Medical Marijuana

IntroductionI would like to begin by thanking jamccartney for choosing to debate this topic with me once again. In our last debate ( http://www.debate.org... ) there were external factors that caused it to not be a very sophisticated debate. I was on vacation. The motel had horrible internet. Now after that debate has been completed, and our opinions have strengthened and we have matured, we can debate this again. I thank jamccartney again for accepting. Main Argument As you know, I am a supporter of marijuana usage for medical purposes. My opponent is not. Even after the last debate, I still do not understand how he can oppose it. My opinions have strengthened since then and I hope to persuade my opponent, the viewers, and the judges that my stance is the correct one.I will begin by defining what marijuana is. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, marijuana is "[t]he cannabis plant" or "[a] preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria." We will utilize both definitions in this debate. Why is this? Well, medical marijuana comes in all shapes and forms. It can be smoked, injected, eaten, or otherwise consumed by drinking or other methods. Marijuana can be used to successfully treat the following things: "1. Treatment for symptoms of AIDS 2. Glaucoma 3. Neuropathy (diseases affecting the nerves or nerve cells) Ex. epilepsy 4. Nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy 5. Pain caused by structural or psycho-physiological disorders 6. Muscular spasticity and limb pain (multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury) 7. Symptoms of movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome 8. Appetite stimulant for diseases of malnutrition (cachexia or starvation) 9. Nausea and vomiting (general) 10. Migraine headaches" Now, I believe my opponent is aware that marijuana is a drug not commonly connected with overdoses. I do not believe he has ever heard of an overdose of medical marijuana or addiction to it because neither have I or most people on this Earth. If he believes it is unsafe, he is not aware of the facts. My source says, "[t]he Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approved smoked cannabis for medical reasons. Although some aruge that this is a political decision, rather than a medical or scientific decision based on research and analysi, the FDA has approved two drugs, Marinol and Cesamet, for therapeutic uses in the U.S. These drugs contain active ingredients that are present in botanical marijuana but come in the form of a pill. Nonetheless, that the FDA has not approved smoked marijuana for any condition or disease seems rather short-sighted." One can easily be addicted to pills, tablets, serums, and other forms of medications, but medical marijuana is rarely a substance that is addicted to. I do not deny that marijuana, when used in a large amount, is damaging, but you are aware that medical marijuana overdoses and addictions are virtually unheard of, yes? In my previous debate about this topic, I said, "[h]owever, medical marijuana is the only known medicine today that can successfully diagnose epilepsy. [M]odern epilepsy medicines often fail and cannabis is often the better choice. It is virtually unheard of that there is a thing such as a marijuana overdose. It does not simply occur. However, overdoses can easily occur when taking pills, tablets, or serums." Marijuana, when abused and overused, will be termination instead of salvation. I argue, however, that medical marijuana can be salvation for victims of epilepsy and other such conditions when used properly. Marijuana, like other plants, of course, can be bred in order to have certain traits. Recreational marijuana makes you high and has no health benefits for the user. However, marijuana can be bred to have a low percentage of chemicals that cause you to be high and a high percentage of chemicals that affect the desired parts of the body in question. Marijuana has two main components: THC and CBD. CBD (cannabidiol) will reduce brain activity and will lower the occurances of seizures.THC is what causes one to be high. Breeding marijuana to have low THC and high CBD will be effective. This, along with other genetic modifications, will make marijuana a safe treatment. I believe I have made my point. I did rush this argument a little for I did not have much time, but I believe my argument is sufficient. I now close my argument and allow my opponent to commence his statements. Bibliography"Cannabis (drug)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 2 May. 2014. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana/>. Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth Edition ed. : Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Print."Top 10 medical uses for marijuana ." . Addiction Blog, 8 Feb. 2011. Web. 2 May 2014. <http://drug.addictionblog.org...;.