Truth Seeker
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Wednesday was a historic step in the right direction for the people of Illinois. The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill that would legalize the use of medical marijuana. I believe the state senate will make the right decision and pass the bill. The ban on marijuana for medicinal purposes is not a war on drugs – it is a prohibition on common sense.
Proponents of legalizing medical marijuana face misinformed, yet effective counterarguments, such as that medicinal legalization will lead to a full repeal of the prohibition on marijuana or that marijuana is a "gateway drug." I must point out that any extrapolation taken to its logical extreme is no longer logical – it becomes unrecognizable. We should look at the substance's impact from a patient's standpoint rather than the stigmas already attached to it.
The state senate and the governor must take into account the overwhelming benefits medical marijuana presents. The day before the house voted, nearly 250 Illinois physicians came out and supported the use of medical marijuana to help treat patients who suffer from serious illnesses and diseases. Moreover, Illinois would be far from the first state to legalize this measure. Eighteen other states and Washington, D.C., have already legalized the use of medical marijuana.
In fact, Colorado and Washington have unequivocally lifted the prohibition on marijuana for recreational purposes. Clearly, our society is bending in favor toward the use of medical marijuana. This isn't surprising. We are all benefactors of a nation founded on the mandate that we must exercise great compassion for those who suffer, the sick and terminally ill.
The pain some people live with is unbearable. I recently heard the story of man in his late 20s from my hometown by the name of Mac. Two years ago, Mac suffered a gruesome injury when he dove head first into a lake. Mac now lives his life as a quadriplegic. He is forever a changed man. He suffers from both physical and emotional pain; marijuana eases both. If marijuana alleviates his pain and doesn't compromise his good health, he should be able to use it. We should encourage it. We should lend our collective hand in helping our fellow citizen heal not because it's the right thing to do, but because it is our duty to one another.
Cases like Mac's are plentiful across the country. How about the man coping with the mental and physical pain of terminal cancer? Or the woman battling breast cancer who must endure chemotherapy? Or the soldier back home struggling with PTSD? Should they not be able to use marijuana to help them deal with these conditions? After all, marijuana has been found helpful in treating a wide range of illnesses. Should false notions of morality cause us to lack empathy for those among us that suffer great pain? Perhaps the overall lesson is that we have to re-evaluate our mode of thinking.
Many places still institute the death penalty in the face of the rising number of cases exonerating death row inmates. Many places still restrict the marriage of two people of the same sex because of outdated notions of right and wrong, despite the fact that systematically diminishing the quality of life of some in society is most certainly wrong.
And let us not forget the inescapable hypocrisy of alcohol and tobacco being legal – as they should be, no matter the harms society deals with from their misuse and abuse.
To be clear, we, as a society are consistently inconsistent. Banning medical marijuana is indisputable proof of that phenomenon.
To the people that view medical marijuana as a problem – it is not. It's a solution.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: dailyillini.com
Author: Imran Khan
Contact: ikhan10@dailyillini.com
Website: Medicinal marijuana the best solution for many - The Daily Illini : Columns
Proponents of legalizing medical marijuana face misinformed, yet effective counterarguments, such as that medicinal legalization will lead to a full repeal of the prohibition on marijuana or that marijuana is a "gateway drug." I must point out that any extrapolation taken to its logical extreme is no longer logical – it becomes unrecognizable. We should look at the substance's impact from a patient's standpoint rather than the stigmas already attached to it.
The state senate and the governor must take into account the overwhelming benefits medical marijuana presents. The day before the house voted, nearly 250 Illinois physicians came out and supported the use of medical marijuana to help treat patients who suffer from serious illnesses and diseases. Moreover, Illinois would be far from the first state to legalize this measure. Eighteen other states and Washington, D.C., have already legalized the use of medical marijuana.
In fact, Colorado and Washington have unequivocally lifted the prohibition on marijuana for recreational purposes. Clearly, our society is bending in favor toward the use of medical marijuana. This isn't surprising. We are all benefactors of a nation founded on the mandate that we must exercise great compassion for those who suffer, the sick and terminally ill.
The pain some people live with is unbearable. I recently heard the story of man in his late 20s from my hometown by the name of Mac. Two years ago, Mac suffered a gruesome injury when he dove head first into a lake. Mac now lives his life as a quadriplegic. He is forever a changed man. He suffers from both physical and emotional pain; marijuana eases both. If marijuana alleviates his pain and doesn't compromise his good health, he should be able to use it. We should encourage it. We should lend our collective hand in helping our fellow citizen heal not because it's the right thing to do, but because it is our duty to one another.
Cases like Mac's are plentiful across the country. How about the man coping with the mental and physical pain of terminal cancer? Or the woman battling breast cancer who must endure chemotherapy? Or the soldier back home struggling with PTSD? Should they not be able to use marijuana to help them deal with these conditions? After all, marijuana has been found helpful in treating a wide range of illnesses. Should false notions of morality cause us to lack empathy for those among us that suffer great pain? Perhaps the overall lesson is that we have to re-evaluate our mode of thinking.
Many places still institute the death penalty in the face of the rising number of cases exonerating death row inmates. Many places still restrict the marriage of two people of the same sex because of outdated notions of right and wrong, despite the fact that systematically diminishing the quality of life of some in society is most certainly wrong.
And let us not forget the inescapable hypocrisy of alcohol and tobacco being legal – as they should be, no matter the harms society deals with from their misuse and abuse.
To be clear, we, as a society are consistently inconsistent. Banning medical marijuana is indisputable proof of that phenomenon.
To the people that view medical marijuana as a problem – it is not. It's a solution.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: dailyillini.com
Author: Imran Khan
Contact: ikhan10@dailyillini.com
Website: Medicinal marijuana the best solution for many - The Daily Illini : Columns
