Medical marijuana is an issue that has been hashed over time and time again. No pun intended.
The other day, I was asked to sign a petition to get medical marijuana on the next ballot so the issue can be voted on. At the time, I didn’t have a stance one way or the other on its legalization, but I didn’t see a problem with putting the option out there.
The New York Times reported marijuana became legal for medicinal purposes in New Jersey earlier this month. Advocates for the legalization of the drug believe that, if regulated, there is no problem in helping people through their pain and suffering with doses of marijuana.
There have been studies showing an improvement in appetite and decrease in nausea for cancer patients in the process of chemotherapy, according to The New York Times.
As someone who has had a member of my family diagnosed with breast cancer, I found the point of marijuana as an appetite stimulant interesting and certainly sensible.
When my aunt was going through chemotherapy, her food tasted tinny. She continued to eat, because she knew she had to, but some people might not be willing to continue eating when their food tastes bad or when they’ve lost any trace of an appetite.
There are potential benefits for legalizing marijuana outside of the health realm, as well. If properly regulated and taxed, there could be a positive effect on the economy from revenue, according to The New York Times.
New Jersey plans to regulate marijuana by monitoring distribution similarly to other drugs, such as oxycontin, and limiting patients to two ounces per month.
A concern that opposition has stated is that demand is outweighing supply. Mike McPhee and Victoria Barbatelli wrote about the concern of international drug cartels in The Denver Post last October.
In San Miguel County in Colorado, Sheriff Bill Masters was concerned and confused about the increase of medical marijuana users in his county. Dispensaries in Colorado are supposed to have a limit of six plants each, but illegal dispensaries are reaching numbers far greater.
The dispensaries are not tracked in Colorado and since there were no limits placed on the number of patients who could receive the drug, about 13,000 people secured cards to purchase medical marijuana. Obviously, there are competition and security concerns.
Jairo Ortega, of Phoenix, opposes the legalization of marijuana, because he feels that people would use just about anything as an excuse to obtain the card necessary to get the drug. He himself, injured his leg a few years back, so he believes that he could complain about pain and get the drug easily.
A small amount of possible pain, he believes, is not a substantial excuse to be prescribed marijuana. Unfortunately, minimal pain and numerous other complaints that could be treated alternatively are likely to come up time and time again.
After delving into both sides of the issue, I have chosen my stance. I always felt weary being in favor of the drug. I mean, who hasn’t heard “Say no to drugs!” about a hundred times in his or her life or seen someone’s life get turned upside down because of a drug addiction?
However, knowing the medical benefits and knowing that this drug can help people in our lives affected by terrible diseases feel better, how can I not think outside of the “drugs are bad” box and be supportive?
Discuss with me at mmattox@asu.edu
