Marijuana: Friend to the Dying :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Marijuana: Friend to the Dying Peter is an AIDS patient. The violent nausea caused by the handfuls of pills he must take every day prevents anything he eats from staying down. Even the pill to calm the vomiting won't stay in his stomach long enough to take effect. He has lost nearly forty pounds and is unrecognizable, even to himself. He has given up on life, and he dreads each day because of the pain and the sorrow it brings. Now imagine there's a drug that may help Peter, a drug that helps him keep food down or even makes him hungry, a drug that helps him gain weight, a drug that gives him the hope that he will live long enough to see a cure, a drug that helps him accept what's happening to his body. For Peter and many other patients, this drug is marijuana. Marijuana was first outlawed in the 1920's and 30's when tabloid magazines printed distorted reports of violent crimes committed by immigrants using marijuana which led to the "Marihuana Tax Act"("The Facts"). The two hearings held by Congress to debate the dangers of marijuana totaled no more than one hour with the American Medical Association (AMA) acting as the sole opponent to the bill. Arguments by the AMA were ignored, and misinformation and ignorance guided the House of Representatives as they approved the bill that remains today prohibiting the use of marijuana for any reason. Yet smoking marijuana has proved itself again and again through anecdotal evidence to be an effective treatment of extreme nausea in AIDS patients as well as in cancer patients (Conant 150). It also relieves some symptoms associated with glaucoma and multiple sclerosis ("The Facts"). The People of California and Arizona knew this when they voted for Proposition 215, which passed 55 to 45 percent, and Proposition 200, which passed 64 to 36 percent, respectively (Quayle pg 154). These propositions legalized marijuana for medical use in each of the two states. Also, between the years 1978 and 1996, thirty-four states passed laws acknowledging marijuana's medicinal capabilities ("The Facts"). It would seem that many Americans are seeing marijuana as a valuable tool in the medical field and that further research into the medical benefits of marijuana could only be an asset in the fight to ease the pain of the dying. Marijuana: Friend to the Dying :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics Marijuana: Friend to the Dying Peter is an AIDS patient. The violent nausea caused by the handfuls of pills he must take every day prevents anything he eats from staying down. Even the pill to calm the vomiting won't stay in his stomach long enough to take effect. He has lost nearly forty pounds and is unrecognizable, even to himself. He has given up on life, and he dreads each day because of the pain and the sorrow it brings. Now imagine there's a drug that may help Peter, a drug that helps him keep food down or even makes him hungry, a drug that helps him gain weight, a drug that gives him the hope that he will live long enough to see a cure, a drug that helps him accept what's happening to his body. For Peter and many other patients, this drug is marijuana. Marijuana was first outlawed in the 1920's and 30's when tabloid magazines printed distorted reports of violent crimes committed by immigrants using marijuana which led to the "Marihuana Tax Act"("The Facts"). The two hearings held by Congress to debate the dangers of marijuana totaled no more than one hour with the American Medical Association (AMA) acting as the sole opponent to the bill. Arguments by the AMA were ignored, and misinformation and ignorance guided the House of Representatives as they approved the bill that remains today prohibiting the use of marijuana for any reason. Yet smoking marijuana has proved itself again and again through anecdotal evidence to be an effective treatment of extreme nausea in AIDS patients as well as in cancer patients (Conant 150). It also relieves some symptoms associated with glaucoma and multiple sclerosis ("The Facts"). The People of California and Arizona knew this when they voted for Proposition 215, which passed 55 to 45 percent, and Proposition 200, which passed 64 to 36 percent, respectively (Quayle pg 154). These propositions legalized marijuana for medical use in each of the two states. Also, between the years 1978 and 1996, thirty-four states passed laws acknowledging marijuana's medicinal capabilities ("The Facts"). It would seem that many Americans are seeing marijuana as a valuable tool in the medical field and that further research into the medical benefits of marijuana could only be an asset in the fight to ease the pain of the dying.