Marijuana Should Be Legal For Medicinal Purposes

I hope I will be able to exhibit the same courteous speed as my opponent throughout the duration of this debate. Concerning the contentions presented by DoctorDeku, he has raised various alleged side-effects of marijuana, some of which are true, most of which are false, and all of which I hope to address; therefore, I shall attempt to tackle each alleged side-effect one by one:Heart Disease:The claim that marijuana causes or contributes to heart disease is simply incorrect. In fact, . http://www.pubmed.gov... has reported that "a large cohort study showed no association of marijuana use with cardiovascular disease hospitalization or mortality [1]. "Immune System Deficiency:Just as heart disease, the claim that marijuana use results in immune system deficiency is unsupported by any conclusive evidence. A review by Dr. Leo Hollister states that "the evidence [on immune suppression] has been contradictory and is more supportive of some degree of immunosuppression only when one considers in vitro studies. These have been seriously flawed by the very high concentrations of drug used to produce immunosuppression. The closer that experimental studies have been to actual clinical situations, the less compelling has been the evidence [2]. "Moreover, . http://www.norml.org... has stated:"The immune suppression issue was first raised in research by the notorious cannabophobe Dr. Gabriel Nahas, but a flurry of research by the Reagan administration failed to find anything alarming. The recent discovery of a cannabinoid receptor inside rat spleens, where immune cells reside, raises the likelihood that cannabinoids do exert some sort of influence on the immune system.2 It has even been suggested that these effects might be beneficial for patients with auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Nevertheless, not a single case of marijuana-induced immune deficiency has ever been clinically or epidemiologically detected in humans [3]. "Birth Defects:Again, there is no conclusive evidence demonstrating that marijuana use results in birth defects. As . http://www.norml.org... states:"While experts generally recommend against any drug use during pregnancy, marijuana has little evidence implicating it in fetal harm, unlike alcohol, cocaine or tobacco. Epidemiological studies have found no evident link between prenatal use of marijuana and birth defects in humans (National Academy of Sciences Report, pg. 99). A recent study by Dr. Susan Astley at the University of Washington refuted an earlier work suggesting that cannabis might cause fetal alcohol syndrome [4]. "Schizophrenia:Currently there are differing opinions among the scientific community as to whether or not marijuana can result in psychotic symptoms later in life. For example, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Dr. Jason Schiffman reported in an article published in Psychiatric Research that "The onset of schizotypal symptoms generally precedes the onset of cannabis use. The findings do not support a causal link between cannabis use and schizotypal traits [5]. "Many other medical professionals also express sincere doubt concerning the link between marijuana use and psychotic symptoms [6]; therefore, the evidence is not at all conclusive enough to establish my opponent's point. Paranoia:As I said in my round 2 post, I agree that marijuana does possess some undesirable side-effects -- paranoia is one of them; however, given the significant advantages marijuana presents, I submit that such a side-effect presents only a minor disadvantage; individuals should be able to decide for themselves whether or not such a side-effect renders marijuana unreasonable for personal medicinal use. Memory Loss:Short-term memory loss is also another minor downfall of marijuana use; however, marijuana also ironically helps prevent Alzheimer's [7]. Cancer:In my research, the only thing I could find which supported the claim that marijuana causes cancer was the fact that inhaling smoke while using the substance can potentially cause lung cancer; however, there are many alternative ways of consuming marijuana which do not involve smoke -- as such, I believe this point is moot; moreover, as I stated in the previous round, there exists an abundance of evidence to suggest that marijuana use actually helps prevent the spread of various cancers. As to my opponent's assertion that marijuana cannot be employed for long term use, as it "impairs the body's ability to fight off infections in the lungs by debilitating the body's Lymphocytes," the same answer applies; to my knowledge, such a consequence of marijuana use is only the result of smoke inhalation. Alternative methods of cannabis consumption make my opponent's point invalid. Marijuana is only an Anesthetic:As I believe I've clearly demonstrated in my last post, there exists numerous authoritative studies which have been conducted both by medical institutes and universities alike that have discovered and documented a multitude of medicinal benefits resulting from marijuana use. Moreover, the sources my opponent provides to support his assertion that marijuana only serves as an anesthetic are completely irrelevant. His first source only explains what an anesthetic is -- to my knowledge, marijuana is not mentioned at all. Moreover, the second source my opponent provides doesn't at all state that marijuana is only an anesthetic; rather, it asserts that marijuana helps with pain, muscle spasm, muscle tension, vomiting, nausea, insomnia, and loss of appetite; therefore, the sources use by my opponent only help to strengthen my position. Marijuana is Addictive:According to Psychology Today, the most unbiased studies conducted on the subject of marijuana reveal that only about 9% of users will develop a serious addiction [8]. This number is extremely insignificant, especially considering that many legal prescription medications are known to be addictive [9]. Individuals should be entitled to evaluate the risks and make a personal choice concerning any medication, including marijuana. Marijuana is a Gateway Drug:No conclusive evidence has ever been presented to demonstrate the claim that marijuana serves as a gateway drug. In fact, . http://www.norml.org... states:"There is no scientific evidence for the theory that marijuana is a 'gateway' drug. The cannabis-using cultures in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America show no propensity for other drugs. The gateway theory took hold in the sixties, when marijuana became the leading new recreational drug. It was refuted by events in the eighties, when cocaine abuse exploded at the same time marijuana use declined. As we have seen, there is evidence that cannabis may substitute for alcohol and other 'hard' drugs. A recent survey by Dr. Patricia Morgan of the University of California at Berkeley found that a significant number of pot smokers and dealers switched to methamphetamine 'ice' when Hawaii's marijuana eradication program created a shortage of pot. Dr. Morgan noted a similar phenomenon in California, where cocaine use soared in the wake of the CAMP helicopter eradication campaign. The one way in which marijuana does lead to other drugs is through its illegality: persons who deal in marijuana are likely to deal in other illicit drugs as well [10]. "Therefore, considering all of the above information, I again submit that marijuana is a safe, non-addictive drug which should be legalized for medicinal use. ________________________________________________________________________________________________[1] . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...[2] . http://norml.org...[3] Ibid. [4] Ibid. [5] . http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org...[6] Ibid. [7] . http://www.businessinsider.com...[8] . http://www.psychologytoday.com...[9] . http://www.drugabuse.gov...[10] . http://norml.org...