You’re sick. Someone offers you marijuana, saying that it will alleviate your suffering. Do you take it? Many patients and doctors have insisted that marijuana is uniquely beneficial, while others say the dangers of cannabis far outweigh the benefits. We know that marijuana is a drug, but is it a medicine?
Treating pain is one of the great challenges of medicine. Constant pain makes millions of lives unbearable, even when the person's medical condition isn't life-threatening. For some of these patients, clinical studies have proven that marijuana can provide relief when conventional drugs fail.
One clear example is what's called neuropathic pain -- pain from damage to the nerves. This type of pain can be caused by diabetes, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, and other illnesses or injuries, and is notoriously resistant to treatment with conventional pain drugs.
Studies using smoked marijuana have proven that marijuana can safely and effectively relieve this sort of pain. Trials published in 2007 and 2008 documented relief of neuropathic pain associated with HIV/AIDS, MS, and other causes, with remarkably few side effects.
These studies match the real-world experiences of patients. In a 2005 column in the Chicago Tribune, television talk show host and MS sufferer Montel Williams wrote of "pain that seared through my legs as if I was being stabbed with hot pokers," unrelieved by narcotic pain drugs like Vicodin and morphine -- even at doses that made him feel like a "zombie." But medical marijuana worked when these drugs failed.
Next Argument
Biweekly updates on new debates and experts
Please check your email to confirm your subscription.
© 2008 Opposing Views, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Opposing Views, Inc. is not responsible for the content posted on this website. Please view full disclaimer under Terms
Expert Verified
Link
