Marijuana Should Be Legal For Medicinal Purposes

Heart Disease- The article my opponent links and quotes in refutation does not lead to a source where the content of his quotation can views. Whereas the Heritage foundation clearly shows that heart disease comes with prolonged exposure to marijuana. Furthermore even the American Heart Foundation[19] backs this claim with even more evidence on the matter. [19] . http://www.heart.org... To claim marijuana has no effect on the heart is the height of irresponsibility. Immune System Deficiency- I would like to point out the my opponents cited source for his immune system argument, Norml. org, is a source with the express purpose of legalizing marijuana. Furthermore he doesn't he link to the article he links to the site's homepage; whereas I have offered several qualified academic sources to suggest that long-term marijuana usage harms the body's T-Cells, especially in the lungs where blood is oxygenated. It wasn't Dr. Nahas that I cited to show the effects of marijuana on the immune system, it was a collaborative study headed by Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA director. The study explicitly stated that[20] "marijuana smoke does irritate the lungs and increases the likelihood of other respiratory problems through exposure to carcinogens and other toxins. Repeated exposure to marijuana smoke can lead to daily cough and excess phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, and a greater risk of lung infections. Marijuana also affects the immune system" [20] . http://www.drugabuse.gov... Birth Defects- Again my opponent cites the marijuana legalization advocacy group NORML; this evidence is biased and should not be preferred against the evidence the Con provides. Furthermore pregnant women should not partake of any manner of smoke related products. Marijuana can cause significant harm to a fetus just as cigarettes or alcohol can. From Otis Prenancy, "Marijuana contains about 400 different chemicals, and some marijuana cigarettes may contain other drugs or pesticides . .. one study reported an increased risk for heart defects among babies prenatally exposed to marijuana. [21]" [21] . http://www.otispregnancy.org... Finally I would like to point out to the voters that in my opponent's very own refutations he compares marijuana to the likes of alcohol and cocaine; I cannot stress this enough, but these are not medicine. Saying that marijuana is safer than cocaine is not a reason to use it in medicine. For recreational use, people should be able to do whatever they want; but in medical usage we shouldn't allow something because it's safer than cocaine. Schizophrenia and Paranois- I will group these two arguments; I will at this point respond the issue of empirically accountability civilly, but with urgency; My opponent has consistently make harsh empirical claims throughout this debate and linked to either an article from an unreputable or outright biased sourse; the refutation here comes from ProCon. org, and doesn't even link to a specific study. This is not an academic source and shouldn't be accepted on the basis of the preponderance of evidence against my prior cited sources which do indeed show a direct casual link between marijuana usage and psychosis of the brain[13] "This showed that the effects on individual brain regions were subtle, but brain waves across the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were completely disrupted. These two brain areas are vital for memory and decision-making, so the rats were no longer able to accurately navigate a maze. Both areas are also involved in schizophrenia. " Cancer- This refutation is wholly unacceptable. I offer legitimate evidence to warrant the arguments on marijuana's link to cancer, and my opponent simply claims that this was not what he found in his research. This argument is a drop from my opponent and should be directly extended. Anesthetic- By the preponderance of evidence my cited evidence shows that marijuana is indeed an anesthetic. Furthermore in my attacks of the Pro case I show by explicitly citing my opponent own sources that marijuana is only ever used in some regards to anesthesia; it numbs the body's pain which while it does relax the patient does nothing to treat their condition Look directly to my refutations of my opponent's arguments in the prior round. I cite Dr. Mbakwe saying, [16]". .. other medications, like methotrexate, treat the autoimmune disease at the root of the problem, and in turn can control pain and inflammation in combination with pain medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs . .. On the other hand, while marijuana may help with pain symptoms, it does nothing for the disease progression or organ damage" be mindful that this evidence was provided by Pro, not me; it is legitimate ans shows that marijuana has not medical benefit beyond anesthesia. Addictive- My opponent sources don't lead to the cited article, they lead to the main webpages of NIDA and Psychology Today; there is not empircal or unbiased study to follow in order to solidify my opponent's claims. Furthermore, a simply search of the NIDA website validifies my claim of addictiveness[22]. It states, "Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction; that is, people have difficulty controlling their drug use and cannot stop even though it interferes with many aspects of their lives. [22]" and " . .. marijuana accounted for 4.5 million of the estimated 7.1 million Americans dependent on or abusing illicit drugs.1 In 2009, approximately 18 percent of people aged 12 and older entering drug abuse treatment programs reported marijuana as their primary drug of abuse. .. [22]" [22] . http://www.drugabuse.gov... quite frankly I'm not sure what my opponent is attempting to cite. Gateway Drug-. NORML. org is again being utilized here. This evidence is biased and should be rejected. Aside from that my original argumen concerning marijuana as a gateway drugs referred to it as such because made a gateway for other drugs to come into the country[2]; it has opened a gateway for drug trafficking and crime to prosper and run rampant. This argument concerning crime was never addressed Now at the end of this rebuttal three things remain clear; - Marijuana is not a sustainable treatment for any manner of disease. The only function it serves in the medical community is an anesthetic one; even my opponent's evidence points to this truth. Any vote for the Pro would be irresponsible and place patients in harms way where there are plenty of alternatives to marijuana usage - Pro's refutation (as well as advocacy, which we'll get to in the next speech) concern themselves with marijuana on a recreational level. Not a medical level. All of the negative impacts I have provided, both through my constructive as well as my rebuttals have been met with responses of marijuana's relative safeness compared to such recreational drugs as alcohol as cocaine. Comparative safety to the likes of cocaine does not warrant usage in medicine. - The significant amount of harms associated with medical marijuana do not warrant it's sole usage as an anesthetic . I show such impacts as psychosis, immune system deficiency and heart disease which my opponent only meets with weak rebuttals from biased sources. These impacts must be acknowledged and we must be mindful of them; denying them for the sake of argumentation is irresponsible and could put lives at risk if voted on. I urge the voters to consider these issues; marijuana may be viable as a recreational drug, but should not be used in medicine where patients entrust their lives expecting to be taken care of. There are reasonable alternatives to marijuana.