There is currently, and will likely be for a great while, debate surrounding the therapeutic usage of cannabis and the chemical components which may be produced from it. There are numerous cogent and rational arguments in support of the plant’s medicinal properties, and there are always a number of compelling reasons for allowing people to choose this treatment path instead of any other. The largest obstacle facing the proponents of medical marijuana is just a frustrating tangle of politics.
In the United States of America, at least at a federal level, cannabis is illegal. It’s prohibited to grow, possess, sell, or choose the plant. Stiff penalties are routinely imposed for nearly all infractions of this prohibition contrary to the plant.
Individual state governments may have enacted their very own legislation which decriminalizes or even legalizes the substance, but federal law continues to be paramount if the problem comes up Dispensary Auburn WA. Generally, federal agencies are neither equipped nor motivated to do state level police, and so states with less strict laws governing cannabis are essentially safe places for patients.
At the main of the problem is the perceived therapeutic value of cannabis. Everything hinges upon the determination of actual medicinal benefit. The prohibition against cannabis is codified in the Drug Enforcement Agency’s scheduling of it, which will be on the basis of the potential health advantages of a substance.
Some people take problem with the scheduling and its results. They ask why cocaine and anabolic steroids are considered to possess greater medicinal value than cannabis. They notice that the more proprietary and complicated the names get, the less of an issue the Drug Enforcement Agency has with them. While this might be a tiny wild conspiracy theory to see some type of collusion between what the law states enforcement agencies and the major pharmaceutical companies, you can find those that maintain that something greatly of this sort goes on.
Therefore the knot is tied. It’s difficult to allow patients to choose cannabis as a treatment option as the plant is illegal. The plant is illegal because it is considered to possess no significant medicinal value. There is research which contradicts this claim, but it’s not considered compelling enough evidence by policy makers.
Interestingly enough, the question of the legal status of cannabis may turn out to be resolved for more economic and practical reasons. The social obstacle to mainstream acceptance of cannabinoids is closely linked with the illicit nature of the plant. This is a facet of the so called War On Drugs started many years back and which includes proven incredibly expensive and completely ineffective. Abandoning this “war” would ease everyone’s problems, from the federal accountants to the chemotherapy patients who would like to stop vomiting for a while.
As more and more evidence mounts to counter the Drug Enforcement Agency’s assertion that cannabis has no medical benefit, public opinion changes. The states which have enacted medical marijuana legislation have not degenerated into mindless, drug addled chaos. There is a growing feeling that this movement is very important and compassionate, and so it will flourish in the end.