The recreational use of marijuana has been glamorized over the years by such on-screen duos as Cheech & Chong and Harold & Kumar, but is the drug everything that Hollywood makes it out to be? Then again, are we being hypocritical by allowing alcohol consumption but not cannabis usage? With passionate believers on both sides of the argument, it will be interesting to see what happens when the smoke clears.
Marijuana Medicine, or cannabis, as it is more appropriately called, has been part of humanity's medicine chest for almost as long as history has been recorded. Written references to the use marijuana as a medicine date back nearly 5,000 years. Of all the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition, none is as tragic as the denial of medicinal cannabis to the tens of thousands of patients who could benefit from its therapeutic use. Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications. These include pain relief -- particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) -- nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia. Emerging research suggests that marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors and are neuroprotective. The American Public Health Association, Health Canada and the Federation of American Scientists all support granting patients immediate legal access to medicinal marijuana under a physician's supervision. Several others, including the American Cancer Society and the American Medical Association support the facilitation of wide-scale, clinical research trials so that physicians may better assess cannabis' medical potential. In addition, a 1991 Harvard study found that 44 percent of oncologists had previously advised marijuana therapy to their patients.
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