A Miracle Drug
Illustration Essay
By Jennifer Reichenbaugh Although it is controversial, marijuana has been called a “miracle drug” because it supposedly has vast healing capabilities from treating cancer and glaucoma to minor ailments such as back pain and insomnia. I am just one of many who support the legalization of medical marijuana. However, many people also frown upon the use of cannabis because it is a schedule one illegal drug which basically means it has been deemed unsafe for human consumption. I am not here to read a dozen reasons why marijuana is bad because in my opinion, it has a plethora of other beneficial uses not even including its medicinal purposes. I am here to express my beliefs in why I feel medical marijuana is indeed a positive matter. Marijuana is reproached not only because of its legality, but for the effects it has on users such as a lack of motivation, slower reaction time, and a lessened coordination. There are also other health risks to take in account for example, memory loss, but as I stated above, my main focus is to illustrate the positive outcomes of medical marijuana use. Medically, marijuana has been proven to relieve chronic pain which is partly the reason it is legal for medical use in some places. Alcohol, cigarettes, and prescription painkillers are just as un-safe to one’s health if not more-so than marijuana. There have been studies to prove that 100,000 people die each year just from prescription medications alone and that is not including deaths resulting from alcohol. Cigarettes kill an estimated 443,000 people each year and marijuana is the drug that is deemed unsafe. In fact, there are no proven deaths resulting from the use of marijuana. I know if I were suffering from a crippling disease, I would much rather prefer to experience a lack in motivation than to suffer something like liver damage or death from a prescription painkiller. In reality, who is actually motivated to do anything when they are
By Jennifer Reichenbaugh Although it is controversial, marijuana has been called a “miracle drug” because it supposedly has vast healing capabilities from treating cancer and glaucoma to minor ailments such as back pain and insomnia. I am just one of many who support the legalization of medical marijuana. However, many people also frown upon the use of cannabis because it is a schedule one illegal drug which basically means it has been deemed unsafe for human consumption. I am not here to read a dozen reasons why marijuana is bad because in my opinion, it has a plethora of other beneficial uses not even including its medicinal purposes. I am here to express my beliefs in why I feel medical marijuana is indeed a positive matter. Marijuana is reproached not only because of its legality, but for the effects it has on users such as a lack of motivation, slower reaction time, and a lessened coordination. There are also other health risks to take in account for example, memory loss, but as I stated above, my main focus is to illustrate the positive outcomes of medical marijuana use. Medically, marijuana has been proven to relieve chronic pain which is partly the reason it is legal for medical use in some places. Alcohol, cigarettes, and prescription painkillers are just as un-safe to one’s health if not more-so than marijuana. There have been studies to prove that 100,000 people die each year just from prescription medications alone and that is not including deaths resulting from alcohol. Cigarettes kill an estimated 443,000 people each year and marijuana is the drug that is deemed unsafe. In fact, there are no proven deaths resulting from the use of marijuana. I know if I were suffering from a crippling disease, I would much rather prefer to experience a lack in motivation than to suffer something like liver damage or death from a prescription painkiller. In reality, who is actually motivated to do anything when they are