My rebuttal on Banning Medical Marijuana
Medical Marijuana has helped some patients, ( yeah, only some NOT ALL PATIENTS). But, there can be some serious consequences that may occur if not taken with responsibility and common sense. People may become addicted to marijuana because of the THC, Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in cannabis. People who take the medicine think that they are feeling better, but really just feel high. It can also affect children by watching their parents take the ''medicine'' and think it is okay. It can also lead to others selling it to others who don't need it and earning profit. That is selling illegal marijuana and can affect people by just using it to sell it and not helping patients. Last of all. Marijuana is still a drug. You simply cannot change that. So, why would people want to add even ore side affects by using marijuana as a medicine, when already there is no cure for the patient.
Pro Rebuttal:
''Medical Marijuana helps patients with their pain'' (Con's opening Statement)
Here are my reasons with evidence and my feedback on them:
Medical Marijuana has been a legal medicine since 1996. It can help relief pain for some patients, not all, but can be taken as an advantage.
People become addicted to it after having the experience of supposedly feeling less pain, but really just feeling high.
THC, Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in cannibus.
Like any other powerful, mood altering substance, people who are prone to chemical dependency can become addicted to marijuana.
High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction, and research suggests that in vulnerable individuals, marijuana use may be a factor that increases risk for the disease. From- www.addict-help.com/
"Cannabis as a smoked product, in my judgment, would not be a useful product simply because of the lack of standardization, the fact that it's a smoked material: you can't determine the dose, people smoke in different ways, plus the interaction of the many different components and degradation products, and the tars associated with smoked materials. So smoking is not a good delivery system.
However, cannabis as a plant that is rich in chemical components, would have potential for producing useful drugs, for example THC. Now THC in the oral preparation, it doesn't seem to be doing the good job it should or was expected to. My personal view on the reason for this is the 'first-pass effect.' The material taken orally goes through the liver and is converted to the 11-hydroxy metabolite, which is 4-5 times more potent in terms of psycho activity, before getting into the bloodstream, and the profile of these two drugs is quite different."
Dec. 19, 2005 - Mahmoud A. ElSohly, PhD 
People just seem to want to take an overdose of it, there is really no safe way to make sure that the people took the right amount.
Marijuana is still a drug no matter marijuana, def: hemp plant: the Indian hemp plant that is the source of the drugs marijuana and cannabis.
Why should it be taken as medicine?
People are in pain, but there is till no cure, so why use a drug that can add on to the serious side affects it can have.
Others can become affected. Especially infants or small kids who see parents or adults take this ‘‘medication’’.
"The most compelling concerns regarding marijuana smoking in HIV/AIDS patients are the possible effects of marijuana on immunity.
Reports of opportunistic fungal and bacterial pneumonia in AIDS patients who used marijuana suggest that marijuana smoking either suppresses the immune system or exposes patients to an added burden of pathogens.
In summary, patients with preexisting immune deficits due to AIDS should be expected to be vulnerable to serious harm caused by smoking marijuana."
-- Institute of Medicine Report
Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base
Mar. 1999
"A new federal report released today concludes the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults.[...]
Increases in the likelihood of cocaine and heroin use and drug dependence are also apparent for those who initiate use of marijuana at any later age"
--US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA press release on their report;
"Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and Implications"
Aug. 28, 2002
Kids don’t know what a drug is. They may see others using it and see that it is okay,
That adds to making them want to use it. If parents don not enforce their children to not do it why would they be doing it.
Others sell it, earn profit
Authorities raided two medical marijuana businesses and arrested 15 people for allegedly making illegal sales in a crackdown announced Thursday by Oakland County officials.
The arrests followed an undercover investigation that found marijuana being sold illegally, often without buyers showing state-issued medical marijuana cards, officials said. The cards are distributed to people whose doctors prescribed marijuana for pain relief.
Raids Wednesday night targeted Clinical Relief, a Ferndale clinic, and Everybody's Café, a Waterford Township restaurant that runs an after-hours "compassion club" behind closed doors. Arrests and drug seizures also occurred at Metro Detroit homes and a Macomb County warehouse, officials said.
Clinical Relief, which opened in June, sells 20 grades of marijuana ranging up to $700 an ounce, and reportedly has more than 1,000 customers.
During the raid there Wednesday, three people were arrested, including co-owner Matthew Curtis.
Ryan Richmond, co-owner of Clinical Relief, on Thursday denied the allegations by police as he drove to visit Curtis at the Oakland County Jail.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100827/METRO02/8270393/Medical-pot-clinics-busted-for-illegal-sales#ixzz0yRQ7wuuF
People see how much a simple bag of marijuana can go for. It is a way to be able to get a lot of money and still help ‘‘people’’
Can be a dangerous drug. Other less dangerous medicine is still out there
Based on current evidence, I believe that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that there are less dangerous medicines offering the same relief from pain and other medical symptoms."
-- Bill Frist, MD
Former US Senator (R-TN)
Correspondence to ProCon.org
Oct. 20, 2003
"A new federal report released today concludes the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults.[...]
Increases in the likelihood of cocaine and heroin use and drug dependence are also apparent for those who initiate use of marijuana at any later age"
--US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA press release on their report;
"Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and Implications"
Aug. 28, 2002
Medical Marijuana is just a way of people being able to get it for themselves and not their health. It should be banned.
