The medical use of marijuana has long been a topic of debate. Some, including me, would argue that withholding a useful medical treatment based on antiquated thinking and societal perception is unethical. The utilitarianism theory tells us that the correct course of action should be the one, which benefits the greatest number of people. We treat patients currently with much more dangerous and addictive medications and we seem to accept those risks….Why is marijuana different? Some will argue the risks are too great, we will explore both sides of the argument.
Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act. Basically, the government believes marijuana has, no medical use in treatment of disease in the United States. It was in 1996 when Proposition 215 passed in California that states began to allow the use of medical marijuana. However, some people seem to hold on to the idea that marijuana is bad. “Ethics is defined as the system of human mental activities that allows us to assign a degree of ‘goodness’ or ‘badness’ to a situation, action, or idea based on the societal perceptions of the time.”
Marijuana has been scientifically proven …show more content…
An overdose occurs when a person uses enough of a drug to produce life-threatening symptoms or death. There are no reports of teens or adults dying from marijuana by itself. However, research does suggest that somewhere between 9% and 30% of recreational marijuana users may develop some degree of marijuana use disorder. A majority of long term users generally report mild withdrawal symptoms that make quitting difficult. There is antidotal evidence in mouse trials that THC, when used by adolescent’s, does increase the sensitivity of the pleasure centers of the brain. However, studies show marijuana is no more likely than alcohol to be a “gateway drug”. No one is arguing the use of marijuana by teenagers is a good idea
Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act. Basically, the government believes marijuana has, no medical use in treatment of disease in the United States. It was in 1996 when Proposition 215 passed in California that states began to allow the use of medical marijuana. However, some people seem to hold on to the idea that marijuana is bad. “Ethics is defined as the system of human mental activities that allows us to assign a degree of ‘goodness’ or ‘badness’ to a situation, action, or idea based on the societal perceptions of the time.”
Marijuana has been scientifically proven …show more content…
An overdose occurs when a person uses enough of a drug to produce life-threatening symptoms or death. There are no reports of teens or adults dying from marijuana by itself. However, research does suggest that somewhere between 9% and 30% of recreational marijuana users may develop some degree of marijuana use disorder. A majority of long term users generally report mild withdrawal symptoms that make quitting difficult. There is antidotal evidence in mouse trials that THC, when used by adolescent’s, does increase the sensitivity of the pleasure centers of the brain. However, studies show marijuana is no more likely than alcohol to be a “gateway drug”. No one is arguing the use of marijuana by teenagers is a good idea