Blog post #1

What is Medicinal Marijuana?

Medicinal marijuana is a topic that isn’t touched upon enough in our country. For many of Americas citizens, marijuana is a word that makes them jump. The ignorance around the so called “drug” makes many think it has some horrible effects on people who use it. When in truth, the side effects are hunger and sleepiness. Medicinal marijuana if used in the right cases can have dramatic positive affects in the process of fighting and curing certain deceases. According to Live Strong, a cause group that raises millions each year to help cure cancerous diseases, medicinal marijuana has uses such as, pain relief, decreased nausea, muscle relaxation, to treat glaucoma, and having an increased appetite. (http://www.livestrong.com/article/85963-benefits-medical-marijuana/)

Why is This Important to me?

To be honest, I’ve had my own encounters with marijuana, and I can say from a personal stand point that nothing bad happened to me. I didn’t become addicted,  I didn’t grow into a couch potato, it didn’t affect any of my relationships, etc. Many of the arguments against using medicinal marijuana are because of their fears of all of this happening. On sites such as abovetheinfluence.com, they say things like, “Heavy marijuana use impairs young people's ability to concentrate and retain information.” this is true, however when used moderately for medical purposes, these kinds of side affects rarely occur.

When I was seven years old, my mother died. She died from a mixture of scleraderma and lupus; one of the main contributors to why it got worse and worse was the fact that she rarely ate. She was given pills by doctors to try to arouse her appetite, but she would refuse to eat. If medicinal marijuana could have been used in cases such as this; it could have a great impact on many lives.

Who supports medicinal marijuana?

On the east coast, medicinal marijuana has three main supporters; senator Daylin Leach(district 17), senator Lawrence M. Farnese Jr. (district 1), and senator Jim Ferlo (district 38). Each of the three are liberal politicians and senator Daylin Leach sits on the Public Health & Welfare committee where the bill that would allow the use of medical marijuana was recently sent.

“act providing for the medical use of marijuana; and repealing provisions of law that prohibit and penalize marijuana use.”-
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2009&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1350