The more potent varieties of marijuana have been available for hundreds of years, at least. Hashish is simply concentrated marijuana and is of such ancient origin that it is referred to in the Tales of the Arabian Nights, among other ancient literary works. Some scholars have concluded that the Old Testament also refers to hashish.
More research, FDA approval and more liberal drug policies are needed to make this drug more available for critically ill patients. Marijuana has proven itself useful in fighting the wasting diseases associated with AIDS, nausea associated with chemotherapy and other illnesses such as glaucoma. Easing the suffering of these patients is a reasonable goal.
Since the passage of Proposition 215 in California in 1995, the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes has become a major issue for physicians, anti-drug policy makers and potheads alike. In 1998, Three years after Californians passed the initiative, cannabis clubs distribute marijuana legally to needy patients. It is clear that hundreds of people are benefiting medically and emotionally from medicinal marijuana. Substantial -- but not completely conclusive -- evidence shows that marijuana can help ease the pain of chemotherapy and AIDS by giving people the "munchies" so they can eat. As long as they stay away from Cheetohs and Taco Bell, these patients can dramatically better their diet.
Because marijuana is not an approved drug because of stonewalling by the federal government, physicians cannot prescribe it, only recommend it. Then you have the FDA threatening to revoke physicians' ability to write prescriptions if they recommend marijuana use. So it is sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place so to speak. This fact is probably the biggest obstacle to widespread use by the critically ill. Without FDA approval it cannot be manufactured (and regulated) like penicillin or AZT. Therefore, patients are being forced to buy either off the streets, or in clubs.
I have to object to the idea that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol. In fact, alcohol is much more dangerous than marijuana. Alcohol is highly addictive, and its withdrawal syndrome, experienced in mild form as the familiar “hangover” can actually be fatal, especially in people whose health is already compromised by alcohol abuse. Alcoholism is estimated to cause approximately 250,000 deaths per year in the U.S. and is
involved not only in half of all fatal car accidents but also a majority of homicides and domestic violence. Alcohol dependence is a leading cause of hypertension, stroke and heart disease and over time damages every major organ system in the body, including the brain and nervous system. In terms of health dangers, only inhalants (sniffing glue for example) are in the same league as alcohol — marijuana isn’t even remotely close.
Recognizing that harsh laws against marijuana are counter-productive and idiotic,
Other developed nations are quietly backing away from the “War on Some Drugs.” More
than half of the nations in Western Europe have reduced or eliminated criminal penalties for marijuana, and some have even legalized it.
