Medical Marijuana Essay Examples & Topics


An Apr. 2021 Pew Research Center poll found that 91% of Americans believed marijuana should be legal for medical use (60% for medical and recreational legalization; and 31% for only medical legalization). Only 8% believed marijuana should not be legal for any reason, and 1% did not answer the question. has steadily increased over the years.


An Apr. 2021 Pew Research Center poll found that 91% of Americans believed marijuana should be legal for medical use (60% for medical and recreational legalization; and 31% for only medical legalization). Only 8% believed marijuana should not be legal for any reason, and 1% did not answer the question. has steadily increased over the years.

But the public controversy over the medical use of marijuana does not reflect scientific controversy. Scientists who study marijuana and its effects on the human body largely agree about the risks posed by its use as well as the potential benefits it may provide. That is what researchers at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) learned when they undertook the study on which this book is based.

Why Medical Marijuanas Should Be Legal Essay

Both those who advocate and those who oppose the medical use of marijuana claim to have science on their side. Each camp selectively cites research that supports its position, and each occasionally misrepresents study findings. Unfortunately, these skewed interpretations have frequently served as the main source of scientific information on the subject. Until now it has been difficult for people other than scientists to find unbiased answers to questions about the medical use of marijuana—questions that have often drawn conflicting responses from either side of the debate.

Approval of legalization crosses party lines as well as age and race demographics in what Pew Research Center deemed “overwhelming support” in an Apr. 16, 2021, poll. Among Democrats, 95% believed medical marijuana should be legal, joined by 87% of Republicans.

Medical marijuana is most commonly used for pain in the US. “While marijuana isn’t strong enough for severe pain (for example, post-surgical pain or a broken bone), it is quite effective for the chronic pain that plagues millions of Americans, especially as they age,” explains primary care physician and cannabis specialist, Peter Grinspoon.

Medical marijuana is most commonly used for pain in the US. “While marijuana isn’t strong enough for severe pain (for example, post-surgical pain or a broken bone), it is quite effective for the chronic pain that plagues millions of Americans, especially as they age,” explains primary care physician and cannabis specialist, Peter Grinspoon.


60 Medical Marijuana Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

The third was a poll of 960 physicians nationwide by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital for presentation to the American Society of Addiction Medicine in Apr. 2001. The doctors were split fairly evenly: 36% believed they should be able to legally prescribe medical marijuana, 26% were unsure, and 38% were against the practice.

Medical Marijuana Essay Sample for Relaxed Writing

In the course of its work, the study team examined research on how marijuana exerts its effects in the body and its ability to treat a wide variety of medical conditions. Team members compared the effectiveness of using marijuana versus approved medicines to treat numerous specific disorders. They also evaluated the effects of chronic marijuana use on physical and mental health as well as its possible role as a “gateway” drug to cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs.

Medical Marijuana Essay Examples

To gather this information, the researchers analyzed scientific publications, consulted extensively with biomedical and social scientists, and conducted public scientific workshops. They also visited four so-called cannabis buyers' clubs and two HIV-AIDS clinics. Organizations and individuals were encouraged to express their views on the medical use of marijuana at the public workshops as well as via the Internet, by mail, and by telephone. The team's draft report was reviewed and critiqued anonymously by more than a dozen experts, whose comments were addressed in preparing the final version of the document. Entitled the final report was released in March 1999. The report was subsequently published as a clothbound book by the National Academy Press; it can also be viewed on the Press's web site.

What are the pros and cons of using marijuana for medicinal reasons?

While the American federal war on drugs would continue, medical marijuana in the 1990s. California was the first to legalize cannabis for medical use in 1996, quickly followed by Alaska, Oregon, and Washington state in 1998, and Maine in 1999. By Dec. 2022, 37 states and DC had legalized medical marijuana, leaving only 13 states where medical marijuana is illegal: Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The business of medical marijuana : a photo essay, Santa Cruz, CA

At the time of its release, the study received considerable attention from the news media. For example, the next week more than 50 U.S. newspapers carried stories on the study. While many of the articles reflected the balanced nature of the report's findings, most of the headlines—which tend to stick in readers' minds—gave the impression that the IOM had fully endorsed the medical use of marijuana. Scores of editorials followed suit, including several expressing uncritical acceptance of marijuana as a medicine.