Resolved: The United States Federal Government Should Legalize Medical Marijuana.

This round dosen't call for rebuttals, so I will now state my case. Resolved: The United States Federal Government should legalize Medical Marijuana. As Pro, I will be giving the voters substantial arguments and proof that Medical Marijuana does more good than bad. In my argument, we will not only look at the medical aspect, but how Medical Marijuana helps the economy. C.1 Health Benefits of Medical Marijuana There are many ill and terminally ill people in this world. Allot of them suffer due to the lack of money to buy proper medication in which they need, because prescriptions can be pretty costly. As stated in my definition of Medical Marijuana (Marijuana used to relieve pain and treat disease.) It has been proven that Medical Marijuana can relieve pain. Chronic Nerve Pain According to WebMD (A medical website)A Canadian team has found that [1] " Three puffs a day of cannabis, better known as marijuana, helps people with chronic nerve pain due to injury or surgery feel less pain and sleep better" You are probably thinking this may be some made up scenario, but it's not. According to Mare Ware a M.D, he states [1] "About 10% to 15% of patients attending a chronic pain clinic use cannabis as part of their pain [control] strategy" Not only did he give us this information, but he also conducted a test on 21 men & women (average age 45) who suffer from chronic pain. He found that: [1] After each of the five-day trials, participants rated their pain on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the worst. The highest dose, 9.4%, provided relief, Ware says. "They reduced their pain down to 5.4," Ware says. "Those on placebo were at 6.1." Although that difference may seem modest, 'any reduction in pain is important," Ware says. The concentration of 9.4%, Ware says, is lower than that found in marijuana on the street. "On the street, it's 10% to 15% THC, more or less," he says. "We've shown again that cannabis is analgesic," Ware says. "Clearly, it has medical value." Side effects were reported, including headache, dry eyes, numbness, cough, and a burning sensation in the area with pain. The cannabis relieves pain, Ware says, by 'changing the way the nerves function." As you can read by the definition, Medical Marijuana can be used to relieve pain. Here is proof that is does actually lessen the pain with those who suffer chronic nerve pain. Cancer Medical Marijuana has also been proven to either 1. Cure some types of cancer 2.Slow down the caner or 3.Relive pain and nausea caused by chemotherapy. Don't just take my word for it though. According to Canger.org, Medical Marijuana is actually beneficial and helpful to cancer patients. [2] There are 2 chemically pure drugs based on marijuana compounds that have been approved in the US for medical use. Dronabinol (Marinol®)" is a gelatin capsule containing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that’s approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy as well as weight loss and poor appetite in patients with AIDS......Based on a number of studies, dronabinol can be helpful for reducing nausea and vomiting linked to chemotherapy." "Dronabinol has also been found to help improve food intake and prevent weight loss in patients with HIV. In studies of cancer patients, though, it wasn’t better than placebo or another drug (megestrol acetate)." "Nabiximols has shown promise for helping people with cancer pain that’s unrelieved by strong pain medicines, but it hasn’t been found to be helpful in every study done. Research is still being done on this drug." As you can see, Medical Marijuana helps reduce symptoms of cancer. We all know that chemotherapy is a dreadful process and tends to make the patient even sicker. Medical Marijuana can only help these people who suffer with these symptoms, so what's the harm in that? [2] So, how can How can marijuana affect symptoms of cancer? "A number of small studies of smoked marijuana found that it can be helpful in treating nausea and vomiting from cancer chemotherapy." "A few studies have found that inhaled (smoked or vaporized) marijuana can be helpful treatment of neuropathic pain (pain caused by damaged nerves)." "Smoked marijuana has also helped improve food intake in HIV patients in studies." "There are no studies in people of the effects of marijuana oil or hemp oil." "Studies have long shown that people who took marijuana extracts in clinical trials tended to need less pain medicine." "More recently, scientists reported that THC and other cannabinoids such as CBD slow growth and/or cause death in certain types of cancer cells growing in laboratory dishes. Some animal studies also suggest certain cannabinoids may slow growth and reduce spread of some forms of cancer. " So why shouldn't we legalize it when it's been shown to comfort people with deadly diseases? I mean even the Cancer foundation even recognizes it as a humongous help because it can kill cancer, slow it down, and most importantly, comfort and relive pain of the patient. Now that we have focused some on the medical aspects, let's take a look at how Medical Marijuana can boost the economy. How Medical Marijuana is beneficial to the economy. So, it may be hard to believe, but Medical Marijuana can help and boost the economy. [3]https://halcyonorganics.com... -Increase Revenues Without Tax Increases- "Cannabis is a $25+ billion dollar industry. Currently, all of those revenues go directly to cartels and criminal gangs. Through regulation and taxation, we can transform these black market billions into taxable revenues. This new income can bolster our state economy without raising taxes on main street." Decrease Government Spending "Cannabis prohibition is expensive. Harvard economist, Jeffrey Miron, estimates that state and federal governments spend an excess of $20 billion per year fighting this little green plant. Much of this cost comes from burdening our justice system, wasting law enforcement’s time, and using $125/day of taxpayer money incarcerating cannabis offenders. To add insult to injury, these efforts continue to fail as cannabis is more available than ever before." Fortify Infrastructure and Social Programs "Applying the increased revenues with the decreased expenses caused by medical cannabis legalization yields a net gain in the billions. This ‘new’ money can be used to fortify our many distressed and underfunded public works programs like the lagging education system, build new roads that reduce traffic and increase Social Security and Medicare benefits for our seniors." Weaken Criminal Organizations "How do gangs and cartels have the same weapons that our military uses? Why do drug dealers drive $100,000 cars? Because selling illicit drugs is a wildly lucrative and untaxed business. Legalizing and regulating medical cannabis will take this profit center away from murderous criminals and transfer it to licensed and regulated businesses. By taking these revenues from organized crime, we can significantly weaken them financially. Additionally, we will be able to control how and to whom medical cannabis is dispensed by setting responsible standards to which businesses must adhere. Liquor stores ID customers, drug dealers do not." As you can see, legalizing Medical Marijuana will not only help those who suffer from illness, but it also helps boost the economy. It's quiet clear that the positive, outweighs the harm. Sources [1] http://www.webmd.com... [2] http://www.cancer.org... [3] https://halcyonorganics.com...