Medical Marijuana Prevalence and Abuse
The Office of the National Drug Control Policy recently reported that there are more medical marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks, Taco Bells, middle schools or police stations in San Francisco. This information has garnered national attention, with Jay Leno and network news stations broadcasting the shocking report. The drug control office hopes to shed light on the abuses within the medical marijuana system, and the growing number of undocumented and illegal pot clubs profiting.
The Compassionate Use Act passed in 1996 allows seriously ill Californians to obtain and use medical marijuana as a method of treatment. Patients must be recommended by a doctor, and health conditions that warrant marijuana treatment include: cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, glaucoma, migraine, or any other illness for which the relaxation-inducing drug provides relief. This law has invited a backlash of controversy in California. The thousands of clinics in San Francisco have attracted hoards of drug addicts, stirring fear in city dwellers and requiring stricter regulation. In San Diego, teens have been caught lying to doctors about health conditions to obtain ID cards that permit medical marijuana use.
Bolstering the platform of medical marijuana opponents, in April 2006 the FDA dispelled the notion that marijuana can be considered a medicine, announcing that smoking marijuana is harmful to one’s health. An evaluation constructed by several Department of Health and Human Services Agencies concluded that “no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use.”
As for advocates of its medical use, there are health organizations within the U.S. that support clinical research for cannabis as a therapeutic drug for seriously sick patients. Such respected institutions include American Public Health Association, American Cancer Society and American Medical Association.
With legalized marijuana available to the public comes increased potential for abuse, both in the form of individual addiction and illegal distribution. Until the federal government backs evidence that supports the medical benefits of marijuana (which doesn’t seem feasible any time soon), the risks appear to outweigh the rewards.
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There are more medical marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks, Taco Bells, middle schools or police stations? Does that mean that people are aware that they are more likely to suffer harm from the latter than the former?