When people think of medicine, they generally don't consider "The Gateway Drug", as marijuana is occasionally called, as their ordinary prescription. Most think of antibiotics, aspirins, or over the counter pills; it's presumable that marijuana wasn't the first thought in the majority of people's heads. Yet, time's are changing! Many people consider marijuana a "teenage thing" used only for the impression of being high, or stoned. Marijuana tends to be linked to rock and roll, death, and crime. For those reasons, it's continued to be illegal to possess, use, or distribute marijuana. However, marijuana has been proven to be a good medication fighting many life-threatening diseases. Therefore, .
Even though marijuana has been used for medical purposes for thousands of years, interest in using it as treatment sparked in the late 1970's (14, p.2). Today, marijuana has a positive reputation for helping cancer patients overcome the nausea associated with chemotherapy, treating glaucoma, and in stimulating the appetite of AIDS patients (14, p.3). Studies have shown that marijuana clearly controls nausea and vomiting in many chemotherapy patients, helps AIDS patients gain weight, and greatly reduces damaging pressure in the eye caused by glaucoma (4, p.1). The fact that smoking marijuana to relieve medical distress is still illegal is alarming. If marijuana can help so many suffering victims of these ailments, then why keep it out of use? Marijuana ranked ninth in order of preference for the treatment of mild to moderate nausea and vomiting, and sixth for treatment of more severe symptoms induced by chemotherapy (8, p.1). Forty-four percent of oncologists have recommended cannabis sativa, marijuana, to at least one patient (4, p.2).
Of the respondents who had prescribed marijuana thought that it had relieved post chemotherapy effects efficiently in 50% of patients (8, p.1).
The debate over whether or not to prescribe marijuana to relieve the
pain of the terminally ill patients is no debate at all. No one in
their heart of hearts opposes this. There is no rational reason to
deny people who are dying anything. Whether it's a morphine
cocktail or a toke on a marijuana weed (10, p.2).

Given the fact that political leaders withhold relief from dying victims of fatal diseases is startling. Elected officials threaten to prosecute doctors who prescribe marijuana to their afflicted patients (10, p.2). That could be perceived as an insult to the morality of medical professionals that devote their lives to curing illnesses and alleviating pain. Says Jerome Kassirer, "I believe that a federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy-handed and inhumane"(10, p.2). Besides the already stated conditions, marijuana has also been proven effective on the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. Along with spasticity, people with MS have reported that marijuana has offered temporary relief of urinary incontinence, sleeping difficulties, and sexual dysfunction (14, p.3).
Furthermore, the ability to control the dosage of marijuana also makes it more of a reason to legalize it. People can also regulate their dosage better through smoking; taking a puff, then waiting a few minutes to see if the nausea wears off before taking another (4, p.2). Smoking is a faster and more reliable way to achieve the blood levels of THC necessary to get strong anti-nausea effects (4, p.1). Not only that, but marijuana has been proven to be safer then aspirin, which can cause inner bleeding (4, p.3). Also, marijuana has not been proven to be an entirely addictive drug. THC is approved by the FDA and is available with a doctors prescription (9, p.2). This prescription is called Marinol, and is sometimes used in comparison to marijuana because the main active ingredient in marijuana is THC. Although, Marinol doesn't work as well as marijuana. The dosage is either too small or the patient falls asleep 45 minutes later (2, p.1). Also, the prescription comes in pill form which isn't much help to a nauseous patient. For one thing, "giving a pill ...