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Marijuana is a word carrying a lot of weight, especially in an extremely political year. For most, the word marijuana brings negative connotations, as it is, without question, a drug. Unfortunately, even when marijuana is presented with “medical” in front of it, these same people refuse to look past the surface.
With a new campaign created by the drug’s supporters taking effect soon, backlash from a wide variety of naysayers is nearly guaranteed.
The negative connotation associated with
marijuana needs to be dropped if we are to move forward as a society, at
least when looking at the drug’s medicinal properties.
The legalization of recreational marijuana and the legalization of medicinal marijuana are two different topics for good reason. When it comes to the latter, a bit of selflessness may be required, but it is selflessness going toward helping someone who may be in a great deal of pain.
The medical use of the drug even goes further than this, with a study from Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University showing use of the drug caused a decrease in tumor size in some breast cancer patients. Medical marijuana has the power not only to ease pain, but to potentially save lives.
Interestingly, marijuana garners a lot of attention when it comes to the war on drugs, but there seems to be a welcomed presence of ignorance when it comes to many other popular drugs.
Any coffee fans out there? According to a study conducted by Villanova University, an average of 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine in some form every single day, making caffeine America’s most popular drug by a longshot.
It sounds strange to call caffeine a drug, but when you look at how it affects a college campus, it is almost impossible to deny caffeine its true label.
Unless 90 percent of Americans are against marijuana, there is a great number of people who are hypocrites.
Those who argue caffeine is a much safer option than the dreaded marijuana should do a bit of research.
Both very rarely cause death, but according to the Mayo Clinic, it only takes about 500 to 600 milligrams of caffeine to cause side effects such as insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, an upset stomach, a fast heartbeat and even muscle tremors. With the average caffeine intake in America at about 350 milligrams, equivalent to two cups of coffee, many of us are not too far off from experiencing these side effects.
Even with these facts, there is still a large group adamant on ridding marijuana from the public mind entirely. The word medical is still ignored with this group.
We often ignore newly found facts when looking at modern controversial topics in order to stay on a path we have felt comfortable with for decades. Comfortability is not an inherently bad term, but sometimes stepping outside of our comfort zone is necessary.
Legalizing medical marijuana does not mean everyone will be smoking pot. It is only a small step toward the inevitable, and will help ease the pain those with incurable illnesses feel.
There will certainly be those who use the drug recreationally, but this risk is minimal compared to the possible benefits.
Again, these are things we are unable to research further until some sort of large scale use is put into effect.
So, the next time a petition comes your way, or the next time you have the option to cast a vote, take these things into consideration. It is one of the many opportunities we have as citizens in America to make a noticeable difference.
Marijuana is a word carrying a lot of weight, especially in an extremely political year. For most, the word marijuana brings negative connotations, as it is, without question, a drug. Unfortunately, even when marijuana is presented with “medical” in front of it, these same people refuse to look past the surface.
With a new campaign created by the drug’s supporters taking effect soon, backlash from a wide variety of naysayers is nearly guaranteed.
The legalization of recreational marijuana and the legalization of medicinal marijuana are two different topics for good reason. When it comes to the latter, a bit of selflessness may be required, but it is selflessness going toward helping someone who may be in a great deal of pain.
The medical use of the drug even goes further than this, with a study from Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University showing use of the drug caused a decrease in tumor size in some breast cancer patients. Medical marijuana has the power not only to ease pain, but to potentially save lives.
Interestingly, marijuana garners a lot of attention when it comes to the war on drugs, but there seems to be a welcomed presence of ignorance when it comes to many other popular drugs.
Any coffee fans out there? According to a study conducted by Villanova University, an average of 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine in some form every single day, making caffeine America’s most popular drug by a longshot.
It sounds strange to call caffeine a drug, but when you look at how it affects a college campus, it is almost impossible to deny caffeine its true label.
Unless 90 percent of Americans are against marijuana, there is a great number of people who are hypocrites.
Those who argue caffeine is a much safer option than the dreaded marijuana should do a bit of research.
Both very rarely cause death, but according to the Mayo Clinic, it only takes about 500 to 600 milligrams of caffeine to cause side effects such as insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, an upset stomach, a fast heartbeat and even muscle tremors. With the average caffeine intake in America at about 350 milligrams, equivalent to two cups of coffee, many of us are not too far off from experiencing these side effects.
Even with these facts, there is still a large group adamant on ridding marijuana from the public mind entirely. The word medical is still ignored with this group.
We often ignore newly found facts when looking at modern controversial topics in order to stay on a path we have felt comfortable with for decades. Comfortability is not an inherently bad term, but sometimes stepping outside of our comfort zone is necessary.
Legalizing medical marijuana does not mean everyone will be smoking pot. It is only a small step toward the inevitable, and will help ease the pain those with incurable illnesses feel.
There will certainly be those who use the drug recreationally, but this risk is minimal compared to the possible benefits.
Again, these are things we are unable to research further until some sort of large scale use is put into effect.
So, the next time a petition comes your way, or the next time you have the option to cast a vote, take these things into consideration. It is one of the many opportunities we have as citizens in America to make a noticeable difference.
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