Word: marijuana
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...also be useful in the treatment of asthma; inhalation of the drug dilates bronchial passages in the lungs. One problem with this treatment is that the smoke from marijuana cigarettes sometimes disturbs delicate lung tissue. For this reason, doctors are now considering the desirability of administering THC in aerosol form to asthma patients. Other uses have been recently suggested, though they require further study. Cannabis is an anti-convulsant which may be useful in treating epileptic attacks. It may be able to replace more dangerous drugs, such as barbiturates, in the treatment of insomnia. The drug's analgesic, preanesthetic...
...while science advances, patients are denied what may be an effective treatment for many human ills by the persistence of antediluvian notions of the drug's ill effects and of archaic legislation. Those who oppose allowing use of marijuana as a prescription drug point to numerous studies that have accused it of horrible side effects ranging from lowering hormone levels in males to damaging brain tissue. Many of these studies, though, are methodologically dubious; the political requirements of funding never take precedence over sound research technique. Generally, these studies use extremely high dosage levels to establish harmful effects. Few establish...
...even if there are legitimate grounds for doubting marijuana's safety, most experts agree that only chronic, heavy users are at risk. No one has suggested that occasional use is harmful, and even in forms of medical treatment which require long-term ingestion of cannabis, it should be up to the doctor to decide if the risks of the drug exceed its benefits. Especially in the case of cancer patients, marijuana may be the only way that acceptable treatment can be endured, and therefore any risks which marijuana may carry with it should be acceptable. Even HEW, in their...
Besides, the main reason for even bothering to pass the Controlled Substances Act in the first place was to keep drugs out of the hand of those who might abuse them. This goal has obviously not been met: over twenty million Americans have tried marijuana, and thirteen million use it regularly. It is not likely that legalizing marijuana as a prescription drug would result in any significant increase in use among non-patients; those who want it now do not have much trouble obtaining...
Even those who take the position that there is some legitimate purpose served by making criminals out of those who smoke marijuana should admit that the law has gone too far for too long, and that restrictions should be relaxed to allow marijuana to be prescribed when doctors feel that the symptoms call for it. Some day marijuana may reduce the suffering of many patients and even save the lives of others. This will not require a new medical breakthrough, but only a modest effort to overcome the vestiges of paranoia from another...