Marijuana has been the subject of many heated arguments for decades now. People are torn as to whether marijuana should be used to help treat sick people or whether legalizing it can trigger many addictions.
However, medical experts and equipment and pipe providers advocate its use in the field of medicine when most traditional prescription drugs have failed to cure or offer relief to suffering patients. Their fight has been fought hard and long, and now, these medical experts and doctors are meeting with senators for a dialogue regarding the legalization of medical marijuana.
Leaders of the group Compassionate South Carolina are organizing the group’s testimony in favor of passing bill S. 212, the Compassionate Care Act, sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort). The bill would allow certain patients with debilitating conditions to access cannabis for medical use if a doctor recommends it.
The group cites how effective medical cannabis is as a drug alternative especially when taken under medical guidance. It has been found to be of extreme help in the pain management of terminally ill patients or those who have undergone surgery.
“There is a large and rapidly growing body of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of medical cannabis,” Dr. Sue Sisley, who traveled to Columbia to provide expert testimony at Wednesday’s hearing, said.
“It is often a much safer option than traditional prescription medications, especially when it comes to treating chronic pain. Patients who could benefit from medical cannabis should be able to access it safely and legally with the guidance of their physicians,” Sisley said.
(Via: http://www.wistv.com/story/34697699/doctors-to-speak-on-behalf-of-legalizing-medical-marijuana)
Despite plans of legalizing medical marijuana, Florida legislature is pushing a bill that imposes medical weed regulations to prevent abuse and ensure only those who need cannabis have access to it.
Yesterday, Fort Myers Rep. Ray Rodrigues finally unveiled the first medical weed regulations — and they would ban people from smoking marijuana or using edibles. Patients would also be prohibited from vaporizing weed if they aren’t terminally ill.
Specifically, however, the bill says medical use does not include “possession, use, or administration of marijuana in a form for smoking or vaping or in the form of commercially produced food items made with marijuana or marijuana oils, except for vapable forms possessed, used, or administered by or for a qualified patient diagnosed with a terminal condition.”
The bill also mandates an “education campaign” to publicize the “short-term and long-term health effects of cannabis and marijuana use, particularly on minors and young adults,” the “legal requirements for licit use and possession of marijuana in this state,” and the “safe use of marijuana.” The bill also sets up an impaired-driving education campaign.
Many patients would benefit from a medical treatment that involves the use of medical marijuana as evidenced by cases like this:
After Carey Tilghman’s 6-year-old daughter, Paisley, suffered from a stroke, doctors drafted a plan to use a round of Botox injections and muscle relaxers to treat her condition.
Searching for an alternative for her daughter, Tilghman found that a transdermal patch filled with cannabis, which has been linked to shielding the brain from stroke damage, could possibly be helpful to her daughter, but she hasn’t been able access the drug in Maryland’s stalled medical cannabis industry.
The question now lingers, will the use of medical cannabis finally be legalized? Will the potential benefits terminally ill patients can get from such a controversial treatment outweigh the dangers of a possible drug addiction?
Such a bold move in the medical community requires a thorough investigation similar to what the field of laser medicine had to go through to earn the approval of medical professionals here and abroad. But if the regulated use of medical marijuana can uplift the lives of many suffering patients, who are we to deny them of a cure that has been right there all along?