Legalized Medical Use of Marijuana to Treat Cancer or MS Essay Example

Introduction

In the past, marijuana has been used as an herbal remedy to treat a range of diseases. That is because the plant has biologically active components like the delta-9-detrahydrocannabinol (THC) as well as cannabidiol (CBD). In the recent past, such components have been validated through research as effective in treating some diseases like cancer (Hindocha et al., 2015). Today, the use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in most States of America. The policies enacted to legalize the use of marijuana in such States offer the public protection against all forms of criminal charges that could be imposed on them for consuming the drug for medical reasons. In addition, policies supporting the use of medical marijuana provide registered users of the drug with legal consent to smoke or consume vaporized forms of marijuana products, plant materials or cannabis extract for health reasons. The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act (2018) is arguably the first Federal Law that is focused on providing a guideline of how users of medical marijuana should consume the drug for medical purposes. The following policy evaluation will focus on the Medicinal Cannabis Research Act (2018) as a current and ongoing Federal policy on the medical use of marijuana for the treatment of cancer and multiple sclerosis. In the evaluation, five subtopics will be covered and they will include a background to the policies supporting the use of marijuana for medical purposes, key components of the policy, and its initiative or response. Other topics will be debates on the policy and lastly the impact of the enactment of policy on drugs users and society.

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Background to the Policies Supporting the Use of Marijuana for Medical Purposes

State policies on the medical use of marijuana vary from state to state in terms of their provisions. Nevertheless, to date, there are no Federal policies that support the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. In America, the use of marijuana for medical purposes is legal in 33 States, District of Columbia and in 4 non-American states that are considered to be United States' territories (NCSL, 2019; Nations Online, 2019). Under the Federal laws, the government prohibits the use of marijuana under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) in section 21 U.S.C. 811 (Miller, 2010; Gabay, 2013). The statute does not recognize the difference between the consumption of marijuana for recreational and medical purposes. The penalties of CSA towards marijuana users are applied to people who possess, grow as well as distribute large amounts of cannabis to the public. Additionally, under the Federal Law, marijuana is treated like other forms of controlled substances in the nation like cocaine and heroin (Breuninger, 2018; Hudak, 2016). Under the CSA, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, which means that the government views cannabis to be a highly addictive substance with no healthcare value to the public (Baker, 2014; Clark, Capuzzi and Fick, 2011). Nevertheless, the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act (2018) will be considered to be the first federal policy acknowledging the importance of using marijuana for medicinal purposes. Key Components of the Policy

The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act (2018) was introduced to the Congress on April 16, 2018 (Walz, 2018; Edibles List Team, 2018). The policy is scheduled for a final vote, which will make it a statute recognized by the Federal government. After being passed, the policy will offer legal protection to manufacturers of cannabis treatment drugs and to the users of the drug who will use medical marijuana for treating diseases like cancer and MS. In addition, the bill supports the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the United States in conducting research on safety as well as the efficacy of using certain forms of cannabis (Shishko, Oliveira, Moore, and Almeida, 2018; Schiller, 2018). That is among war veterans that have enrolled in the nation's VA healthcare system, particularly those that have been diagnosed with chronic conditions like cancer, MS, chronic pains or post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) among others. Moreover, the research that will be executed under this policy by the VA will facilitate the commercial manufacturing of marijuana treatment drugs for a range of healthcare needs in the United States. Lastly, the policy will create a safe harbor to the VA researchers as well as VA-funded institutions that will be participating in Federal-approved clinical trials focused on testing the efficacy of marijuana as a treatment regimen.

Initiative or Response

After its proposition in 2018, the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act received massive support by most of the members of the Congress. With the continued prevalence of the opioid crisis in the United States, the proposers of the policy in the United States' Congress pointed out that it is important for an alternative treatment to be adopted. That is in promotion of the health and safety of veterans in the United States by offering them an effective treatment for cancer and MS. As such, the policy is bound to be passed as a fully fledged Federal Statute after the last vote in Congress. Also, since its proposition in 2018, the policy has also received massive support from other individuals and corporate entities in the nation. That is those that are focused on promoting the health and wellness of the society members in the nation.

Assumptions Embedded in the Policy

There are several assumptions that will be put in place when enforcing the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act (2018) as a federal policy supporting marijuana usage. First, the assumptions include that there will be no distribution of any form of marijuana to minors and second, the revenue generated from the sale of medical marijuana will not go to criminal enterprises. Third, there will be no diversion of medical marijuana from the states where it is considered legal to the states where it is considered illegal. Fourth, all forms of state-authorized medical marijuana activities will not be employed as a cover or pretext to trafficking other forms of illegal drugs. Fifth, there will be no use of violence by the use of firearms, both in cultivation as well as the distribution of marijuana plants. Sixth, the use of medical marijuana will not escalate some social problems in society such as drunk driving among others. In such a case, accidents as a result of driving under influence would increase the number of accidents recorded in the United States. Seventh, there will be no planting of marijuana on public lands and safety and environmental negative impacts of planting marijuana on reserved lands will be put into consideration. The last assumption is that approved users of medical marijuana will not use the drug while inside the federal buildings in the nation.

Debates on the Policy

There are a number of controversies that have been in existence since the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act was introduced before the Congress in 2018. The primary controversy is that the enforcement of the policy as a Federal statute would infringe upon the provisions of the CSA. That is because traditionally, marijuana has been classified as a highly addictive substance with very minimal health benefits to the public. Additionally, even today, marijuana is still a widely used addictive substance among other drugs like heroin and cocaine. As such, even though the drug under the provisions of the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research will be employed for medical purposes, there is a high risk that the drug can be abused by the public due to its addictive components. Another debate is the argument that the legalization of marijuana by the Federal government could result in an increase in social evils in the society. For instance, some people believe that crime and violence would increase due to the influence of marijuana. Also, there is a debate that addiction to the drug might increase the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among marijuana addicts through indulgence in reckless sexual behaviors. Also, the policy will elevate the poverty levels among a significant number of people in the society since persons addicted to marijuana are likely to become economically unproductive.

Impact of the Policy on Drug Users and Society

If the policy is enacted in all the American States, most users of illegal contrabands might result to using marijuana as their alternative addiction stimulant. Since marijuana is cheaper than other forms of drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, drug users will have better access to a highly addictive stimulant (Heing, 2018; Wilson and Petersilia, 2011). Subsequently, such an occurrence will increase society's burden of fighting substance addiction among its members. Nevertheless, on the pro side, legitimate drug users for health reasons will be in a position to save large sums of funds from using marijuana. That is because the patients will be able to save large sums of funds that would otherwise have been lost in paying for other contemporary medicinal drugs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act (2018) is debatably the first Federal policy that is focused on providing a guideline of how users of medical marijuana should consume the drug for medical purposes. In the past, marijuana has been used as an herbal remedy to treat a range of diseases due to its biologically active components like THC and CBD. Today, the use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in most States of America. In addition, the enactment of the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act (2018) will enable war veterans that have enrolled in the nation's VA healthcare system to use marijuana for treatment. That is particularly in treating medical conditions like cancer, MS, chronic pains and PTSD among others. Nevertheless, there are a number of controversies that have been in existence since the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act was introduced before the Congress in 2018. Among the controversies is the argument that the enforcement of the policy as a Federal statute would infringe upon the provisions of the CSA. Nevertheless, the policy will be beneficial to a lot of people in the society as it will offer the public permission to use medical marijuana upon legal approval as a health treatment regimen.

References

Baker, D. E. (2014). Legalization of Recreational and Medical Marijuana: What We Don't Know. Hospital Pharmacy, 49 (4), 319-320. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4062740/.

Breuninger, K. (2018). Pot CEO pleads for Trump to help America's marijuana industry as Canada gets a head start on legal weed. Retrieved from CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/17/canadas-legal-pot-sales-threaten-the-us-cannabis-market-ceo-says.html.

Clark, P. A. Capuzzi, K. & Fick, C. (2011). Medical marijuana: Medical necessity versus political agenda. Medical Science Monitor. 17 (12), 249-261. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3628147/

Edibles List Team (2018). The Veterans Affairs Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2018 HR 5520. Retrieved from: https://ediblesmagazine.com/politics/the-veterans-affairs-medicinal-research-act-of-2018-hr-5520/

Gabay, M. (2013). The Federal Controlled Substances Act: Schedules and Pharmacy Registration. Hospital Pharmacy, 48 (6), 473-474. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839489/

Heing, B. (2018). Marijuana Abuse. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. Retrieved from: https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=qd1oDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Marijuana+Abuse+Heing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjx1fX4nNDgAhVp5eAKHQO7Ck8Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&amp...