Medical Marijuana is, on balance, an effective medicine

The evidence for my case will be mainly in my rebuttals; if not solely done there. The effectiveness of marijuana—a hoax? My opponent makes a two pronged attack: first, medical marijuana has few, if any, benefits; and second marijuana’s smoke aspect makes the drugs costs outweigh the (in his argument) small benefits. I will refute these accordingly. a) Marijuana has few benefits – status: false This argument is simply false. There is mounting evidence to the contrary, that medical marijuana has a plethora of benefits. Even though the NIDA and other organizations have attempted to block medical marijuana research, it still seems to get published. A 2010 study by the University of California, using methodology that meets the standards of the FDA, has found marijuana should be a first line treatment for those with neuropathy illness. What is also interesting is a plethora of other studies replicate these findings, and the AMA (which my opponent noted in 1987 opposed medical marijuana) is actively considering removing it as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and may possibly change their opinion on the issue. Yes, that’s how much evidence has occurred since 1987 proving my opponents assumption quite weak [1]. Further, research by German scholars has obtained similar results as the University of California study. Since 2005, 37 studies with strong methodologies (that usually exceeds FDA standards) have strongly supported the medical marijuana benefit theory [2]. 37 studies showing success is actually much more than most of our drugs; indeed, most FDA approved drugs have far fewer studies and trials supporting their benefits. It seems as though the failure to accept these studies is likely ideological. Further, other studies from Californian professors have been set up by the University of California Medicinal Cannabis Research center overwhelmingly support the conclusion that medical marijuana has large benefits. Starting out asking whether or not marijuana is helpful, their research now is more on the side of how large are these benefits. Although they welcome dissenting opinion, the research strongly indicates marijuana is a strong pain killer, cancer fighter, and is capable of healing many diseases we never would have expected when the Center was created. The Center noted in a brief presented in front of the California legislature, they presented multiple studies, but one that jumped out to me was marijuana’s effectiveness as a pain killer: 46% of the respondents in the study reported marijuana to reduce their pain by 30%. There is also growing evidence that marijuana helps cure cancer and other diseases [3]. Let’s look into history as well. Ancient China is known for using medical marijuana in its medical practices, and many other ancient countries (India, and the Middle East) were also known for using hemp for medical purposes. Recent studies claim medical marijuana relieves pain, this should be of no surprise; Chinese doctors reported their patients to have painless surgery when using cannabis medicines. Also on a side note: the Iliad references cannabis usage. There is undeniable proof that marijuana is a pain killer, and a cure or many diseases, based on historical texts [4]. My opponent cites a colleague who is healing cancer without marijuana. And that’s great, but irrelevant. I am not saying you need medical marijuana to heal cancer, for example: I would not use it because I am asthmatic. There are many other reasons. But marijuana can speed the process. It’s like saying Advil is not helpful because I got rid of a headache without it. Well, yes, you did, but that does not mean Advil would have been helpful in the process. Needing a substance (or the ability to use it for certain parts of the population) is irrelevant to its effectiveness. b) The smoke outweighs the benefits – status: false The smoke is obviously not good for you, but its harms are likely exaggerated. The only harm that the Institute of Medicine 1999 report could identify was the loss of psychomotor performance, which means the patients should merely avoid motor equipment [5]. Further, animal studies find the amount of THC needed to be a fatal dose is almost impossible to consume, making the chance for overdose unlikely. It has also been noted when taking the prescribed dosages of marijuana; the chance of getting lung cancer is actually slightly lower because marijuana kills cancerous cells, which includes lung cancer cells. Most diseases marijuana supposedly causes (though it is unproven) have more evidence that it cures them, not exacerbates the problem [6]. Indeed, the marijuana – cancer link is deteriorating in the science, and evidence is starting to show marijuana has no linkage to cancer [7]. And I reiterate: with no evidence that marijuana causes cancer, and evidence showing it cures it, there is little reason to think my opponent’s argument is correct. CONCLUSION: My opponent offers a thesis that marijuana has few benefits and the smoking aspect does more harm than good. Although smoking likely has some health hazards (especially for asthmatics and pregnant women), the hazards aren’t large enough to disqualify marijuana as a medicine. Other pain killers harm other organs, so even if it is proven marijuana smoke is deadly in the long run it does not mean marijuana as a medicine is bad. If we were to say “marijuana hurts people, ban it” then almost every prescription medication would need to be banned. Those medicines benefits outweigh their harms; I have proven the same applies to medical marijuana. Due to the fact robust research proves my side [1][2][3][5][6], I urge a vote for pro. 1. . http://norml.org... 2. . http://www.cannabis-med.org... 3. . http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu... 4. . http://druglibrary.org... 5. Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr. , and John A Benson, Jr. , "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999). 6. . http://www.drugwarfacts.org... 7. . http://healthland.time.com...