Marijuana - Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

The U.S. government lists marijuana and its by-products as Schedule I substances, indicating that cannabis has no medical value. However, since the 1970s, marijuana has been used as a medicine for several specific conditions, although the legality of this use remains under debate.

Cancer patients who receive chemotherapyA medically supervised regimen of drugs used to kill cancer cells in the body. The drugs have potential side effects including nausea, vomiting, and other reactions., the use of chemicals to prevent or treat the disease, often suffer the side effects of nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. This can cause people who are already sick to lose weight and become more prone to secondary illnesses. Marijuana stimulates the appetite. Chemotherapy patients who use it are more likely to maintain body weight and suffer less from nausea.

The scientific evidence for these claims has led chemists to create a synthetic form of THC, taken as a pill called Marinol. However, the pills seem to have less effect than smoking the drug. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the pills have to be swallowed and digested, and this can be a problem for cancer sufferers. (Some cancer patients take

A variety of medical marijuana products were offered for sale to those with prescriptions from doctors. Here, medical marijuana is shown in various formats, including cakes and cookies. Jeff Albertson/Corbis.
A variety of medical marijuana products were offered for sale to those with prescriptions from doctors. Here, medical marijuana is shown in various formats, including cakes and cookies. © Jeff Albertson/Corbis.

Marinol pills prior to chemotherapy.) Also, the pills contain THC, but not the other cannabinoids. Most scientists believe that THC alone does not account for the appetite-enhancing qualities of marijuana.

Marijuana—and Marinol—are also used to enhance the appetite in patients suffering from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). People with AIDS sometimes "waste away" from lack of appetite. Maintaining nutrition can help them stay strong to fight infection. Again, doctors can prescribe Marinol, but the Schedule III drug is not as effective as smoked marijuana.

Evidence suggests that marijuana eases the pain and the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a progressive disease that affects the muscles. It is also used for a disease of the eyes called glaucoma, where it helps to relieve painful pressure in the eye tissue.

Although it is not prescribed or indicated for use in depression or anxiety, marijuana has been used as a medication for those illnesses in the past. It is unlikely to be re-introduced for this use, however, given the number of modern prescription medications that exist for depression and anxiety.

State vs. Federal Government

The several uses for marijuana as medicine have led some states to pass "medical marijuana" laws. Such laws allow patients with proven medical conditions to possess a small amount of marijuana without facing criminal penalties. These state laws openly contradict the federal law that makes possession of marijuana for any use a crime.

In 2005, a case based on this contradiction was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The federal government gained a limited victory in this case on June 6, 2005. The court decided that the federal government could prosecute patients for personal possession and cultivation of marijuana despite state medical marijuana laws. Yet the court did not overturn state medical marijuana laws. This means that although it is a federal crime to possess or grow marijuana, it is not a state crime in those states where medical marijuana has been made legal. According to CNN.com, "along with California, nine [other] states have passed laws permitting marijuana use by patients with a doctor's approval: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermontand Washington. Arizona also has a similar law, but no formal program in place to administer prescription pot."

Montel Williams on Medical Marijuana

Talk show host Montel Williams spoke on April 11, 2005, about how medical marijuana helps him cope with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. "Patients struggling for their lives against such illnesses as [multiple sclerosis], cancer and AIDS should not be treated as criminals. We need to get beyond politics. We need more research into marijuana's medicinal effects, and we should heed the research already available." Williams added: "Because of medical marijuana, I am still alive—and leading a far more fruitful life than before." Shortly after making these remarks, Williams testified before Congress on May 5, 2005. One month later, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that medical marijuana use is illegal under federal law.

Chemists and pharmaceutical companies continue to research delivery systems for marijuana that will be considered legal (if covered by a prescription), including inhalers similar to those used by people suffering from asthma.