dramatic
change in discoveries can be difficult to believe or understand, but the truth is the truth. The
benefits of using marijuana in the medical field greatly outweigh the risks; however this
information is not only not spread throughout the nation, but also not usually accepted. Although
many people believe the use of marijuana to be dangerous, recent studies have disproven these
previous beliefs, while revealing new information regarding the benefits of using this drug in the
The illegalization of marijuana started in the early 1900s and since then little has changed
regarding the negative connotation on the drug. However, in recent years more and more people
are learning about the benefits of this drug. The only problem is the research on this drug is so
far very minimal due to the drug being illegalized for such a long period of time. The first state
to allow marijuana to be used for medical use was California and from there many states have
followed. There are only three states, now, that do not allow marijuana to be used for any use.
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These states are Idaho, South Dakota, and Nebraska. In addition to that many states are not
actively funding for more research to be done to determine new benefits of this drug. Therefore
more studies need to be done to understand to what degree marijuana can positively affect the
health of patience and is marijuana should be used recreationally as well. Again, even though
marijuana has been legalized for medical use for many years, there has not been extensive
research to demonstrate a “limit” of this drug, therefore recreational use cannot and should not be
legalized. However, the research of this drug has clearly shown the use of medical marijuana can
For many years, Americans have believed that marijuana is a very dangerous drug
because it impedes brain development and causes memory loss. Because of this theory the entire
nation had strayed away from this drug causing less people to continue research. This paper was
published by Madeline Meir and claimed that the use of marijuana before the brain was fully
developed or before the age of 21, correlated with a decline of an average of 8 IQ points by their
middle-aged years. At first no one questions this study and this information continued to spread
throughout the nation, affecting the opinions of each citizen, causing many people to believe this
However, new research has shown that Meir’s findings to be greatly exaggerated and had
many errors. First, the differences in IQ points found in the study correlated with the difference
in the socioeconomic status of each participant, which as we know, can cause the IQ difference
without any correlation to the use of marijuana. In regards to this the Duke Team continues to
prove disbelief of this study and suggests that not only has this study most likely been greatly
exaggerated, but potentially, the effect the use of marijuana has on IQ could be zero.
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Many researchers since have tried to recreate this study and have not been able to
proven false. This chart explains which part of the body can be affected my marijuana
and therefore how it can benefit from using this drug.
Marijuana can be used to
benefit patients suffering from many diseases due to the side effects of this drug. At first, the
idea of using this “dangerous” drug to actually help diseases many of us are suffering from was a
very strange and often rejected idea, but after many years marijuana has proven to have many
positive uses in medicine. An article published by the National Institute on Drug abuse titled
Marijuana as Medicine describes the main side effects of THC, the active ingredient in
marijuana, to be “an increase of appetite and reduced nausea” along with “decrease in pain,
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inflammation, and muscle control problems.” These are some of the most common side effects of
diseases that many people suffer from every day that can be treated with marijuana.
Another major disease that may be treated by marijuana is cancer. Many people are using
marijuana to help during chemotherapy to decrease the side effects of the treatment. The
Washington Post published an article, Marijuana Health Claims Lure Patients as Science
Catches Up, which claim many cancer patients who have decided to use marijuana to treat the
disease have reported “improvements in vomiting, pain, disturbed sleep, anxiety, and
depression with a few side effects.” It is not unknown the torture cancer patients must go through
during chemotherapy, as well as many other treatments for this disease. If marijuana could be
used for cancer patients in the future to help with their side effects, the struggles of these patients
The Food and Drug Administration has approved 3 cannabinoids according to the
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. One of which being Epidiolex
which is derived directly from marijuana. The major use for this drug is the “oral
solution for the treatment of seizures, associated with two rare, severe forms of
epilepsy.” More and more researchers have proven marijuana to be extremely helpful in
a variety of ways in the medical field with treatments ranging from anxiety to epilepsy.
Not only can marijuana help treat diseases suffered by many people throughout the
nation, but many people are starting to question whether or not marijuana can help solve the
nation’s opioid crisis as well. According to an article published by the New York Times, Can
Marijuana Help Cure the Opioid Crisis, statistics show “opioid misuse has declined in recent
years at the same time that cannabis use has been increasing, with many states liberalizing
marijuana laws.” It is no secret that the nation has struggled with opioid abuse in the past, but
with the use of marijuana brings new hope for the country.
Many people are hoping that the easier access to marijuana will cause less opioid
additions and therefore less overdose deaths. One of the most appealing qualities of marijuana is
that there has been no documentation of any death caused by an overdose of this drug. A journal
titled Clinical Psychology Review, described in an article labeled Marijuana: Good or Bad also
revealed that “using marijuana may help people with alcohol or opioid dependencies to fight
their addictions.’” By allowing marijuana to be more accessible, many lives that were going to
Marijuana has made a big jump being illegal across the nation to being legal for
recreational use in 10 states. However, marijuana still continues to face discrimination due to its
previous status. For many people, marijuana is still a drug that is considered dangerous and
should not be used, but this is because not everyone is giving all of the information. Not only is a
lot of the information outdated that these people still standby, but many people do like to change.
They do not like to accept change. It is very hard for many citizens to accept that morals and
norms are changing overtime. Because of this, many people will not allow themselves to fully
understand how beneficially marijuana can be. Common incorrect information still controls the
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idea of marijuana for a large amount of the population and sees this drug that is benefitting the
The connotation of marijuana is slowly and slowly changing overtime, but many people
do not see the light this drug can bring into the medical field. If people were able to accept
marijuana as the helpful drug it is, more people could be benefited from it. The people suffering
through chemotherapy, epilepsy, anxiety, and more can all be helped by this drug. This country
is turning towards marijuana and not away from it and slowly but surely learning what exactly
this drug has to offer and what exactly we can take advantage of to positively affect our health.
Some people claim that marijuana is a gateway drug. A gateway drug is practically a
stepping stone for people who do drugs. People argue that if you use marijuana for a while, you
will soon need something else to fill that need for a high, which can lead to opioids like heroin
that
This image shows at which point each state is in the legalization process of
marijuana ranging from completely illegal to legal for recreational use.
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can lead to overdoses. It is true there is no record of overdoses of marijuana, but there are claims
that marijuana can actually lead to other, more dangerous drugs that can in fact cause overdoses.
However, as mentioned earlier, statistics have shown a drop in opioid use as there is an increase
to the accessibility to marijuana. More people are choosing marijuana over opioids, not the other
way around. Like many other arguments against marijuana, this claim potentially makes sense,
but is not supported statistically. Therefore marijuana is still proven to be more beneficial than
harmful.
In conclusion, the benefits of marijuana outweigh any risks of using the drug. The drug is
especially useful in the medical field as it is proven to help treat many torturous diseases.
Marijuana is also helpful to decrease the nation’s opioid abuse crisis because many potential
opioid users are instead using marijuana and therefore are not able to overdose.
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Works Cited
Belville, Russ. “Which States Will Legalize Marijuana Next?” Weed News, 21 May 2017,
www.weednews.co/which-states-will-legalize-marijuana-next/.
visual.ly/community/infographic/health/benefits-medical-marijuana.
images.app.goo.gl/Av9b4R94EHnpDEei7.
Frakt, Austin. “Can Marijuana Help Cure the Opioid Crisis?” The New York Times,
www.nytimes.com/2019/06/17/upshot/marijuana-opioids-research-
Marijuana&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_
unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
visual.ly/community/infographic/health/benefits-medical-marijuana.
Johnson | AP, Carla K. “Marijuana Health Claims Lure Patients as Science Catches Up.” The
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/promise-of-marijuana-leads-
scientists-on-search-for-evidence/2019/06/07/254d71e2-894c-11e9-9d73-
e2ba6bbf1b9b_story.html?utm_term=.d09cf9adaeb4.
“Marijuana and Cannabinoids.” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health,
nccih.nih.gov/health/marijuana.
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More than half of U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana in
guides/medical-marijuana-faq.
www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine.
Railton, David. “What Are the Health Benefits and Risks of Cannabis?” Medical News Today,
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320984.php.
Serrano, Nikka, et al. “Latest Science Debunks Claim That Marijuana Significantly Harms
marijuana-significantly-harms-brain/.